Youngjae’s Dream High 2 Appearance Fees Dispute Draws Producer Response and Agency Rebuttal

GOT7 member Youngjae’s unpaid appearance fees for the musical Dream High 2 have returned to public attention after he raised the issue through social media on June 9, 2026. The dispute now centers on whether the remaining Youngjae unpaid fees are being settled as claimed by the production side, or whether no firm agreement has been made, as his agency has stated.¹

The matter involves the musical Dream High 2, its production entities Art One House and Art One Company, and claims that appearance fees and related payments remain unresolved after the production’s 2025 run. Youngjae’s side has already taken legal steps, with Hankook Ilbo reporting that a complaint against Art One House was filed in January 2026.¹

Youngjae Reopens Dream High 2 Appearance Fee Dispute

Youngjae publicly revisited the issue on June 9, 2026, stating through social media that only part of the amount had been paid and suggesting that the situation could not reasonably be seen as proper settlement. In one short message cited in Korean reports, he wrote that “this kind of handling is really difficult,” a comment directed at the continued payment dispute.¹

Dispatch reported that Youngjae tagged the Dream High 2 production company Art One Company and CEO Kim Eun Ha’s account while calling attention to the unpaid appearance fees. The outlet also reported that the problem was not limited to Youngjae, saying payments to other actors had not been fully settled and that the overall unpaid amount was known to be in the hundreds of millions of won.²

Dream High 2 was performed at Woori Financial Art Hall in Seoul from April to June 2025, followed by an additional one-month extended run, according to Dispatch.² The payment dispute therefore concerns compensation tied to a production that had already completed its main run and extension well before the June 2026 public exchange.

The first broader report on the unpaid appearance fee issue came months earlier. Sports Kyunghyang reported on December 2, 2025 that many cast members had not received appearance fees even after the promised payment deadline had passed. That report said both leading and supporting actors, as well as ensemble actors, were among those affected, and described the unpaid amount as being in the range of hundreds of millions of won.³

At that time, the production side attributed the issue to increased costs and said it planned to begin resolving the matter within that week.³ The continuation of the dispute into June 2026 indicates that, based on the later reports, the payment matter had not been fully closed for Youngjae and at least some others connected to the musical.

Producer Says June Settlement Is Planned

Art One Company CEO Kim Eun Ha issued an official statement on June 10, 2026, apologizing for the delay in payment. Star News reported that Kim described unexpected financial operating difficulties during the production process and said the company had discussed completing procedures for the remaining unpaid amount within June.⁴

In the statement, Kim said the company would “definitely complete” settlement procedures for the remaining unpaid amount within June.⁴ The statement framed the issue as a delayed payment problem linked to production-side financial strain, while also presenting June 2026 as the intended period for resolving what remained unpaid.

However, that explanation was quickly challenged by Youngjae’s agency. AndBut Company rejected the production side’s claim that there had been an agreement to settle the balance by the end of June. Sports Today reported on June 10, 2026 that the agency said it had never discussed or confirmed the end of June as the repayment timing.⁵

The agency’s statement directly disputed the production side’s account, saying there was “no fact” of having discussed or confirmed such an arrangement.⁵ AndBut Company also stated that it was continuing the necessary legal procedures, keeping the matter in a formal dispute posture rather than treating the June timeline as an agreed settlement plan.⁵

Wider Legal Claims Around Dream High 2

The Youngjae dispute sits within a larger set of reported payment conflicts involving Dream High 2. Sports Kyunghyang reported on January 14, 2026 that some people connected to the musical had begun legal action over unpaid wages or compensation.⁶

That report said a person identified as B, who worked on OST and arrangement duties, filed a compensation claim against Art One House for 120 million won. It also reported that an actor identified as A filed for provisional attachment involving about 130 million won, while dancers and minor-role actors were preparing a joint response.⁶

These earlier reports establish that the dispute was not a single isolated complaint by one performer. Instead, multiple categories of participants were reported to have raised or prepared claims related to compensation from the Dream High 2 production.

As of June 11, 2026, the public record reflected three clear points: Youngjae had again raised the unpaid Dream High 2 appearance fee issue, the production side had said it intended to complete remaining settlement procedures within June, and Youngjae’s agency had denied that such a timing had been agreed or confirmed. The dispute remains unresolved in public reporting, with legal procedures continuing according to the agency’s statement.

작성자 소개

Cloi Lee

Author

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