A popular idol addressed the controversy over his past remark, “Don’t you earn ₩10.0 million KRW (about $6,690 USD) a month?” which sparked debate about the “value of money.”
On the 27th, Lee Joon from MBLAQ appeared on the tvN variety show You Quiz on the Block. During the broadcast, Lee Joon addressed the previously controversial “value of money” remark.
In the past, Lee Joon appeared on the YouTube content Workman, filming at a low-cost coffee franchise shop. When the branch manager said, “I wish I earned more money,” Lee Joon responded, “Don’t you make ₩10.0 million KRW (about $6,690 USD) a month?”
Then, DinDin, who appeared with him, said, “Celebrities have no concept of money,” which sparked the debate over “value of money.”
On the show, Lee Joon explained, “It was early in web variety shows. As a solo MC for the first time, I felt I had to say something.”
He continued, “My intention was to raise the value of labor by saying, ‘You work so hard, so you should be earning ₩10.0 million KRW (about $6,690 USD).’” However, DinDin’s comment, “Celebrities have no concept of money,” led the topic to take a different direction than intended.
When Yoo Jae Suk laughed and said, “Unintentionally, DinDin ended up looking sensible, and Joon looked clueless,” Lee Joon replied, “I totally became a complete fool,” causing laughter.
Lee Joon also revealed why he couldn’t strongly defend himself despite feeling wronged. The production team advised after filming that day, “Let’s cut that part; it’s risky.” However, Lee Joon said, “Put it out,” confidently, recounting the situation.
He added, “It was an interesting situation. I thought if I attracted attention and the show did well, I could endure this much.”
But after the broadcast aired and negative reactions followed, Lee Joon said he was flustered. To the worried DinDin, he replied nonchalantly, “It’s just a broadcast, I don’t care about that,” but behind the scenes, he couldn’t sleep. He even joked, “I didn’t sleep for a year.”
He said, “The topic of the value of money comes up whenever it starts to be forgotten,” and when his recent cheerleading video went viral, people said, “Look, he’s finally working hard.” He protested, “I’ve never not worked hard.”
Yoo Jae Suk responded cheerfully, “If you say things like this right away, the message doesn’t get across. That’s why we couldn’t invite him back then.” He added warmly, “You realize how cautious you have to be with every word you say.”
That day, Lee Joon also expressed gratitude toward DinDin, saying, “DinDin contacted me three times a day to check on me.“