Popular veteran Korean Singaporean elderly actress, Jin Yin Ji, has been fired by Singapore’s only media broadcasting company Mediacorp. The veteran actress who is famous for her Korean-accented Mandarin, has been working in Mediacorp Chinese dramas for 30 years and come February 2018, her contract will be terminated by Mediacorp.
Mediacorp offered Jin Yin Ji a new contract at only one-third of her last drawn salaries, which is less than S$50-an-hour for a part-time actress. In her interview with Chinese papers Lianhe Zao Bao, Jin Yin Ji broke out in tears when the reporter asked for her reason behind why she is retiring.
The 70-year-old veteran actress told the Chinese reporter in Mandarin:
“I can sing and dance! I can slouch for a long time, lie on the floor for an hour, you can comb my hair however you like, and I am very obedient in the studio and never once asked to leave early… This is so insulting… I still have roles in three running series but they insist on cutting my payment by more than two-third. So now I’m 70 years old, I now know the value of being an elderly.”
According to the Chinese papers, the veteran actress was told by Mediacorp that they can always hire a part-time actress to replace her. The veteran actress took offense with the comment and even burst out in tears when recounting the story to the reporter.