Kim Soo Hyun Is Reportedly Getting Sued By Two Companies Over CF Contracts, Korean Media Reports More Will Follow Soon
The advertisers who had hired Kim Soo Hyun have one after another begun compensation lawsuits.
According to the legal field on the 29th of April, among the companies that had advertising contracts with Kim Soo Hyun, two have recently filed lawsuits with the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul Eastern District Court against Kim Soo Hyun and his agency Gold Medalist, demanding the return of model fees or compensation for damages. Attorney Park Sung Woo of the law firm Woori, representing the lawsuits, stated that in addition to these companies, others are either preparing or proceeding with additional lawsuits.
It is known that the companies are claiming the return of all or part of the model fees paid to Kim Soo Hyun after terminating the advertising contracts, or are demanding compensation for damages or penalty fees due to not being able to proceed with advertisements.
Kim Soo Hyun had been active as a model for 16 major companies, including Homeplus, Eider, K2 Korea, Shinhan Bank, and Tous Les Jours. In some cases, the contract period naturally ended, and the partnership with Kim Soo Hyun was concluded, but in cases where the contract period still remains, it is known that the companies are facing a confusing situation.
The reason is that Kim Soo Hyun’s incident is still ongoing. Kim Soo Hyun’s side has filed a compensation lawsuit against the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae Ron and Ga Se Ye’s CEO of Garo Sero Research Institute, who spread various suspicions and private matters surrounding him. Since Kim Soo Hyun is asserting that the allegations are groundless and he is innocent, it is still a long way off before right and wrong can be determined.
In the midst of this, what the advertisers feel is solely the “damaged image of Kim Soo Hyun.” The outcome of the case is not very important to them. That is because the public image of Kim Soo Hyun has already deteriorated and the possibility of it improving in the future is very low — even slim. Depending on the result of the case, Kim Soo Hyun’s image recovery and resumption of activities may follow, but at present, it seems difficult — that is the reality.
An industry insider described Kim Soo Hyun’s image as “already spilled water,” predicting that even if gathered back, it will be difficult to fully restore it to its original, that is, to the “good” image he once had.
Kim Soo Hyun is currently in conflict with the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae Ron, who passed away in February. The bereaved side is demanding a public apology from Kim Soo Hyun’s side, asking them to acknowledge that the deceased was in a romantic relationship with him while she was a minor. However, Kim Soo Hyun completely denied this through a press conference, stating, “I cannot call a lie the truth just because I’m being forced. I will definitely prove it.”
According to the legal field, the lawsuit amounts from the affected companies differ by company, depending on the originally scheduled advertisement period and target regions, ranging from a minimum of 400 million won $[278,824] to as much as 1.3 billion won [$906,033].
Since the Kim Soo Hyun incident became known to the world, his image to advertisers must have already been an unstable factor. It appears the advertisers determined that it was already too late to wait and see the future outcome and developments.
Kim Soo Hyun’s side, regarding these lawsuits, said, “It has not yet been confirmed whether lawsuits have been filed.”
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