Kim Soo Hyun‘s agency Gold Medalist has secured a final victory in a lawsuit filed by Swiss watch brand Mido seeking the return of approximately 577 million won ($430,000) in advertising fees.
According to legal sources on September 11th, Mido did not file an appeal by the September 10th deadline, leaving the Seoul Eastern District Court’s August 27th ruling in favor of Gold Medalist intact. It marks the first final ruling among the lawsuits filed against Kim Soo Hyun’s side seeking the return of advertising fees.
Mido first signed Kim Soo Hyun as a brand ambassador in December 2020 and renewed its contract with him annually. After controversy surrounding the actor emerged last year, the company terminated the agreement in May and sued to recover fees corresponding to the remaining contract period.
Mido reportedly argued that the controversy had damaged Kim Soo Hyun’s commercial value as a model, giving the company grounds to terminate the contract and recover the remaining fees regardless of whether he was personally at fault.
Gold Medalist countered that the controversy stemmed from allegations made by a third party and that Kim Soo Hyun had not committed any breach that would justify terminating the agreement.
The court sided with Gold Medalist, finding that the requirements for terminating the contract had not been met and dismissing Mido’s claim in full. The August ruling had previously been reported as Gold Medalist’s first victory in the advertising-related legal disputes surrounding the actor.
The legal disputes followed allegations raised last year that Kim Soo Hyun had dated late actress Kim Sae Ron while she was a minor. Kim Se Eui, the head of YouTube channel Hover Lab, repeatedly raised the claims but was indicted in custody in June on charges including defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.
On July 29th, police also decided not to forward cases accusing Kim Soo Hyun of violating the Child Welfare Act and making a false accusation in connection with his relationship with Kim Sae Ron, citing insufficient evidence.
Gold Medalist’s attorney Bang Sung Hoon of LKB & Partners said the ruling established that attempts to shift the consequences of false allegations onto the person targeted by them “cannot be legally accepted.”
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