Court seizes Chef Lee Young-sook's 'Culinary Class Wars' appearance fee due to debt controversy
Published: 07 Nov. 2024, 17:55
Updated: 07 Nov. 2024, 18:11
![Chef Lee Young-sook [NETFLIX]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/11/07/75f06644-0d52-4fa5-81d7-0b485106cd56.jpg)
Chef Lee Young-sook [NETFLIX]
Chef Lee Young-sook, a contestant on the Netflix cooking show "Culinary Class Wars," has had her appearance fee seized by a court due to an ongoing debt controversy.
The Daejeon District Court granted a request from the son of Lee's creditor to seize and collect earnings from her appearance on "Culinary Class Wars" on Nov. 1.
The controversy arose when the creditor's son released an IOU revealing a 100 million won ($72,000) debt owed to his late father. The son claims that Lee borrowed the money in April 2010 and has yet to repay it.
In 2011, the court ordered Lee to repay the 100 million won. However, she failed to do so, citing financial difficulties. In 2012, the court seized and auctioned land owned by Lee, yielding 19 million won for the creditor's family.
Despite winning 100 million won in prize money from the 2014 "Korean Food Battle 2" competition, Lee still did not repay the remaining debt. In 2018, the creditor's family filed another lawsuit, seeking a bond seizure and collection order, which was granted by the court. Lee ignored the order.
According to local media, the total amount owed by Lee, including interest, now exceeds 300 million won.
Chef Lee, a renowned Korean cuisine expert, appeared on "Culinary Class Wars" as a "white chef." She is also the CEO of a mushroom business and the winner of the "Korean Food Battle 2" competition.
BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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