Shocking restaurant payment scandal — actor Lee Jang-woo’s side has broken its silence over allegations of unpaid balances tied to Hoseokchon.
On the 17th, Lee’s agency, Hunus Entertainment, issued an official statement addressing the unpaid-balance controversy. They confirmed that Lee Jang-woo is a shareholder in Hoseokchon and takes part in its operations, but stressed that the core issue over the supply payment is strictly a matter between the contractor and the vendor.
The agency stated, "Lee Jang-woo is a shareholder in Hoseokchon and participates in its operations. Hoseokchon already paid the full amount of the supply fee to its contracted partner, Mujin Co., as per the agreement. The issue arose afterward when Mujin failed to pay Company A." They continued, "In other words, there is no direct contract between Company A and Hoseokchon or Lee Jang-woo, and reports suggesting Lee Jang-woo refused to make the payment are not true."
They further clarified that claims in some reports that "Mujin was the owner of Hoseokchon" are also false, adding that Mujin has never held any stake in Hoseokchon.
However, they admitted, "Within this transaction structure, we acknowledge moral responsibility for not sufficiently checking the intermediary company’s performance." Regarding the claim that the supplier tried to reach them via social media, they added, "It is true that we did not check those messages in a timely manner, but we want to be clear that we did not intentionally evade or ignore them."
Meanwhile, earlier today, an entertainment outlet reported that a sundae gukbap (Korean blood sausage soup with rice) restaurant run by Lee Jang-woo had been late for eight months on about 40 million won (approx. $30,000) owed for pork offal. According to the report, Mr. A, who operates a livestock distribution company in Cheonan, supplied pork heads and intestines to the gukbap shop operated by Lee starting in November 2023, but the payments were not settled, with outstanding receivables allegedly reaching tens of millions of won.