Ethics committee, actors union threaten production company over late actor Kim Soo-mi's unpaid dues
Published: 13 Apr. 2026, 16:22
Updated: 13 Apr. 2026, 19:39
![Kim Soo-mi performs as Bong-ran in a scene of ″My Mother″ in Seodaemun District, central Seoul, on April 16, 2010. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/13/3f37df74-61f8-43fa-92bd-6f4092e4769d.jpg)
Kim Soo-mi performs as Bong-ran in a scene of ″My Mother″ in Seodaemun District, central Seoul, on April 16, 2010. [YONHAP]
The representatives of late actor Kim Soo-mi said on Monday that the production company of the musical “My Mother” has not paid the actor for two years.
“The production company of ‘My Mother’ has violated the principle of good faith in contracts by failing to pay the actor,” said the ethics committee of the Korea Entertainment Management Association and the Korea Broadcasting Actor's Union in a joint statement. “This is a serious illegal act, an unjustifiable disruption of order and an act of disrespect toward the deceased.”
Kim played the lead role of Bong-ran in “My Mother” until her death in 2024 and had been with the production since its premier in 2010. She once describing the show as “a work I will take to my grave.” Kim renewed her contract with the production company in April 2024, with her pay specified, but has yet to receive the payment, according to the organizations.
Before her death in October, Kim was reportedly preparing legal action over unpaid performance fees tied to the production. At the time, the production company was also embroiled in plagiarism allegations over claims that the musical had used parts of the 2007 original play “My Mother” without permission.
“At a time when not only the deceased but also the family members who suffered from this situation are experiencing secondary harm, we can no longer overlook this matter,” they said. “If the nonpayment continues, we will regard it as an illegal act, push for the company’s expulsion from the industry and impose sanctions on the production company and its producers.”
Born in 1949 and debuted in 1970, Kim spent 10 years in obscurity before her appearance in MBC’s “Country Diaries” (1980-2002), gaining her first real recognition for playing Il-yong’s mother, a character in her '70s, despite being only 31 at the time. Since then, the actor has continuously appeared on TV and in movies as well as the musical stage. She appeared in several Korean hit comedies, including film series “Marrying the Mafia” (2002-23), which released its latest installment last year, movie “Barefoot Gi Bong” (2006) and MBC's “Hello, Francesca” (2005-06). She died on Oct. 25, 2024, at the age of 75.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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