C-JeS Studio Faces Financial Crisis, Fails to Pay Actors and Staff
C-JeS Studio, once home to top stars like JYJ (Kim Jae Joong, Park Yoochun, Kim Junsu), Sul Kyung Gu, and Ryu Jun Yeol, is now facing financial collapse. After announcing the shutdown of its actor management division in April, the company is reportedly undergoing corporate rehabilitation, with mounting allegations of unpaid wages and appearance fees.
Many actors have not received their appearance fees, with unpaid amounts ranging from hundreds of millions to several billion won, according to industry sources. Employee salaries have also gone unpaid for more than three months, wage delays that began even before the company formally ended its actor business. Some employees followed the actors to new companies, while others have remained.
One actor, referred to as A, reportedly hasn’t received any payment for a drama, despite the production company having paid C-JeS around 2 billion won ($1.5 million). CEO Baek Chang Joo allegedly told the actor, “There’s nothing I can give you right now.” Actor B is owed several hundred million won, and Actor C signed an exclusive contract with the promise of a 200 million won ($145,000) signing bonus, which was never paid. With the actor division now defunct, C’s contract was quietly terminated after a year without compensation.
“It’s not just a few people—almost all the actors, except those without recent projects, are still waiting on payments,” said one insider. “CEO Baek’s assets have been seized, and he’s been going around trying to borrow money.” Another added, “He focused too heavily on production, signing exclusive deals with writers and directors. Actor fees were likely redirected into those productions.”
Many in the industry say the downfall was inevitable. C-JeS shot to fame in 2009 after signing JYJ, and continued to grow rapidly by securing big-name actors like Choi Min Sik, Sul Kyung Gu and Lee Jung Jae without formal exclusive contracts. The company also offered unusually favorable revenue splits, such as 9:1 or 8:2 in favor of actors. It also covered all operational costs, which made the model unsustainable in the long run. After Park Yoo Chun’s scandals, the departures of Kim Junsu in 2021 and Kim Jaejoong in 2023 accelerated the company’s decline.
In 2023, the company rebranded as C-JeS Studio, expanding into production and idol management. It launched the boy group WHIB and co-produced projects such as Disney Plus’s Casino, films The Night Owl and Citizen of a Kind. These efforts were seen as an attempt to stabilize after repeated failures to go public. However, the departure of major stars like Lee Jae Wook and Hyeri dealt a heavy blow.
One insider noted, “Many chose to leave when the company asked actors to slightly adjust their revenue splits due to financial issues.” Even paying staff salaries became difficult after Lee Jae Wook and Hyeri’s exits.
Netflix Caps Actor Fees Amid Industry Crisis
The collapse of the domestic drama and film market has had a ripple effect across the entertainment industry, affecting agencies, production houses and broadcasters alike. Earlier this year, YG Entertainment also shut down its actor division. Stars like Cha Seung Won and Kim Hee Ae reportedly moved to KeyEast Entertainment with large signing bonuses ahead of the agency’s planned sale.
Go Hyun Jung’s agency, NSE&M (formerly IOK), had acquired 100% of YNK Entertainment in 2021, bringing in actors like Shin Hye Sun and Kim Hyun Joo. But after four years, they all left together with former YNK CEO Kim Min Soo.
Across the board, actor management agencies are struggling. Even those with top-tier talent are finding it difficult to stay afloat due to costly settlements and low profits.
Amid these challenges, Netflix has begun capping actor fees to cut production costs. In some cases, even previously agreed-upon payments are being renegotiated downward. A growing number of actors are signing contracts for less than originally planned, with sources saying that lead and supporting actors are now capped at roughly 400 million won ($290,000) per episode. This applies not only to Netflix Originals but also to co-broadcast content with local TV stations. As Netflix sets fee caps, broadcasters are reportedly adjusting their casting choices accordingly. Many believe this trend will help cool down the previously overheated production cost market.
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