Former member JeA and Taeheon "Experiencing manual labor despite the hardships of life... earning 640,000 won a week"

Taeheon, a member of the group Empire's idol group, gave an update on his current situation.

On the 15th, a video was uploaded on the YouTube channel 'Recent Olympics' titled 'The Shocking Current Status of ZE:A Members Who Are Working Hard.'

In the released video, Taeheon said, "I work at the Coupang Logistics Center. I go to work at 1:30 am and finish at 9 am."

"I saw a post on a community site saying, 'Tae-hun works part-time at a distribution center. Isn't he crazy?' I was afraid because I thought, ‘Isn’t it okay to do this?’” and “They say, ‘Why are you ruining the children of the empire?

He said, "Two years ago, I worked part-time at a construction site. The boiler was cut off, I developed skin diseases, and I was unable to pay electricity bills. The only money I had was about 1,200 won in cash. I bought it, cut it in half, and ate it for a day.”

He also said, “(While working as idols in the empire), there was something that came out financially, but it wasn’t big. As each member worked individually, the gap was huge.” “We were not a team, but individual settlement. It was, 'Let's each earn what we each worked for without envying each other'."

"Thankfully, it was my birthday in June, and Kwanghee hyung called me. 'Isn't it difficult these days? Siwan, I, and the members are always thinking of you. But you don't have any worries. You're a friend who works hard. I'm not worried because I can do well. Instead, I hope you don't get tired and work harder,' he sent me money."

Taeheon said, “I am so thankful that the members are always humble and always reach out to me first, even though they have reached that position.” I am so very sorry."

He also said, "I met Siwan-hyung at a fan meeting not too long ago and talked about it. I'm envious of how well he did, but Siwan-hyung is a hyung who puts in a lot of effort. When he receives a script, he writes question marks to the extent that it fills up the script and studies it all. That's why. I don't think it could have been that much," he said.

Finally, he revealed his plans for the future, saying, "I'm thinking of going to the competition." He also predicted a return to the entertainment industry. He, who is currently in the troupe, said, “Sometimes I receive DMs from fans saying, ‘Thanks to the children of the empire, teenagers and 20s were happy.’ So I can’t put it down easily. I miss it so much. I will run," he said.

Reporter Yoon Jun-ho, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr