According to the legal community on April 28, two companies (Company A and Company B) that had advertising contracts with Kim Soo-hyun filed a lawsuit at the end of this month against the actor and his agency, Gold Medalist, seeking the return of model fees and compensation for damages.
The total amount claimed in the lawsuit by the two companies reaches approximately 3 billion KRW (about $2.2 million USD).
In addition to these two companies that have already filed lawsuits, other advertisers are also reportedly preparing to join the legal battle.
Company C is also reviewing the possibility of filing a lawsuit to terminate its advertising contract with Kim Soo-hyun due to a breach of trust, demanding the return of advertising fees or penalties.
Attorney Park Sung-woo of the law firm Woori, who is representing the current case, told YTN Star, “In the industry, it is known that Kim Soo-hyun has signed advertising model contracts with 15 brands, with individual contracts estimated at around 1 billion to 1.2 billion KRW ($740,000–$890,000 USD) each based on domestic standards.”
He added, “Advertisers generally try to avoid being the first to publicly sue a model. However, once one company takes legal action, more are likely to follow.”
Based on known modeling fees, the estimated total damages could exceed 10 billion KRW (approximately $7.4 million USD).
Kim Soo-hyun has been at the center of controversy following allegations that he had a relationship with the late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was still a minor, as well as accusations that he pressured her to repay debts.
In response, Kim Soo-hyun held an emergency press conference on March 31 to strongly deny the allegations and announced plans for legal action.
Amid the growing controversy, the release of the Disney+ series Knock-Off, starring Kim Soo-hyun, has been temporarily put on hold.