Korean Food Master Gets Her “Culinary Class War” Appearance Fee Seized By Court
Chef Lee Young Sook from Netflix’s popular Korean cooking show Culinary Class Wars has had her earnings from the show seized by court order amid a debt controversy.
According to a report by YTN on November 6, the Daejeon District Court approved an application by Lee’s creditor to seize and collect the appearance fee received by the production company of Culinary Class Wars. Lee had allegedly borrowed ₩100 million KRW (about $72,500 USD) and failed to repay it for 14 years. This news first came to the surface on October 29, landing the chef in a major controversy.
Lee’s creditor, “A,” talked to YTN and claimed that she had borrowed the money from their father, Mr. Cho, in April 2010. At that time, Chef Lee was getting locally popular for her shiitake mushroom dishes and had plans to open a restaurant. Mr. Cho, the head of a shiitake mushroom association, lent her the money to support her venture.
In 2011, Lee signed a loan agreement with Mr. Cho, with a repayment date set for that very month. However, she failed to repay the money by that date. Mr. Cho passed away three months later, in July 2011. After his death, his family discovered the agreement and filed a civil lawsuit against Lee. They won the claim in 2012, but Lee claimed that she didn’t have the money to repay Mr. Cho’s family.
The family then placed a provisional seizure on Lee’s land and recovered around ₩19.0 million KRW (about $13,800 USD). In 2014, Chef Lee won the competition show Korean Food War 2, winning a prize of ₩100 million KRW (about $72,500 USD). Mr. Cho’s family filed for a seizure and collection order again in 2018 but failed to recover the remaining funds from her.
“A” also explained that Lee Young Sook defaulted on another debt obligation where Mr. Cho’s father was a joint guarantor. As a result, they had to pay ₩48.0 million KRW (about $34,800 USD) out of their pocket to repay Lee’s debt.
Mr. Cho’s family expressed their frustration with the situation, stating that the amount Chef Lee owes them has exceeded ₩300 million KRW (about $217,000 USD), including interests.
According to reports, Lee Young Sook’s representatives have refuted these allegations and claimed that all her debt to Mr. Cho has been repaid. They also called the accusations malicious and defamatory.
Meanwhile, another Culinary Class Wars star, Triple Star, was also found at the center of another damning controversy. Read more about it here.
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