Kim Soo-hyun has this time been embroiled in controversy over his agency's settlement payments and management.
On the 19th, a media outlet said that Kim Soo-hyun's agency Gold Medalist paid out only a total of 670 million won in settlement payments (payment commissions) to its affiliated actors over five years from 2020, calling this an unusually low amount that is hard to accept in the industry. For reference, Kim Soo-hyun's 2024 tvN weekend drama "Queen of Snow" received global love, and Gold Medalist last year exceeded 20 billion won in sales for the first time in its history. Nevertheless, the outlet raised suspicions that the amount was unusually low even compared with typical settlement structures.
The outlet pointed out that the registered address of Barun No. 2 Investment Association, the largest shareholder of Gold Medalist, had no signage and was not actually occupied in the building where the business registration is registered, making the existence of the association unclear.
On the day, Gold Medalist responded in detail, saying, "We believe it is necessary to correct the factual relationship regarding today's article and therefore share the necessary information."
The agency said, "1. regarding accounting treatment," and added, "Listed companies follow International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS) and nonlisted companies follow Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (K-GAAP), so it is inappropriate to compare the accounting treatment of a listed company with that of our nonlisted company. In our case, under Korean Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (K-GAAP), actors' allocation amounts are included in the cost of sales, so there is no accounting issue."
It continued, "2. regarding the association's registered headquarters address," and said, "The association lawfully registered that address as its location at the time of business registration. Due to the nature of investment associations, there is virtually no case of working in a physical office, and that is still the case now."
Finally, Kim Soo-hyun's side said, "3. regarding compliance management," and emphasized, "We signed a legal advisory contract with law firm LKB Pyeongsan several years ago and have been conducting thorough legal reviews across management, and there is no illegal activity in our management."
Currently Kim Soo-hyun has effectively halted all activities and remains secluded amid the controversy over his alleged ex-girlfriend, the late Kim Sae-ron. Amid this, allegations about the agency's settlement payments and management have surfaced, making it seem that noises and scandals around him this year are unending.
Meanwhile, the late Kim Sae-ron was found dead at her home in Seongdong District, Seoul, on Feb. 16. She was 25.
After the funeral, the deceased's bereaved family alleged through the YouTube channel "Garosero Research Institute" (Gaseyeon) that the deceased and Kim Soo-hyun dated for six years starting when the deceased was 15. The revelation that the deceased, a minor, had a relationship with the adult Kim Soo-hyun caused a major social upheaval.
In response, Kim Soo-hyun denied that he dated the deceased when she was a minor and sued the deceased's family and Gaseyeon on charges including violation of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act and defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. He also filed a damages lawsuit seeking about 12 billion won.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]