Song Hye Kyo and Hyun Bin No Longer Expect To Get Paid

It has been six years Song Hye Kyo and Hyun Bin appeared together in "World Within," a drama about a couple who work in a broadcasting company. As of last week the actors had not yet been paid. This week they made it known that they no longer expected to be paid for their roles in that drama.

After the drama ended, the production company, YEG, owed pay cast and crewmembers overdue wages of $639,000.

According to the production company, the drama took a hit in advertising revenue due to a slump in ratings. YEG could not pay outstanding debts.

Cast and crewmembers not getting paid is a rare but unfortunately not an isolated incident in k-drama production. Independent production companies may begin filming a drama in the hope that successful viewer ratings will generate ad revenue. If the drama ratings slump for any reason, the production companies may not have enough cash to meet all of their expenses.

It happened last year with the independently produced drama "Faith: The Great Doctor." Despite the star billing of Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun, the ratings were disappointing and so was the advertising revenue. There was not enough money left at the end of the drama to pay the show's stars or crew. After the cast and crew took legal action asking to be paid, producer Kim Jong Hak committed suicide. His death shocked the entertainment world and saddened those who worked with him. The cast and crew's claim for wages was a legitimate one but a desperate Kim Jong Hak saw no way to pay them.

Now that the claim for wages for "Worlds Within" has been resolved, YEG can restructure financially. But it took the cooperation of the drama's stars to get to this point.  Song Hye Kyo, Hyun Bin Yoon Yeo Jung, Bae Jong Ok and Um Ki Joon agreed to give up any claim to their outstanding pay to help the company recover.

There's no way to know whether the actors were affected by the sad loss of "Faith" director Kim Jong Hak, but one motivation for the resolution may be the friendship between Song Hye Kyo and YEG president Ahn Jae Hyung. She knew Ahn Jae Hyung from her former agency Yeonyoung Entertainment.

According to a YEG representative, "That Song Hye Kyo and Hyun Bin really helped with the recovery was due in part to her gratitude for and trust in president Ahn Jae Hyun."

The actress hopes that the company will resolve its financial problems soon and start making dramas again.