Yoon Nam-no's binge eating on 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' draws renewed attention amid JTBC's unpaid appearance fee controversy: 'Settled with that'

[Sportschosun, Reporter Kim So-hee] As the issue of unpaid appearance fees for JTBC's flagship variety show 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' has surfaced, jokes once exchanged on the program are drawing renewed attention.

A post titled "The reason Chef Yoon Nam-no ate so enthusiastically on 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator'" has recently spread across online communities and social media, becoming a hot topic. The post included a screenshot from an episode of 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' that aired in May.

In the episode, Chef Yoon Nam-no kept tasting the finished dishes and put on a full-blown binge-eating display. Watching him, Kim Poong laughed and said, "What on earth is Nam-no eating?" Guest Shin Ye-eun also marveled, saying, "So that's pasta you're eating."

Chef Choi Hyun-seok then joked, "That guy settles his appearance fee with that," while Chef Son Jong-won added, "Sometimes it's negative," keeping the mood light. MC Kim Sung-joo chimed in, saying, "Still, we're the ones taking the loss," and the studio erupted in laughter.

At the time, the exchange was taken as a typical variety-show joke built around Yoon Nam-no's hearty appetite. But now that the controversy over JTBC's unpaid appearance fees has come to light, the scene is being revisited with an unexpected new meaning.

Internet users have been sharing the clip, leaving comments such as "Isn't this black comedy?", "It's funny and sad now," "So it was true," "It's bitter that a joke seems to have become reality," and "I brushed it off before, but it looks different now."

Meanwhile, JTBC declared a default last month after failing to repay 20.6 billion won in asset-backed borrowing at maturity on the 12th. JoongAng Holdings, Jungang P&I, ContentreeJoongAng, and Megabox Joongang then filed for court receivership on the 14th, and JTBC also applied for rehabilitation proceedings the following day.

As a result, appearance fee payments for some of JTBC's major variety shows, including 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' and 'Knowing Bros,' are reportedly being delayed.