JTBC's 'Knowing Bros,' 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' cast unpaid as actors union demands action

Appearance fees for some of JTBC's flagship programs, including "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" and "Knowing Bros," have gone unpaid in the wake of the network's default and court receivership filing, the Korean Broadcasting Performers' Labor Union said Tuesday, urging JTBC to take responsibility.

The union, known by its Korean acronym Hanyeonno, said in a statement Tuesday that "damage to broadcast performers has reached a serious level" since JTBC initiated its corporate rehabilitation proceedings, adding that production on numerous programs had been halted and appearance fee payments had been delayed for an extended period.

"Despite this, JTBC has made no effort to present concrete solutions or communicate sincerely with the performers and the union — the very parties harmed," the union said.

The payment delays have also disrupted rerun royalties owed to performers under neighboring rights. With those royalties frozen under the rehabilitation process, the union said total losses have reached tens of billions of won.

The union criticized JTBC for failing to address the disruption caused by production shutdowns, saying the broadcaster "has consistently taken a passive stance" in disclosing the scale of unpaid fees, repayment plans and future payment schedules. "This unilateral silence is a clear evasion of responsibility toward performers who have long created content together," it said.

The union urged JTBC to sincerely explain the situation to performers who lost work due to the production halt and draw up remedial measures. It also called on the broadcaster to transparently disclose the status of unpaid appearance fees and rerun royalties along with payment timelines, and to establish an official channel for dialogue with performers and the union.

"Every time a broadcaster or production company has faced financial difficulties, performers' rights have always been pushed to the back of the line," the union said. It called on JTBC to treat appearance fees on par with wages and seek a way to prioritize their repayment, while presenting "a persuasive alternative" to performers and the union.

JTBC declared a default on June 12 after failing to repay 20.6 billion won ($13.4 million) in securitized borrowings at maturity. Joongang Holdings, Joongang P&I, ContentreeJoongAng and Megabox Joongang filed for court receivership on June 14, and JTBC followed with its own filing the next day.

The Seoul Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday approved the start of rehabilitation proceedings for four Joongang Group affiliates — Joongang Holdings and three others — but excluded JTBC. For JTBC, the court accepted an application for the Autonomous Restructuring Support program, which facilitates voluntary restructuring between a company and its creditors, and deferred a decision on whether to open formal rehabilitation proceedings by one month.