From 580,000 Won Over 5 Years to 5.2 Billion Won in 2 Years: K-pop Idols’ Salaries Vary Widely in Timing and Amount
Extreme differences in K-pop idols’ salaries have become a hot topic.
On May 2nd, during their guest appearance on Yoo Jae-suk’s talk show “Pinggyego”, IVE members talked about their salaries while discussing various topics with Yoo Jae-suk.
When asked about what they did after receiving settlements, IVE members said, “I can buy all the toast here.” “I recently bought items overseas. I bought pretty accessories, and they were quite expensive. I bought a lot of hairpins.”
Prior to IVE, NewJeans gained attention for how much they earn. According to the audit report of Auditors submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service’s Electronic Disclosure System, NewJeans’s sales last year were 110.3 billion won, more than five times higher than the sales of 19 billion won in the previous year, 2022.
Operating profit also increased significantly, recording 33.5 billion won, compared to a deficit of 4 billion won the previous year. It is estimated that a total of 26.1 billion won was settled for the members of NewJeans, and since there are five members, it is assumed that each member received more than 5 billion won in settlement. Earlier, NewJeans attracted attention for receiving their first settlement just two months after their debut.
Additionally, among 4th gen girl groups, StayC was reported to have received their second settlement of about 200 million won per member for their ‘Teddy Bear’ activities. The first settlement for their activities was reported to be 98.25 million won.
The timing of receiving salaries for idol activities varies greatly. While there are ‘special cases’ like NewJeans getting paid after just 2 months, there are also idols who take several years to get paid.
The reason for this variation in timing is due to initial investment costs, including training costs incurred during the trainee period. Only when all album investment funds and costs incurred during activities are paid off can salaries be received. Since not all debuts lead to success, both timing and profits can vary.
Cho Sung-ho, who was active in the group HALO, revealed that his first salary before enlisting in the military was only 580,000 won for 5 years of activity.
Singer Kang Hye-yeon revealed that her last salary received while active in groups BESTie and EXID exceeded 100 million won per member. MONSTA X, GFRIEND, AOA, and others also revealed that they got paid after 2 to 3 years.
Source: naver
