Actor Kim Su-hyun is making a comeback through a Philippine fashion advertisement. Along with this, the path to settlement in the previously raised damages lawsuits with advertisers has opened, signaling a green light for the resumption of activities.
Kim Su-hyun will conduct an advertisement shoot today (14th) with the Philippine fashion brand "Bench." The shoot will take place domestically, and his agency, Gold Medalist, officially announced last month that he would be returning.
This means Kim Su-hyun will once again appear before the public through an advertising pictorial after about a year. Previously, in March last year, he halted activities after allegations arose that the late actress Kim Sae-ron had been dating him since she was a minor. At the time, Kim Su-hyun's side acknowledged the relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron but replied that they continued the relationship after she had become an adult.
Kim Su-hyun's side filed a complaint against the late Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family members and others who raised the allegations for defamation by spreading false facts, and in May the agency said, "The deceased's KakaoTalk conversations were found to have been forged and altered to appear as conversations with Kim Su-hyun by another person unrelated to him, and the deceased's voice was also confirmed to be manipulated material generated using AI technology."
Subsequently, the person who first raised the minor dating allegation was found to have violated the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation by spreading false facts), the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (distribution of filmed material using cameras, coercion to use filmed material, etc.), and charges including intimidation, and was detained and prosecuted, clearing Kim Su-hyun of the accusations after about a year. He then chose a fashion advertisement shoot as his first comeback schedule.
In particular, this situation also affected lawsuits with advertisers. Previously, advertisers of brands for which Kim Su-hyun served as an advertising model filed lawsuits seeking damages in the 10-billion-won range against Kim Su-hyun and his agency, claiming brand image damage due to the series of controversies.
However, earlier this month at the second hearing of the damages claim lawsuit filed by outdoor brand A, the court reportedly ordered reconciliation between the parties. With support for Kim Su-hyun's innocence growing, A reduced its claimed amount from 2.5 billion won to 400 million won, withdrew the damages claim related to social disturbance, and changed the purpose of the lawsuit to request only the return of remaining model goods under the advertising model contract. The court judged that the original damages claim would be difficult to accept and appeared to have the claim changed, and reportedly expressed a view that it was "questionable whether it could be legally recognized."
The court found that in this matter A, Kim Su-hyun and the agency all suffered damage from the allegations, and considering that Kim Su-hyun's side is negotiating with other advertisers, it recommended considering resolving the dispute by withdrawing the claims while maintaining the advertising model contracts and each party bearing its own expense for litigation costs. Since similar opinions are expected to be applied to the damages lawsuits filed by other advertisers, Kim Su-hyun has come one step closer to a full return to activities.
Meanwhile, attention is also focused on whether the Disney+ series "Knock-Off" will be released. The Kim Su-hyun-led "Knock-Off" was scheduled to be released last summer, but it was indefinitely postponed as controversy surrounding Kim Su-hyun spread ahead of the release. With "Knock-Off" reportedly still undergoing scheduling adjustments, attention is focused on whether Kim Su-hyun will meet viewers again through the work.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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