Aika Flores talks about the impact working with Hudson Williams has had on her career in @TheCut.
โBut the 34-year-oldโs biggest break of all, the moment that changed her life, came this past December when she agreed to work on a cover shoot for an actor from a little show called Heated Rivalry. That star was Hudson Williams โ elaborate K-beauty skin-care routine and all. Since then, Flores has been on the go nonstop. โIโve never traveled this much,โ she says. โIโve never gotten so many media requests. Iโm still getting used to people wanting to talk to me. Itโs really changed the trajectory of my career.โโ
๐ https://t.co/bX6RNQzcbb
ARTONE Company (CEO Kim Eunha), the producer of the show musical Dream High 2, which has been continuously surrounded by controversy, has once again been reported to the labor officeโthis time by its former employeesโfor failing to pay severance benefits.
According to Sports Kyunghyang, former employees of ARTONE Company recently filed a complaint with the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office against the company, citing reasons including unpaid wages and unpaid severance pay.
According to the report, former ARTONE Company employee A left the company in September of last year but has still not received approximately 6 million won in severance pay.
While working as an assistant choreography director, he also performed on stage as a cast member during overseas performances. However, CEO Kim Eunha did not settle those payments either, leaving about 4 million won in appearance fees still unpaid.
As a result, A recently filed a complaint with the Labor Office. A case officer has now been assigned, and he is expected to appear for questioning in the near future.
Another former employee, B, also separately reported the company to the Ministry of Employment and Labor after not receiving severance pay. Of the roughly 15 million won owed, 7 million won was recently paid, but no further payment of the remaining balance was made, leading B to decide to file a report. B also expressed frustration, saying that appearance fees for overseas performances had not been paid either.
The problem is that ARTONE Companyโs unpaid-payment issues are not something that started yesterday. Since last year, the company has repeatedly come under criticism over unpaid appearance fees for actors.
Most notably, Choi Youngjae, who starred in Dream High 2, recently publicly called out the company on social media over unpaid appearance fees, causing another blow to ARTONE Companyโs credibility.
Youngjae also began legal action against ARTONE Company in January. He claimed that although he performed in the production from April to July of last year, he did not receive his appearance fees after the performances ended.
With the issue of unpaid appearance fees still unresolved, news of a Season 3 production has also surfaced, leading some to raise suspicions that the company may be using new funds to cover previous payment obligations to actors. Furthermore, with the revelation that employeesโ severance pay has also gone unpaid, concerns about the production companyโs financial credibility are expected to intensify once again.
One employee commented, โEven when the unpaid appearance fee issue first arose, they said they would pay once they secured investment for Season 3. But after they received investment, they changed their story, saying they couldnโt use the investment money to pay appearance fees and that they could only pay after staging another production.โ
Thatโs not all. Former employees also voiced complaints about CEO Kim Eunhaโs verbal abuse and abuse of power.
They claim that while employed at the company, they were subjected to verbal abuse from Kim Eunha on numerous occasions, and that during performances they were also humiliated because Kim allegedly felt she was not being given proper VIP treatment and protocol.
Regarding these allegations, Sports Kyunghyang directly called CEO Kim Eunha, but she did not answer. She also has not responded to text messages requesting her position on the matter.
Despite these controversies, ARTONE announced the launch of Dream High Season 3, a production being developed in collaboration with the creative team of Universal Music Group.
during jangjunโs farewell broadcast on chinchin, he was asked to share a few words for daldi
๐ฅฌ through chinchin, which started as dream radio before being revamped into chinchin, i was with daldi hyung for a really long time. we worked together for over two years. honestly, it was really great back then too, and thanks to daldi, youngjae hyung, i learned a lot. he listened to a lot of my worries, and we also met often in private, so we still keep in touch from time to time. so, i just want to tell youngjae hyung how grateful i am, and i hope that once heโs finished his military service, weโll get to see each other again.
๐ค does โhopeโ have a double meaning there?
๐ฅฌ no, no. well, hope is good too. hope is good too. (he could also be talking about hof, which is a pub)
๐ค alright, sounds good. could you sing a line from errr day for us?