Super Junior member Kim Heechul (김희철) recently made a rare public statement about his income during the group's active period. He confessed that during the 13-member era, appearing on television shows sometimes meant 'working for free' or even incurring negative income. He revealed that he earned more money hosting JTBC's variety show 'Knowing Bros' (아는 형님) later in his career than he did during his time with Super Junior.
On August 1, the YouTube channel 'Egennam Swings' (에겐남 스윙스) released its latest video, titled "Space Big Star Kim Heechul, who almost became the first idol in history to participate in the 'Control' Diss Battle." Kim Heechul appeared as a guest to discuss his entertainment career since his debut.
During the show, host Jang Jisu (장지수) asked, "Since elementary school, I've been curious: Super Junior has 13 members, so is their income split equally among all 13? Before you became famous, it must have been difficult to make a living from your income, right?"
Kim Heechul responded candidly, "Sometimes, appearing on shows even resulted in negative income." He recalled that while their earnings weren't higher than other groups at the time, it was at least enough to get by.
He then revealed, "I actually don't know much about the company's profit-sharing system back then, but I earned more money hosting JTBC's 'Knowing Bros' than I did during my Super Junior activities." He further explained that because he was primarily active as a solo artist at that time, his income was naturally higher than during group activities.
Upon hearing this, rapper Swings (스윙스), who was also present, couldn't help but comment, "Hyung, you're too humble. The idol market is completely different in scale from the hip-hop scene, and you even went on Asian tours."
Unexpectedly, Jang Jisu then blurted out, "Do you usually wear cheaper clothes?" This instantly provoked an animated rebuttal from Kim Heechul, who exclaimed, "This outfit I'm wearing right now was styled by my stylist!" He then laughed and addressed the camera, saying, "Our stylist was born in 2003, and she must be watching the show now. She works very hard and has big dreams. What do you mean by that? Are you saying, 'Heechul hyung always dresses like a beggar?'"
Jang Jisu immediately blushed and quickly clarified, "Not now, I meant usually." Kim Heechul playfully retorted, "Even the character T-shirts I usually wear are limited editions. I'm quite good at dressing myself!" Their back-and-forth banter filled the set with laughter.
