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A2O LITE's Aijing and Her Parents' Wage Dispute: Is It Fair to Hold a 13-Year-Old Accountable?

A2O LITE member Aijing, 13, is caught up in a wage dispute at her parents' Beijing company. Her mother apologized, the agency is still silent and the group keeps winning music shows. Updated Oct 27.

A Axortex ·

Last updated: October 27, 2026. This is a developing story. As of the latest reports we could find (Oct 22-25), the agency had not issued a statement.

TL;DR

  • Who: Aijing (also romanized Aicing, Sheng Aijing; Korean 아이찡), a 13-year-old Chinese member of A2O LITE. The group is a nine-member girl group produced by former SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man under A2O Entertainment, and it debuted on October 12-13, 2026.
  • What: Chinese media reported that a Beijing education company run by her parents had not paid employees' wages since 2024. Corporate records show court enforcement cases worth about 3.45 million yuan (roughly 690-700 million won). Korean outlet The Fact notes it is not confirmed that the whole amount is unpaid wages.
  • Response: Her mother apologized on Weibo (dated October 14 by most outlets, October 15 by one). She accepted responsibility and said her daughter "has nothing to do with" the business.
  • Agency: A2O Entertainment had still not issued an official statement in reports through October 22-25 (allkpop, Star News, My Daily).
  • Activities: Aijing has not paused. She has performed with the group, which won music-show No. 1s on The Show (Oct 20), Show Champion (Oct 21), M Countdown (Oct 22) and Inkigayo (Oct 25). No press report says she is leaving the group.
  • Repayment: Star News says her mother is negotiating with the affected parties. No outlet has reported that any repayment has been completed.
  • "Most talked-about": Korean outlets say Aijing has become the member drawing the most attention, nicknamed "Little BoA." We found no official buzz ranking behind the community phrase "화제성 1위" (No. 1 in buzz).
  • Axis question: The criticism of the parents' unpaid wages is backed by court records and the mother's own admission. But is it fair to direct that criticism at the 13-year-old member and her place in the group?

What happened: timeline

Date (2026) Event Source
Oct 12 A2O LITE holds its debut performance in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. A Chinese social media user accuses Aijing's mother's company of not paying staff. Korea JoongAng Daily
Oct 13 Debut single "NEON" is released. Chinese media report the wage allegations, citing about 3.45 million yuan in enforcement cases against the company and the parents. The Standard, SBS
Oct 14 "NEON" tops the Melon TOP100 chart. Aijing's mother posts an apology on Weibo. Korea JoongAng Daily dates the post to Oct 15. The Standard, TV Report, The Fact
Oct 15 The hashtag "Aijing's mother apologizes" ranks 8th on Weibo, with about 97.1 million views. Korea JoongAng Daily
Oct 16 A Shanghai-based outlet that is part of China's state media criticizes the company for allegedly diverting wages to stage and training costs. Korea JoongAng Daily
Oct 17 A hashtag asking whether the daughter's career was funded with employees' money reaches No. 1 on Weibo's real-time trending list. SBS, Korea JoongAng Daily
Oct 18 A post by someone claiming to be a former employee spreads in China. It says the writer asked for back wages to pay for a father's funeral and received only 1,000 yuan (about 200,000 won). SBS
Oct 18-19 No official statement from A2O Entertainment in either the Korea JoongAng Daily or the SBS report. Korea JoongAng Daily, SBS
Oct 20 A2O LITE wins its first music-show No. 1 on SBS's The Show, about a week after debut. Aijing performs. Financial News, Herald Muse
Oct 21 Aijing appears with the group on MBC Radio. A short clip from a group photo there, which appears to show her pushing member Ayun, spreads online and sparks an "attitude" controversy. Fuller footage shows the two members' paths crossing in a tight space and Aijing apologizing. My Daily dates the event Oct 22. The group also wins on Show Champion. Star News, My Daily, Herald Muse
Oct 22 M Countdown win. An allkpop report says the agency still has not stated a position. Herald Muse, allkpop
Oct 25 Inkigayo win: the group's fourth music-show No. 1 and its first on a terrestrial network. Star News reports the mother is negotiating with affected parties. No completed repayment is reported. Herald Muse, Star News

Confirmed vs. unverified

Confirmed by multiple press reports:

  • Aijing is 13 and Chinese, and she is a member of A2O LITE, Lee Soo-man's new group.
  • Corporate information platforms list court enforcement cases totalling about 3.45 million yuan against the company and the parents. The Fact counted two cases.
  • According to Korea JoongAng Daily, citing Chinese media, the company went through labor arbitration and agreed to pay back wages in installments. It stopped paying about three months later.
  • Her mother publicly admitted that the company failed to pay what it owed on time. She said she would not avoid responsibility and that her daughter is not connected to the business.
  • Related hashtags topped Weibo's trending list, and Chinese state-affiliated media criticized the company.

Reported, but with caveats:

  • That the full 3.45 million yuan is unpaid wages. The Fact says this has not been confirmed. The total may include other debts.
  • The funeral story (1,000 yuan). This comes from an anonymous online post. SBS reported that the post spread, but the outlet did not verify it. Treat it as unverified (individual claim reported by press).
  • The date of the mother's apology. Most outlets say October 14, but Korea JoongAng Daily says October 15. SBS describes the account as belonging to someone "identifying as" her mother.

Unverified (community claim):

  • Some users argue that the family paid for Aijing's overseas competitions, ads and drama appearances with withheld wages. The Standard and SBS reported that users raised these suspicions, but no outlet has established where the money came from.
  • Calls for Aijing to leave the group come from users on social media and community sites. Neither the agency nor any outlet has reported that her removal is under consideration.

Both sides

The case for criticism. Unpaid wages are a serious harm to working people, and the evidence here goes beyond rumor. There are court enforcement records, a broken installment agreement after arbitration, and an apology from the mother herself. Critics point out that the company stopped paying wages from 2024 while the family's daughter was building a costly career, including a 2025 trip to dance championships in the U.S. Korea JoongAng Daily says the company was again missing repayments around that time. For many people in China, the issue is fairness: former employees went unpaid while the family's child was being promoted as a star. Some also say that A2O Entertainment, which is marketing her as "Little BoA," has a duty to address the matter openly instead of staying silent.

The case for restraint. Aijing is a minor. No report says she had any role in the company, and her mother explicitly took the blame and separated her daughter from the dispute. Reports give no sign that the debts are owed by Aijing herself. Many of the most emotive claims are online posts or suspicions that have not been verified, including where her training money came from. Holding a 13-year-old personally responsible, or pushing her out of the group, would punish her for her parents' conduct. That would also do nothing to pay the workers who are owed money.

Where the evidence points. The press record supports criticizing the parents and their company over unpaid wages, and the mother has accepted that. The record does not show that Aijing did anything wrong. Pressure that is aimed at the parents and asks for repayment is backed by the facts. Pressure aimed at a child performer is not.

What to watch next

Where things stand (Oct 27). The group's commercial run has continued through the controversy: it topped Melon and Circle charts and won four music-show No. 1s. Aijing is still promoting. The agency is still silent, and the wage dispute is unresolved. A separate, smaller "attitude" clip appeared on Oct 21. Fuller footage undercut it, and it is unrelated to the wage issue.

  1. An A2O Entertainment statement. Watch for whether the agency addresses the dispute, and whether it changes Aijing's activities. So far, they are unchanged.
  2. Repayment. Chinese media have said an apology is not enough. The mother is reportedly negotiating, but no settlement has been reported. Watch for evidence that the parents are paying the former employees, such as settled or closed enforcement cases.
  3. Activities in China. Watch whether the backlash affects A2O LITE's promotions or partnerships in China, at a time when there are signs of easing restrictions on Korean content.
  4. Verification of claims. Watch whether press confirm or debunk the former employee's account and the funding allegations.

FAQ

Is Aijing herself accused of anything? No. Press reports concern her parents' Beijing education company. Her mother said the child has nothing to do with the business. Online suspicions about whether wages paid for her career have not been verified.

How much money is involved? Corporate records show court enforcement cases totalling about 3.45 million yuan, which outlets convert to roughly 690-700 million won (about US$515,600). It is not confirmed that this whole amount is unpaid wages.

Has the agency responded? No. Reports through October 22-25 (allkpop, Star News, My Daily) still describe no official statement from A2O Entertainment.

Has Aijing stopped promoting or left the group? No. She has kept performing, including on the music shows where the group won first place from Oct 20 to Oct 25. Calls for her removal come from online users, not from press reports or the agency.

Is she really "No. 1 in buzz"? Korean press say she is the group's most talked-about member. We found no official buzz index that ranks her No. 1, so treat that specific ranking as an unverified community claim.

What was the "pushing" clip? It is a short clip from a group photo at MBC Radio on Oct 21. Star News and My Daily report that fuller footage shows the members crowded into a tight space and Aijing apologizing to Ayun. It is separate from the wage dispute.

Which "A2O" group is this? A2O LITE, the girl group that debuted in October 2026 under Lee Soo-man's A2O Entertainment.

Sources

#kpop#a2o-lite#controversy#lee-soo-man
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