Actor Kim Soo-hyun won a lawsuit to recover a contract fee from a Swiss watch brand, and the judgment became final after the advertiser did not appeal.
On the 27th of last month, the 13th Civil Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court dismissed the plaintiff's claim in a lawsuit filed by Swiss watch brand Mido against Kim Soo-hyun's agency Gold Medalist seeking repayment of a contract fee of about 570 million won. However, in civil litigation an appeal can be filed within two weeks from the date the judgment is delivered. But because Mido did not file an appeal, this case was finally closed with Kim Soo-hyun's victory.
Earlier, Kim Soo-hyun's career was damaged last year after allegations surfaced that he had dated the late Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. Mido had continued renewing an advertising model contract with Kim Soo-hyun since 2020, maintaining their relationship. Kim Soo-hyun acknowledged dating the late Kim Sae-ron but denied that the relationship began before she became an adult, saying it continued after she was of age; however, Mido, mindful of the controversy, terminated the contract and filed a lawsuit to recover the contract fee.
Mido argued that because the contract was terminated due to the model's fault, it should be repaid the remaining contract fee of about 577 million won corresponding to the unexpired contract period. In contrast, Gold Medalist pointed out that the controversy was a false exposure manipulated by a third party and argued that Kim Soo-hyun bore no responsibility.
In fact, Kim Soo-hyun filed a complaint accusing the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae-ron, who raised the allegation of dating a minor, of defamation by the timely publication of false facts. In May, the agency said the late person's KakaoTalk conversations were found to be forged and altered from conversations with others unrelated to Kim Soo-hyun, and that the late person's voice was also confirmed to be manipulated material generated using AI technology, clearing Kim Soo-hyun of wrongdoing.
Thereafter, the YouTuber who first spread the allegation of dating a minor was also arrested and indicted after being found guilty of violating the Act on Promotion of Use of Communications Networks and Information Protection, etc. (defamation by timely publication of false facts), violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Stalking Crimes, violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (distribution of recorded material using a camera, etc., and coercion to use recorded material), and charges including intimidation.
As it was revealed that the allegation of dating a minor was a false exposure, the court judged that "the grounds for contract termination do not exist" and dismissed Mido's claim. With this, Kim Soo-hyun has been cleared of the false accusation and achieved a final victory in the first lawsuit with an advertiser, lighting a green signal for his return to activities.
In particular, Kim Soo-hyun was reportedly sued for repayment of model fees and damages totaling 10 billion won from companies including Eider, Cuckoo Electronics and Cuckoo affiliates, Trendmaker, and FromBio. Having received a favorable ruling in the first lawsuit with Mido, which was the initial case, expectations are rising that the subsequent trials will also yield positive results.
Bang Seong-hoon, a lawyer at law firm Pyeongsan representing Kim Soo-hyun, also told OSEN immediately after the plaintiff's claim was dismissed, "Although each advertiser's contract terms differ slightly so some arguments differ in detail, overall they are similar. Because we won the first claim, we expect the other cases to be resolved with similar results."
Meanwhile, in July Kim Soo-hyun began his return to activities through an advertising shoot with Philippine fashion brand "Bench". He then attended a special event in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is scheduled to hold a fan meeting in the Philippines in October, gradually expanding his activities overseas. Whether he will meet the public again through domestic projects is drawing attention.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]