A controversy has erupted over unpaid ingredient bills tied to a sundaeguk restaurant publicly known to be connected to actor Lee Jang-woo.
On the 17th, Dispatch reported that a sundaeguk spot linked to Lee failed to pay a livestock supplier for an extended period, causing damages to the vendor. According to the report, from November 2023 to May 2025, payments for pork heads, tripe, and other offal were not made properly. The outstanding balance reportedly grew from about 50 million won to as much as 64 million won over roughly a year and a half of transactions.
A, who runs a meat distribution company in Cheonan, said, “I trusted them because he’s a celebrity, but payments were delayed for over a year. We ship products every week, and the unpaid amount kept growing―it's been really hard.” A also claimed that a promise to “repay a set amount every month” was not kept.
In response, the company operating the restaurant reportedly stated that it was run by B, a friend of Lee’s for 20 years, and that the unpaid ingredient issue is B’s responsibility. They added that Lee was only involved during the initial opening stage. However, since Lee personally promoted the sundaeguk restaurant on TV and YouTube, debate continues over where the responsibility lies for the unpaid balance.
Back in December 2024, Lee appeared on the YouTube channel ‘geean84’ and said, “We’re in the red, but I want to keep a place where you can eat sundaeguk even at dawn. I don’t want to make big money off this―I want to make people happy.”
Lee Jang-woo’s agency is preparing an official statement regarding the report.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)
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