Kim Dae-ho has notified One Hundred that he is terminating his exclusive contract with the agency, claiming he received no settlement money at all during the five months since he signed with the company after leaving MBC.
The dispute surfaced on November 7, when Kim posted a photo of himself commuting by subway on social media, captioned simply ‘subway commute.’ The image showed him in a black suit, taking a mirror selfie at a subway station — far from his MBC years, when a manager accompanied him and he traveled by car.
Kim worked as an MBC announcer for 14 years before leaving the broadcaster in February 2026 to join One Hundred as a freelance broadcaster. On October 27, he sent the agency a notice of contract termination through his legal representative, citing the unpaid settlements as the reason, according to OSEN.
Kim’s side says he received no settlement payments whatsoever in the five months after signing the exclusive contract. One Hundred disputes that account, saying settlement payments premised on the termination of the contract were already completed, and that Kim’s side refuses to acknowledge the payments. The agency added that Kim is demanding settlement for periods outside the contract term, beyond the conditions stated in the contract itself.
One Hundred is reportedly considering legal action over the termination notice, leaving the two sides deadlocked over whether the money was paid and what the contract covers.
Kim became one of MBC’s most recognizable announcers through variety appearances, most notably on the long-running reality show ‘I Live Alone,’ where his everyday life as a single man drew a loyal following beyond news programming. His February departure after 14 years was widely seen as a bet on freelance life, with the move to One Hundred presented as a fresh start. The subway photo drew attention precisely because it undercut that image: the broadcaster who once arrived with a manager in tow was now commuting alone, and OSEN described his post-MBC path as starting again from the bottom.
What happens next is likely to turn on the paper trail: whether the payments One Hundred says it made can be verified, and whether Kim’s claim covers periods the contract never included.
