The Truth Behind Lee Jang-woo's Restaurant Payment Scandal: What You Need to Know

[Sports Today reporter Song Oh-jung] Actor Lee Jang-woo is facing allegations that unpaid supplier invoices connected to his restaurant caused financial harm to livestock producers, and his agency issued an immediate statement in response.

According to Dispatch on March 17, a distributor identified as Mr. A, who operates a livestock-product distribution company, said he supplied ingredients to Hoseokchon, the sundae soup restaurant associated with Lee Jang-woo, but was not paid for over a year. Mr. A said he first met Lee in November 2023 and continued the business relationship through May 2025—about 18 months—but by January 2025 his outstanding receivables had grown to 64 million KRW (about $42,880).

Mr. A described the arrangement as irregular: the supplier would receive 2 million KRW (about $1,340) in partial payments but then take new orders worth 5 million KRW (about $3,350). He said he kept delivering goods because he hoped the restaurant would recover and allow him to recoup the unpaid balance, even as the debt mounted.

Lee's camp, however, says he is not directly involved. They contend the dispute stems from payment omissions by Mujin Co., the intermediary distributor that had a contractual relationship with B, an acquaintance of Lee who operated Hoseokchon.

Lee's agency, Hoonus Entertainment, said Hoseokchon paid the full delivery amount to its contracted supplier, Mujin Co., and the problem arose when Mujin failed to forward payment to Company A.

The agency stressed there was no direct contractual relationship between Company A and Hoseokchon (or Lee). They added that Mujin never held equity in Hoseokchon and that Lee has no connection to Mujin.

Addressing the supplier's attempts to contact the actor, the agency said they receive dozens of messages daily and that messages from accounts they do not follow are routed to a separate \"Message Requests\" folder, which can delay immediate review. They emphasized this was not intentional avoidance of contact.

Still, the agency acknowledged a moral responsibility for not adequately monitoring whether the intermediary fulfilled its obligations and said it will cooperate fully to help resolve the matter.

[Sports Today reporter Song Oh-jung ent@stoo.com]
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