Ministry of Tourism And Sports Clarifies Criticism For Late Payment To BTS For Their Performance At The UN
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports were previously under fire with regards to the appearance fees for BTS. BTS had been promoting as the President’s Special Envoy. Not only did they make various appearances to promote, they had also performed. However, a controversy arose when it was found out that the Ministry had not yet paid the boys.
On October 14, 2021, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports clarified that they had signed a service contract with BTS before their United Nations performance. The performance aired on September 20, 2021 and their service was considered to be completed then and the terms for payment had been decided already. However, at the moment, they are planning on completing the deposit as soon as possible after administrative matters are complete.
The controversy arose when a member of the parliament, Kim Seung Soo, had been asked during an event if the fees that totalled ₩700 million KRW (about $590,000 USD) had been paid to BTS already. At that, a Korean culture director, Park Jung Ryeol, replied that it had not been paid. However, at a previous broadcast dated October 1, 2021, a member of the Blue House, Tak Hyun Min, had stated that it had been paid. This sparked a debate as to which party was lying.
Thankfully, it seems that all matters will be solved soon and BTS will soon receive their due salary.