The debut of the winners for Philippine-Korean survival show Be The Next: 9 Dreamers has been cancelled over financial issues plaguing the production company.
According to two exclusive reports shared by YTN, the debut for the winning nine members of Be The Next: 9 Dreamers (Arthur, Yohan Mesa, Ivan, Tehll Mallari, Zor de Zilva, Smileone, Francis Adaya, Gelo Mendoza, and Dylan Burton) has been cancelled. Nearly five months following the conclusion of the show and the announcement of the winning members, there have been zero preparations made for the group’s debut. This includes The Kingdom members Arthur and Ivan, who have even returned back to Korea to begin promotions with The Kingdom again, rather than prepare for their re-debut with the project group.
A member of the production company behind Be The Next: 9 Dreamers, Artsro, told YTN that it would be difficult for the group to debut and expressed their regret at the situation at hand.
YTN further clarified that the financial issues also affected the celebrity cast members of the show, who have not been paid their appearance fees. Some of the celebrity mentors included Sandara Park, EXO‘s Chen, Bang Yedam, MOMOLAND‘s Hyebin, and AB6IX‘s Park Woojin. While YTN stated that some people did get paid, they stated that the majority received no pay or only a portion of what they were guaranteed. While the exact amount was not stated, the total amount of missing payments adds up to hundreds of millions of won.
Due to this, Sandara Park’s agency, ABYSS Company, has begun legal action by filing for a seizure of Artsro’s property to recover the missing payments. While the production of the show was jointly held by MLD Entertainment and Artsro, Artsro was in charge of paying out the appearance fees. They have told YTN that they are in the process of paying out the cast members little by little.
