K-drama actor Kim Soo Hyun‘s legal war with the late Kim Sae Ron’s family rages on with lawsuit threats looming in sight. As the South Korean actor’s controversy continues to gain new layers, News1 reported this week that his case’s litigation fees and court service charges are estimated at approximately 38 million KRW (around $27,000) for a 12 billion KRW (about $8.16 million) lawsuit.
The K-media outlet’s initial claims suggested that Kim Soo Hyun‘s side hadn’t yet paid the fees as per the court’s demands. Rumours of the actor drowning in financial woes emerged as it was reported that his side requested for the payment deadline (originally set for April 16) extension. The issue inevitably took more serious overtones as the reported lack of fee payment would inevitably sound the alarm surrounding an imminent dismissal of the lawsuit.
Controversy-ridden K-drama actor’s agency and legal team respond
Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, Gold Medalist, eventually responded to the queries related to the reports: “We are currently checking on the matter.” As of April 17 KST, a representative issued an updated statement, saying, “The news that we did not pay the litigation fees and court services charge is false. All litigation fees and court service charges have been paid,” as per AllKpop.
According to YTN Star, LKB & Partners, the legal firm representing Soo Hyun, attributed the deadline extension request to fixing the defendant’s address, “not because of unpaid fees.”
Kim Soo Hyun’s defamation lawsuit explained
Confusion surfaced when court documents indicated a discrepancy. While the K-drama star‘s legal team had originally claimed 12 billion KRW in damages in the defamation lawsuit, the court only registered 11 billion KRW. In an attempt to overcome the confusion, the court gave the team a week to submit the file again with amendments. However, they ended up requesting an extension around the end of the April 16 deadline.
The defamation lawsuit in question, with Kim Soo Hyun as the plaintiff, targets Kim Sae Ron’s family and YouTube channel HoverLab (Garosero) for persistently accusing the Queen of Tears actor of starting a relationship with the late actress when she was a minor. In late March, Gold Medalist announced a sudden press conference, where Soo Hyun publicly denied the claims, saying that his brief romantic relationship with Kim Sae Ron only began when she became an adult.
Kim Soo Hyun’s agency already fighting off bankruptcy rumours
This isn’t the first time rumours of financial strain have surrounded Kim Soo Hyun. After the actor’s tearful press conference – organised to save his name, industry insiders speculated that it was an attempt to save his agency from potential bankruptcy. The claims seemed even more plausible as over 20 endorsements contracted with the Queen of Tears star were pulled in light of the allegations against him.
“Gold Medalist used to maintain a surplus of 2 to 3 billion KRW (approximately $1,360,000 to $2,040,000) in company accounts, but that’s no longer the case,” an M&M expert reportedly familiar with Gold Medalist’s rumoured financial crisis stated.
“Over 20 of Kim Soo Hyun’s endorsements have been pulled. Although few advertisers have demanded penalties, the partial refunds for prepaid model fees, cancellation of scheduled events, and rising fixed costs have severely depleted the company’s finances.” Kim Soo Hyun and his agency are expected to be hit with more damaging financial fractures as his yet-to-release Disney+ drama Knock-Off’s schedule faces uncertainty.
Industry insiders have already considered the possibility of the streaming giant suing the actor in case of the show’s cancellation. The eight-episode drama has an estimated production budget of 60 billion KRW (approx $41 million), with Kim’s per-episode fee estimated between 500 million to 800 million KRW, which brings the total to over 5 billion KRW.
Another financial industry source said, “The company reportedly needed to secure around 6 billion KRW (approximately $4,080,000) before the press conference. I’ve also heard they’ve halted services from an outsourced cleaning company. If that’s true, restructuring among staff might be next.”