Singer and actress IU has denied allegations that she received ₩500 million (approx. $345,000) per episode for her role in Netflix’s ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’.

On March 18th KST, a representative from Pan Entertainment, the drama’s production company, stated to multiple media outlets, “The claim that IU received ₩500 million per episode is completely false.”

The controversy began when an anonymous user on an online community alleged that IU and Park Bo Gum were earning ₩500 million per episode for their roles in ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’. The same post also claimed that Park Hyung Sik, currently starring in SBS’s ‘Treasure Island’, was paid ₩500 million per episode for JTBC’s ‘Doctor Slump’ and that Lee Jung Jae received ₩1 billion per episode for Netflix’s ‘Squid Game 2’.

Starring IU and Park Bo Gum, ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’ is a coming-of-age drama set in 1950s Jeju, chronicling the adventurous lives of “fiery rebel” Ae Soon and “lovable fool” Gwan Shik across four seasons.

SEE ALSO: IU reveals she drank alcohol to portray realism in ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’