Lee Sang-min is pushing back after former Roo'ra member Shin Jung-hwan’s comments sparked talk of unpaid earnings ― and Shin now says the controversy comes down to editing.
On Jan. 4, Lee took to social media to set the record straight: “I was an artist under the label too ― how would I be the one paying out payments? Every member was paid the same,” he wrote, adding, “I wasn’t Roo’ra’s CEO. I got the same payouts and worked twice as hard. I was a Roo’ra member full of passion.”
The clarification came after Shin appeared on the YouTube channel B-Class Studio, where he said that despite Roo’ra’s success, “we never really saw proper payments,” claiming he received 12 million won over five years. He also remarked that “back then, Lee Sang-min was the producer and the company was handed off to another label after the first album,” a comment that quickly fueled speculation online.
Following Lee’s public response, Shin posted his own update the same day, explaining that his remarks referred to company accounting issues ― not Lee personally withholding payments. “Because of the edit, it sounded like Sang-min didn’t pay us during the Roo’ra days,” he wrote. “I want to correct that.” He reiterated that the misunderstanding stemmed from how the segment was cut.
During the same appearance, Shin shared a throwback to how Country KkoKko came together. After finishing his military service and Roo’ra’s disbandment, he teamed up with Tak Jae-hoon, even passing along a portion of his signing bonus as the duo launched the project.
Shin has also been revisiting past controversies in recent content, including his 2010 gambling scandal in the Philippines and the false “dengue fever” explanation. Reflecting on that period, he said he would now admit fault immediately and regrets how he handled it at the time.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)