[Dispatch=Reporter Park Hye-jin] Kim Eun-ha, CEO of Artwon Company, which produced the musical 'Dream High' Season 2 (hereinafter 'Dream High 2'), apologized over the issue of unpaid appearance fees.

On the 10th, CEO Kim Eun-ha told Dispatch, "I sincerely apologize for causing concern to many people due to the issue of unpaid appearance fees," and added, "In particular, I have greatly disappointed the actors and related parties who helped create the stage together."

GOT7's Young Jae publicly criticized on the 9th through his SNS the fact that appearance fee settlement had not been completed for nearly a year. His agency stated, "More than half of the settlement payment was not received," and announced the proceeding of a claim lawsuit.

According to Dispatch's confirmation, not only Young Jae but other actors' appearance fees have also not been settled. The outstanding appearance fees amount to hundreds of millions of won.

The production company said, "Unforeseen difficulties in fund management occurred during the production process of 'Dream High 2,'" and emphasized, "As a responsible production company, we have made various efforts to resolve the unpaid appearance fees."

The company added, "We have agreed to complete Young Jae's unsettled portion by this month and resolved the matter amicably." However, Young Jae's agency, And But Company, countered, "There is no fact that the repayment timing of unpaid appearance fees was discussed or confirmed as the end of June."

Young Jae's side stated, "The other party verbally mentioned that they would prepare and deliver a repayment plan, but a repayment plan was already submitted at the end of last year and the schedule was not kept. It is difficult to confirm the other party's actual intention to repay or the possibility of fulfillment."

The position is to continue with the claim lawsuit regarding unsettled appearance fees. "We are carefully reviewing the progress to date and whether actual fulfillment has taken place. We are continuing necessary legal procedures," they said.

Artwon Company is preparing 'Dream High Season 3: Reboot' without completing the payment. CEO Kim stated, "Taking this incident as a painful lesson, we will do our utmost to prevent recurrence to ensure such problems do not happen again in future production processes."

<Photo source=Artwon Company>