Naked News Korea close to ending operations
After barely a month of operations amidst great fanfare, Naked News Korea, which follows the concept of the infamous Naked News, a novelty news, sports and entertainment site featuring stripping presenters, is only a few steps away from disappearing in a flash.
Although official confirmation isn't in yet, it's depressing for Naked News Korea staff after it was revealed that the company is suffering from mismanagement issues and intense scrutiny from everyone in Korea. Even worse was to follow as it was said that the 9 presenters for the station haven't been paid yet.
One of the presenters said, "The company hasn't paid me wages for last month and communications has been cut. The newsroom has been shut down and all the broadcasting equipment seems to have been carted away. The five remaining presenters are also preparing to sue the company for unpaid wages if communication is still not forthcoming from the management in the next few days."
The regular pay-per-view service on the Naked News Korea website had ceased to operate recently, with only repeat news broadcasts ongoing since the 23rd of July. It was also known to be the last time that the presenters were in the studios recording and had received their last wages. About 260,000 subscribers had subscribed to the service at the start of July and it's not known if they will be getting their money back.
It was also revealed that the company had shut down the studios at Guro-dong on 20th June, moving to a smaller studio in Yeoksam-dong. When it was announced that the Korea Communications Standards Commission would be monitoring the station for inappropriate content, the company took the decision to terminate the teenager service (in bikini) which was set to launch in October, fearing the worse. The company then suggested that the presenters "upgrade" themselves to the adult service (naked) which was met with objections from the four presenters, and they resigned subsequently. But the remaining 5 are not faring any better, as they are still being owned wages.
An official decision is expected shortly.
29 Jul 2009 - 10:20 PM
1. jasscd (Unregistered User - Sign Up!)
awww