A2O LITE's 'NEON' hits #1 on Melon as member Aizhing's parents apologize for wage non-payment
Lee Soo-man's first girl group post-SM debuted October 13. Their title track hit No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 and Hot 100 simultaneously. Then Aizhing's parents apologized for unpaid wages at their Beijin
Debut chart position
A2O LITE's NEON (니온) hit No. 1 on both Melon's Top 100 and Hot 100 charts as of 11 PM on October 14. The nine-member group debuted October 13.
Lee Soo-man formed this as his first girl group after leaving SM Entertainment. The lineup spans five nationalities: 영 (17, Korean), 오아 (13, American/Japanese), 아윤 (13, Korean), 아이찡 (13, Chinese), 히메키 (17, Japanese), 라다 (15, Thai), 시리 (15, Chinese), 보라 (16, Korean), and 메르시 (15, Chinese).
Parents' wage controversy, one day in
The chart success collided with a separate story. Aizhing's parents operated Beijing Sophist Education Technology Co., Ltd. (베이징 소피스 교육 과기 유한공사) in China. Her mother served as company representative. Her father was auditor. The company stopped paying employee wages in 2024, agreed to installment repayments, then defaulted after three months and shut down.
Aizhing's mother released a public apology. "Regardless of any objective circumstances, failing to pay the amount I should have paid on time is a mistake I must face and take responsibility for," she wrote. She said she's contacting affected employees individually to work out solutions and won't avoid responsibility until everything is resolved.
On Aizhing herself: "The child has no relation whatsoever to the business I operated in the past and related disputes." The statement kept all liability with the parents.
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