Recently, YouTuber Lee Jin Ho directed attention to Meenoi's appearance fees following the controversy involving the singer, her label AOMG, and the advertiser company P.

The whole ordeal began when Meenoi took to social media and had an emotional live-streaming session, causing her fans to worry. During the stream, Meenoi broke into tears and displayed a state of distress to her fans. Following her broadcast, she left a lengthy letter confessing she had committed something wrong, bringing fans into further confusion.

A few days after the emotional live stream, Meenoi's agency AOMG released a statement clarifying the situation and revealed that the artist had skipped out on an advertisement shoot. AOMG explained that Meenoi failed to show up for the filming and notified them of her absence just two hours before the shoot. They explained, "It's true Meenoi did not participate in a commercial shoot. This happened because the company and artist had different understandings of the agency and signed an advertisement contract. The disagreement was not resolved, so she ended up not participating in the commercial shoot. In the process, the artist mentioned she committed a crime through her livestream because of the guilt she felt from not filming, and she thought it would take a certain time to handle it all."

Fast forward to March 4, Meenoi released another statement refuting AOMG's claims. Meenoi argued, "Contrary to what the articles say, I did not fail to attend an advertisement two hours before..." With Meenoi's relationship worsening with AOMG, and no verification of the statements from each side, Dispatch released messenger conversations to fact-check all the claims.

With the latest developments from Dispatch, it was revealed that Meenoi raised objections to the appearance fees she would receive from company P. Dispatch reported on March 7 that "Meenoi ultimately wanted to be paid 400 million KRW (~302,058 USD) for a 6-month advertisement and 200 million KRW for a 3-month advertisement."

Based on the latest reports from Dispatch, YouTube reporter Lee Jin Ho further covered the news and directed attention to Meenoi's appearance fees. He explained, "Amidst the controversy, many people took interest in one point, which was Meenoi's brand value. People were raising questions such as: 'She's receiving X amount for 6 months of advertising?' 'Doesn't the cost for each celebrity differ?' 'She's not that well known, how is she charging that much for 6 months?' So, I did some investigation regarding this."

He continued, "So I found out about how the advertising industry costs are structured. In the case of the company that Meenoi was preparing the filming with, the average cost for an advertisement would be 200 million to 250 million KRW (152,000 to 190,000 USD) per year. Excluding the very top stars like Lee Hyori, any semi popular celebrity would be paid 200 million to 250 million for an annual advertisement deal."

Then Lee Jin Ho pointed out, "However, Meenoi was charging 200 million KRW for a six-month contract. Moreover, Meenoi allegedly asked for 250 million KRW for six months, which is higher than the industry average. Although the actual amount for the appearance fee is indeed high, the advertisement industry had a different opinion."

The YouTuber explained that industry insiders stated that there has been a surge in the popularity of MZ generation female celebrities such as Lee Young Ji. He explained, "There's a rising trend of female advertising models targeting Gen Z. The most notable figure in the spotlight is Lee Young Ji. Following closely behind her is Meenoi. Therefore, there is some industry insider opinion that 200 million KRW for six months is actually reasonable."

However, Lee Jin Ho pointed out that Meenoi's brand value seems too high compared to her public recognition level. He explained, "Meenoi as a singer is not well known to the public and her high appearance fees were already well-known within the industry." He continued to explain, "Even before joining AOMG, Meenoi charged 40 million KRW (~30,253 USD) to make one appearance at a provincial event. Furthermore, it is said that her appearance fees increased even more after she signed with AOMG."

Lee Jin Ho criticized, "Although Meenoi gained popularity through her cover songs, charging 40 million KRW to attend a single event is already at a top level in the industry. That's why her label asked for 200 million KRW but Meenoi expected 250 million KRW." The YouTuber criticized that it seems that the singer overestimated her brand value, causing this latest controversy.