Actor Park Seo Jun filed a 60 million won damage claim lawsuit against the restaurant that provided the filming location for the drama and won part of the case.
On the 3rd, Park Seo Jun's agency Awesome Ent. reported to OSEN in connection with reports that they had filed a damage claim lawsuit against the owner of the ganjang gejang restaurant that provided the filming location, saying, "We requested multiple times to stop the postings since 2019, but they engaged in persistent malicious behavior by putting up banners again after taking them down and not responding to our demand to remove them afterward, which led to the lawsuit."
It was further clarified that "the estimated damage considering the advertisement model fee is 6 billion won, but the actual claim amount for the lawsuit considering the defendant's business scale and circumstances is 60 million won."
According to a report from Herald Economy on that day, the 13th Civil Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Director General Seok Jun Hyup) ruled in favor of Park Seo Jun in the damage claim lawsuit filed against Mr. A, ordering Mr. A to pay 5 million won to Park Seo Jun. The court costs were to be borne by each party.
Earlier, in the tvN drama 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?', which aired in July 2018, Park Seo Jun was seen eating ganjang gejang at a restaurant. Subsequently, Mr. A created banners with advertising phrases such as "The house where Park Seo Jun devoured ganjang gejang" and "The ganjang gejang restaurant that even Park Seo Jun fell in love with," which were posted inside and outside the restaurant for about five years until August 2019, and he also carried out Naver search advertisements for about six years.
In response, Park Seo Jun's side claimed that "Mr. A posted the relevant banners inside and outside the restaurant without consent," asserting an invasion of portrait rights and filing a damage claim lawsuit. They also claimed that the property damage from Mr. A's illegal actions is 6 billion won, requesting that a ruling be made prohibiting Mr. A from posting those banners or executing advertisements in the future, adding that if he violates this, he should pay 1 million won for each occurrence. In contrast, Mr. A countered that "it is a common practice for the promotional materials of the drama sponsor to use photos from the drama."
The court stated, "Even if the portrait and name of a celebrity are disclosed, it is clear that they should not be used without permission for someone else's business," siding with Park Seo Jun, while acknowledging only 5 million won in damages due to the relatively small scale of the restaurant. Furthermore, regarding the claim to prohibit the infringing act, the court dismissed it, stating, "Currently, the relevant banners have been removed, and search advertisements have been deleted."
Meanwhile, regarding this matter, Awesome Ent. stated that the actual claim amount for the lawsuit is not 6 billion won but 60 million won. They further noted, "We have confirmed that malicious ridicule and defamation occurring over the legitimate judgment content is underway. We plan to respond without leniency or settlement to acts that infringe on the portrait rights and personal rights of our agency's actor."
Below is the full statement from Awesome Ent.
We requested multiple times to stop the postings since 2019, but they engaged in persistent malicious behavior by putting up search advertisements on portal sites and banners again after taking them down and not responding to our demands to take them down afterward.
The estimated damage considering the advertisement model fee is 6 billion won, but we correct that the actual claim amount for the lawsuit is 60 million won in light of the defendant's business scale and circumstances.
We have confirmed that malicious ridicule and defamation occurring over the legitimate judgment content is underway, and we plan to respond without leniency or settlement to acts that infringe on our agency's actor's portrait rights and personal rights.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]