KeyEast Entertainment, actor Ji Soo's agency, is reportedly refusing to pay the fees it owes from Victory Contents, the production firm responsible for KBS 2TV's River Where the Moon Rises. The compensation was for the actor's unexpected exit from the drama. 

It can be recalled that Ji Soo left the drama when it was still in the middle of production. He was forced to do so after he was accused of serious bullying by his former schoolmates in middle and high school.  

It was reported that due to Ji Soo's sudden leave while the drama is ongoing and still filming the remaining episodes, the production team had to find a replacement quickly. The task was even more complicated because the 28-year-old actor was the male lead in River Where the Moon Rises. 

Moreover, filming schedules were delayed, and it was reported that a month's worth of filming was wasted since, with Ji Soo's withdrawal, those episodes could not be released anymore. This caused substantial financial and physical damage to drama and production. 

Victory Content requested for Keyeast to pay for the damages incurred after its artist stepped down from his role in the drama. The company also made plans to re-film all the previous episodes with Ji Soo so that the continuity of the series will not be ruined, and apparently, this will require additional funds; thus, it is asking KeyEast to pay up. 

In the end, Victory Content had to bring the case to court for the agency to settle the fees. Korea Joongang Daily reported that the production firm filed for ₩3 billion or around $2.6 million lawsuit in April. The amount was for the company to recover the costs it needlessly spent on extra filmings, delayed schedules, finding a replacement lead actor, and other damages. 

"The drama had been shot in advance, and so when the rumors against Jisoo were made, shooting was almost finished," said Victory Contents. "But when we had to replace the actor, we had no choice but to reshoot the scenes after he was replaced. We suffered from both direct damages such as labor costs, equipment and location costs, performance fees, and others."

Now, as per Star Today, KeyEast is refusing to pay the compensation fee, and it is not even actively participating in legal negotiations, so things can still be settled amicably. Victory Contents shared that on their scheduled meeting on May 20, no one from Ji Soo's agency's executives attended, and rather, they only sent a lawyer. 

On May 26, Victory Contents said that this behavior is very different from what the agency has been showing to the media. Allegedly, it publicly declared it would be paying, but its actions do not match with its words, so the company is now urging KeyEast to please settle the compensation fees. Meanwhile, Ji Soo is scheduled to enlist in the army in October. 

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