A2O LITE's Aijing's Mother Admits Late Wages as Debut Hits No. 1 on Melon in 29 Hours

The mother of A2O LITE's 13-year-old member Aijing admitted on Weibo on the 14th that she failed to pay employees on time at a company she once ran. She called it "a fault I must face and take responsibility for," whatever the circumstances.

The timing is rough. The group debuted on the 13th with "NEON," and the allegations surfaced within a day of the showcase.

A2O Entertainment, the group's agency, has issued no official statement.

What the mother said

She blamed severe business trouble and changes in the industry for the problem not being resolved as expected. She said she is contacting the people involved individually to work out solutions, and that she will not dodge responsibility "until every problem is resolved."

She also drew a line around her daughter. The responsibility belongs to the parents, she wrote, and Aijing has "no connection" to the business or the dispute.

The allegations behind it

Chinese media reported that former staff of a Beijing education company said they had gone unpaid. The mother is reportedly the company's legal representative and the father its supervisor. The company is known as Beijing Sophis Education Technology and has stopped operating.

Former employees claimed wages were late from 2024. They said they agreed through labor arbitration to be paid in installments, but that payments held for only the first three months. They presented documents showing roughly 40,000 yuan (about $5,980) in unpaid wages.

A corporate information platform also lists two court enforcement cases against the company and Aijing's parents, filed on Aug. 31. The enforcement amount is about 3.45 million yuan, roughly 689 million won. It is unclear whether all of that relates to wages, and the parents reportedly do not appear on the list of habitual defaulters.

One self-described former employee also alleged that the parents spent heavily on their daughter's U.S. dance competition and a sports brand ad shoot. That claim is an unverified online post, and the poster later deleted it. The poster alleged the mother then threatened to go to the police, citing the daughter's status as a minor, and warned of possible arrest if the post stayed up. That too is unconfirmed.

Reactions on Weibo split. Some users questioned why money went to a daughter's entertainment career while staff allegedly went unpaid. Others argued a minor should not be punished for her parents' finances.

A debut under a spotlight

A2O LITE is the multinational girl group produced by Lee Soo-man, the SM Entertainment founder. It showcased on the 12th at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and released "NEON" the next day. Aijing drew attention there for dancing and styling that reminded some viewers of early BoA, another act Lee launched.

The numbers so far ignore the noise. "NEON" reached No. 1 on Melon's TOP100 about 29 hours after release, an unusual result for a debut.

Whether that holds is a separate question from whether the agency answers. For now, the family has spoken and the company has not.