Kim Soo Hyun may face astronomical penalty fees as controversy regarding his relationship with the late Kim Sae Ron spreads, triggering boycott movements across Korea.
Currently, Kim Soo Hyun serves as brand ambassador for 16 companies including Eider, Shabu All Day, Dinto, Homeplus, Shinhan Bank, Tous Les Jours, Cuckoo, Prada, and Jo Malone London. Some of these companies have begun removing materials featuring Kim and reconsidering their contracts to protect their brand images.
K2 Korea and Shabu All Day have removed all photos of Kim Soo Hyun from their channels, while Dinto has suspended all scheduled activities. CJ Foodville has decided not to renew their contract with the actor for Tous Les Jours bakery, which expires at the end of this month. LG Household & Health Care has made videos from their cosmetics brand Beyond, which previously featured Kim as their face, private on their official YouTube channel.
Eider stated they would maintain their contract but has deleted Kim’s images from their official website and some social media platforms. However, some posts still remain. J Airlines recently made a 2015 commercial featuring Kim private, but stated this was unrelated to the current controversy. Shabu All Day has deleted Kim-related content from its official social media, though his face still appears on their official website.
Meanwhile, Kim Soo Hyun has commanded top-tier advertising fees based on his immense popularity in China and Southeast Asia. During the height of his fame following 2012’s My Love From the Star, his annual advertising revenue reached 50 billion KRW (approximately 34 million USD), with his modeling fee standing at 1 billion KRW per year.
With such high fees comes substantial potential penalties. Advertising contracts typically include clauses stating, “in cases of legal violations or causing social controversy, a penalty of 2-3 times the advertising fee must be paid.” Assuming Kim’s current modeling fee is 500 million KRW (approximately 345,000 USD) per year, his potential penalties could range from 16 billion to 24 billion KRW (approximately 11 million to 17 million USD).
>> Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Kang Joon’s Different Approaches to Young Co-stars Sparked Public Reaction
