[Sportschosun Kim Jun-seok] Lee Sang-min surprised the cast by revealing that his income last year reached 1.5 billion won. The disclosure drew even more attention because it was his first reported income after fully clearing his 6.9 billion won debt.
In the Wavve variety show "Bloody Game X," released on the 4th, the cast members shared their previous year's earnings ahead of choosing team funds.
That day, Lee Sang-min of Team P1 suggested to his teammates, "Let's reveal our income from last year."
In response, Lee Tae-gyun said he earned 50 million won, Park Ji-min reported 80 million won, and Jung Geun-woo said his income was 200 million won.
Finally, when asked about his own income from the previous year, Lee Sang-min stunned everyone by replying, "I made 1.5 billion won."
As the cast struggled to hide their surprise, Team P1 chose their team funds. Lee Sang-min explained, "There was no need to gamble. I had the biggest amount, so I said we should choose ours."
Park Ji-min also marveled, saying, "I don't think anyone wrote down more than 1.5 billion won."
The income reveal has drawn even more attention because it comes amid Lee Sang-min's long process of paying off his debt.
Lee Sang-min took on about 6.9 billion won in debt after a business failure in 2005 and has spent roughly 17 years repaying it while continuing his broadcasting career.
In 2020, he said he had repaid about 90% of his total debt, but later admitted that the remaining balance had grown to around 1.6 billion won.
After years of repayment, he announced in 2024 that he had cleared all of his debt, drawing widespread congratulations.
However, the process also sparked suspicions that his debt was fake or that he had been using a poverty concept. Lee Sang-min responded directly on television by showing a safe containing documents related to his debt.
The first reported income after paying off all 6.9 billion won in debt was 1.5 billion won. As Lee Sang-min's real earnings after years of trying to make a comeback were revealed, the story once again became a hot topic.
narusi@sportschosun.com
