‘Song Ji Hyo & Ji Suk Jin’s agency’ Uzurocks delays employee salary and celebrity appearance fee payments
Uzurocks Entertainment, which is the home to Song Ji Hyo, Ji Suk Jin, etc., is reportedly facing financial difficulties.
It has been confirmed that Uzurocks Entertainment, the management agency of actress Song Ji Hyo, broadcaster Ji Suk Jin, and actor-singer Lee Hyun Woo, has delayed the salary payments of its employees for several months due to financial difficulties. As a result, the agency has recommended that about 10 employees resign. Seeing this situation, other employees have voluntarily submitted their resignation letters because “the future of the company is uncertain”.
An employee, who is currently working at Uzurocks, sighed and said to Sports Seoul, “I have not received my salary for the past two months. In the case of some other employees, their four major insurance payments have not been paid. Also, we have not received the year-end settlement refund that should have been paid with our salaries either”, adding, “Celebrities’ appearance fees and advertising fees are not being properly settled either.”
According to reports, some celebrity managers have not received reimbursements for expenses, such as vehicle fuel costs and on-site meals, for three months. An official stated, “In the case of Uzurocks managers, they are working on a structure where they pay the monthly expenses first then receive reimbursements later. However, some managers have not received reimbursements for the expenses paid with their own money for three months straight.”
As a result, several teams, such as those managing celebrities’ YouTube channels, have been disbanded. A former Uzurocks employee said, “The Youtube team of one celebrity was said told to resign because the channel was not profitable. However, the channel managers are not responsible for the sales and revenue issues. Knowing the circumstances of their employees, that celebrity was also frustrated and they said they would pay the employees with their own money”, adding, “Despite this, the company told us not to worry because YouTube channels could be entrusted to outsourced agencies.”
What angers the employees the most is the company’s attitude towards unpaid salaries. The employee continued, “I understand that a start-up company like this may experience temporary financial difficulties. However, it is so absurd that the company treats unpaid salaries as something obvious. Shouldn’t they ask for employees’ understanding and cooperation through a prior notice?”
Nevertheless, employees are worried that the image of their celebrities might be affected by such problems. The employee stated, “In this situation, we can’t even speak up because we’re worried about the negative impact on the celebrities if we speak out rashly to the public. However, employees are also living people, we also have to pay our daily expenses, such as loans, monthly rent, and credit card bills. Therefore, we plan to collect reports and send them to the labor office if our salaries are not settled by the 10th of this month.”
Sports Seoul tried to contact Uzurocks’s CEO Park Joo Nam, who is currently staying in the U.S., several times to ask for the company’s position but did not receive any response.
In the meantime, after Sports Seoul brought up the case, an employee at Uzurocks revealed, “My February salary has been deposited on April 5th”.
Later, CEO Park explained via text message, “The payday is the 10th of the following month, and the February salary and four major insurances have already been settled. The settlement of celebrities’ appearance fees is scheduled to be paid quarterly on April 10th”, adding “For unprofitable teams, we have made adjustments through discussions.”
Uzurocks is a new media solution company and comprehensive entertainment group that currently manages various celebrities, including Lee Hyun Woo, Ji Suk Jin, Song Ji Hyo, Oh Man Seok, Koyote Bbaek Ga, Son Mi Na, Lee Joo Eun, Jung Ha Na, Zelo, 2Z, Jung Seung Won, Lee Yul, Kim Dong Yi, Han Seung Min, etc.
Source: Nate
