Shortbox's Kim Won-hoon and Eom Ji-yoon Reveal How They Split Their $30,000+ YouTube Revenue

## Shortbox's Kim Won-hoon and Eom Ji-yoon Reveal How They Split Their $30,000+ YouTube Revenue On October 25, 2025, Kim Won-hoon, Jo Jin-se, and Eom Ji-yoon, the stars of the popular YouTube channel 'Shortbox,' appeared on JTBC's variety show 'Knowing Bros,' sparking considerable interest with their candid discussion about the channel's earnings. The members specifically addressed the size of their YouTube channel revenue and how it's divided, answering questions viewers had long been curious about. During the broadcast, Lee Sang-min directly inquired about 'Shortbox's' revenue. Kim Won-hoon responded that, contrary to expectations, YouTube advertising revenue wasn't that substantial. He explained that the short length of 'Shortbox' videos limits the number of ad insertions, which affects the overall revenue. This response highlights that even popular channels with high viewership can have varying YouTube ad revenue depending on video length. Kim Won-hoon also indirectly mentioned various sponsorships and advertising revenue streams, offering a glimpse into 'Shortbox's' diversified revenue structure. While YouTube ad revenue isn't the primary source of income, he added that it plays a crucial role in funding the channel's operations. Eom Ji-yoon detailed 'Shortbox's' unique revenue distribution method, emphasizing a fair contractual relationship between the members. She stated that she doesn't receive a share of the revenue for episodes she doesn't appear in. For episodes she does participate in, the revenue is divided equally, or 'N-way split,' among the members. This distribution method is regarded as a fair system where revenue is divided according to each member's contribution. According to Eom Ji-yoon, 'Shortbox' distributes revenue based strictly on member participation, which respects individual effort and strengthens motivation. Eom Ji-yoon also mentioned the importance of coordinating opinions and reaching agreements among members during the revenue distribution process, highlighting efforts to maintain teamwork. She added that maintaining a respectful and trusting relationship between members is one of 'Shortbox's' success factors. In this way, 'Shortbox' members maintain stable teamwork through transparent and fair revenue distribution, which is the driving force behind their continued content creation. Meanwhile, in October 2025, a controversy involving private equity fund MBK Partners became a major focus in the business community during the National Assembly's audit. On October 14, 2025, Kim Byung-joo, Chairman of MBK Partners, appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's National Policy Committee audit, answering questions from lawmakers. On October 16, 2025, Representative Jung Il-young mentioned the adoption of Kim Byung-joo as a witness at the National Tax Service's audit, urging a high-intensity tax investigation into MBK Partners. Representative Jung raised suspicions that Chairman Kim was not properly paying taxes despite generating significant profits in Korea, demanding a thorough investigation into MBK Partners' tax avoidance practices. He pointed out that Chairman Kim's second son renounced his Korean citizenship just five years after birth, citing this as a basis for criticizing MBK Partners for neglecting its responsibility to Korean society. Representative Jung's claims gave the impression that MBK Partners was not returning profits earned in Korea to society, instead pursuing private gain through tax avoidance, sparking public criticism. Representative Kim Nam-geun strongly criticized MBK Partners, raising suspicions that it was attempting to liquidate Homeplus, which it invested in, and carry out a so-called 'eat-and-run' strategy. Representative Kim warned that MBK Partners was trying to sell Homeplus's assets to make short-term profits, which would threaten Homeplus's long-term survival and ultimately lead to liquidation. He criticized MBK Partners for focusing solely on short-term investment returns rather than Homeplus's long-term growth, emphasizing corporate social responsibility. Representative Kim also pointed out that a large-scale unemployment crisis could occur if Homeplus were liquidated, stating that he would hold MBK Partners accountable. Representative Kim Byung-ki urged relevant agencies to impose strict sanctions on MBK Partners and requested the National Pension Service to consider recovering its investment in MBK Partners. Representative Kim argued that MBK Partners' behavior was contrary to the interests of the people, emphasizing that the National Pension Service should recover its investment to protect public assets. He added that the government and relevant agencies need to actively intervene to prevent private equity funds like MBK Partners from pursuing short-term profits and ignoring social responsibility. Representative Jung Il-young mentioned that Kim Byung-joo was ranked as 'Korea's Richest Person' by Forbes in 2025, revealing that his assets were worth approximately 14 trillion won. This is a prime example of how MBK Partners is wielding significant influence over the Korean economy based on its enormous capital.