Korean TV Personality Lee Jang-woo Faces Allegations Over Unpaid Supplier Fees at His Restaurant

Korean TV personality Lee Jang-woo is facing allegations regarding unpaid supplier fees at a restaurant he operates.

On the 17th, a media outlet reported that Lee Jang-woo's restaurant has failed to pay over 40 million won (approximately $33,000) for pork offal supplies for about eight months.

Mr. A, who runs a meat distribution company in Cheonan, told Dispatch that he has been supplying to Lee Jang-woo's restaurant since January 2023 and continued until May 2025. He expressed, "I trusted him because he is a celebrity. However, the payment has been delayed for over a year."

Initially, the payments were made on time, but the intervals between payments gradually increased, and some months saw no payments at all. As of January 2025, the unpaid amount has accumulated to approximately 64 million won (around $53,000). Mr. A sent multiple reminder messages to the restaurant but received no response.

He then directly messaged Lee Jang-woo, and instead of a reply from Lee, he received a message through an acquaintance stating, "We will repay 2 million won (about $1,650) monthly," but this promise was not kept. The initial report also mentioned that the restaurant's corporate entity has changed. However, a representative of the new corporation clarified, "Lee Jang-woo is not a co-representative. He only participated briefly at the opening to help a friend and has not been involved in operations since."

Currently, neither Lee Jang-woo's side nor the new corporate entity of the restaurant has provided a clear solution to the unpaid fees issue. Mr. A stated, "I am not interested in the internal affairs of the restaurant. I just want the overdue payments to be settled quickly." In response, Lee Jang-woo's agency, Hunus Entertainment, released a brief statement on the 17th, saying, "We are verifying the facts."

Lee So-jung, TenAsia Reporter forusojung@tenasia.co.kr