fromis_9's Roh Jisun Borrowed 3 Million Won on a Card Loan and Watched It Snowball

Former fromis_9 member Roh Jisun says a 3 million won card loan (roughly $2,100) turned into a debt spiral after banks refused to lend to her, because on paper an active idol had no job and no income. She told the story on the YouTube channel Min Saerom's Open Studio in an episode posted on the 11th.

Roh was in the group until she was 28, and she says family help wasn't an option during those years. "I had to live somehow, so I looked into loans," she said. The system had other ideas: "I was listed as someone with no occupation. No income on record, so no loan."

That left card loans, which she says were the only thing that went through. Interest rates didn't register. "I was desperate, so I wasn't even looking at the rate," she said. The 3 million won looked like three or four months of rent and groceries, so she took it.

How one loan became several

Then came the trap. Using the card loan raised her limit, and she borrowed again to pay off the first 3 million won. "It kept growing and growing," she said. Her own description of the debt: it ballooned like a snowball.

She was careful to size it. It wasn't a six-figure-dollar hole, she said, and nothing in the 100-million-won range. Still, the hardest part was the cleanup. Her older brother, who was preparing for his wedding at the time, lent her money. She had to repay him, clear the card loan and rebuild her credit, in that order.

She finished one year after leaving the group.

From idol school to beauty brand

Roh rose through Mnet's idol survival show Idol School, which ended in 2017, and took the center spot there. She debuted with fromis_9 the following year, in 2018, with releases including "DKDK," "We Go," "Love Bomb," "Talk & Talk" and "Glass Shoes."

She left at the end of 2024 when her exclusive contract expired. Lee Saerom and Lee Seoyeon departed the team the same year. Roh now works as a beauty creator and brand planner.

It's an uncomfortable detail for an industry that sells polished debuts: years of full-time work, a center position, and a lender's database that still read "unemployed."