Ma Dong Seok and Park Hyung Sik are facing backlash after KBS2’s Twelve ended with a dismal 2.4% viewership rating, plummeting from an initial 8.1%.
Critics have scrutinized the show’s performance, mainly due to the exorbitant appearance fees for its stars. Reports reveal that Ma Dong Seok raked in ₩500 million KRW (about $361,000 USD) per episode, totaling a staggering ₩40.0 billion KRW (about $28.9 million USD) for eight episodes.
Park Hyung Sik wasn’t far behind, earning ₩400 million KRW (about $289,000 USD) per episode, leading to a total of ₩32.0 billion KRW (about $23.1 million USD).
Meanwhile, the remaining cast, including Seo In Guk, Kang Mina, and Lee Joo Bin, received far less. All nine other actors collectively made less than ₩1.00 billion KRW (about $722,000 USD).
Industry insiders indicate that around 34% of the show’s production budget went solely to Ma and Park. Commenting on the situation, one insider stated that the “quality of the show’s latter half appeared to have suffered heavily due to cost-cutting in post-production.”
Netizens have taken to social media, voicing their frustration:
“Their fees are excessively inflated.”
“Wow, why are actor fees going up like this? 400–500 million won is just absurd.”
“If you don’t have the money, just don’t.”
The controversy continues to gain traction, leaving fans and critics alike questioning the decisions behind the casting and budget management for Twelve.
