A2O LITE Member Aijing Entangled in Parents' Wage Delinquency Controversy; Chinese Media Report 700 Million Won Enforcement

Aijing (13), a Chinese member of the rookie girl group A2O LITE produced by producer Lee Soo-man, has become embroiled in a controversy regarding her parents' unpaid wages. Aijing has been drawing attention—dubbed the "second BoA"—largely due to her debut track "NEON" topping Melon's TOP100 chart and her striking opening dance performance.

Local Chinese media outlets reported that unpaid wages occurred at an educational company based in Beijing operated by Aijing's parents. The court enforcement amount confirmed under the names of the company and her parents reportedly reaches approximately 3.45 million yuan (approx. 690 million won).

As the controversy grew, an individual identifying as Aijing's mother posted an apology on social media on October 14. Acknowledging that debt disputes arose due to deteriorating business conditions, she stated, "Regardless of any objective reasons, failing to pay dues on time is a fault that must be squarely faced and taken responsibility for."

She continued, "I will not evade responsibility and will take charge until all issues are resolved." Regarding her daughter, she appealed, "The child has nothing to do with the business I previously ran and its related disputes."

However, criticism within China persisted. On October 17, a hashtag implying that the family supported their daughter's debut while withholding employees' wages rose to the number one spot on Weibo's real-time trending search list. Chinese media pointed out that they should go beyond issuing an apology and pay back the overdue wages first.

On October 18, a post by a netizen claiming to have worked at the company spread across Chinese social media. The netizen claimed that they requested delayed wages to hold a funeral for their father, but only received 1,000 yuan (approx. 200,000 won).

Born in 2013, Aijing won the youth division at the 2024 World of Dance (WOD) China regionals and has drawn attention for her dance skills since her debut.

A2O Entertainment, her agency, has not released an official stance regarding this controversy.

(SBS Entertainment News, Reporter Kang Kyung-yoon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.