More allegations of unpaid wages have surfaced against the parents of Aijing, a member of A20 LITE, the rookie group produced by Lee Sooman.
On October 19, an industry insider reported that a former employee of an education company run by Aijing's parents shared a post on Chinese social media.
The former employee, referred to as A, detailed how the company handled unpaid wages:
"My father was critically ill and eventually passed away. Since my older sister quit her job to care for him, I became the only source of income for my family. I asked the company for money because I needed to pay for my father's funeral, but they told me they didn't have a single penny."
She explained that after asking the company to pay her overdue wages, they eventually sent her money, but the amount was only her 1.000 CNY (around 200,000 KRW or 150 USD). Expressing her heartbreak, she continued:
"I worked hard for years and even worked overtime, but when I was going through something as devastating as my father's death, they gave me barely that much. I'll never forget it for the rest of my life."
This follows a report by Chinese media outlet Dahebao on October 13, which alleged Aijing's parents of withholding employees' wages while running an education company in Beijing.
Public data from a Chinese corporate information platform also shows that a court enforcement case involving a total of 3.45 million CNY (around 692.31 million KRW or 515.600 USD) was filed against Aijing's parents back on August 31.
As the backlash grew, a person identifying herself as Aijing's mother posted an apology on October 14. She acknowledged the dispute and explained that it arose after business conditions of her former education company detoriated rapidly.
In her statement, she promised to resolve the issue and take full responsibility, stressing:
"This is an issue for us parents to take responsibility for and resolve appropriately. My child has absolutely nothing to do with the business I operated in the past or related disputes."
Meanwhile, Aijing's agency, A2O Entertainment, has not released any official statement regarding the controversy.
