Lee Jang Woo’s restaurant brand, Hoseokchon, is caught in a major controversy over unpaid ingredient bills.
Dispatch reported on March 17th that Lee Jang Woo’s side owes a livestock distribution company over 40 million won ($27,000). The company supplied ingredients like pork offal, but hasn’t been paid for months.
The company’s owner said that before the restaurant opened in 2023, Lee Jang Woo visited to check the meat quality. They trusted him as he’a a famous celebrity. Initially, payments were made on time, but they slowly became irregular, and now it’s been 8 months without any payment.
The company’s owner shared messages showing that the restaurant continued to place orders despite repeated requests for payment. The messenger content released by the owner’s side shows Lee’s restaurant’s side asking, “Are 3 pig heads available?”
The controversy centers around Lee Jang Woo’s responsibility. He had repeatedly stated in interviews and on YouTube that the restaurant was his, even saying he personally cooked the broth and boiled 100 pig heads. But when the unpaid bills came to light, his F&B company claimed that the debt was the fault of the friend who actually ran the restaurant. They said Lee Jang Woo was only involved at the beginning and had no role in the management.
The supplier was outraged by this. “He promoted the restaurant as his own, but now he’s denying it?” He said. “We supplied goods under his name, so instead of making excuses, he needs to pay up immediately.”
Meanwhile, the rights to the restaurant were recently transferred from Mujin to Horangi, where Lee Jang Woo is a director. Despite knowing about the unpaid bills, Horangi insists Lee Jang Woo was unaware of the situation, which is drawing more criticism.
According to Dispatch, the unpaid amount at the restaurant from November 2023 to May of the previous year totals 50 million won ($34,000). After some payments were made, additional unpaid debts accumulated, bringing the total to 64 million won ($43,000) by January this year.
However, a representative from the F&B company currently registered as the corporation for the restaurant clarified to Ilgan Sports, “The contract with the livestock company was made by another company, and we paid them for the goods, but they failed to pay the livestock company.” Lee Jang Woo is listed as a director at the F&B company.
Lee Jang Woo’s side claims that while they paid the other company, it is the company’s responsibility to pay the livestock company according to the contract. However, it’s difficult for him to avoid moral responsibility for the unpaid debts since the restaurant has been widely promoted as Lee Jang Woo’s on various TV programs.
In response, Lee Jang Woo’s side stated, “We are considering paying the debts ourselves to resolve the issue, although we did not fail to make the payments.”
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