Kim Soo Hyun and his agency, Gold Medalist, as reports suggest, are facing financial difficulties. After his dating scandal with late Kim Sae Ron broke, the 37-year-old actor lost all endorsements, and his appearances on variety shows and public events were also canceled. As per reports, his longtime agency, Gold Medalist, is facing financial challenges and has let go of its cleaning staff.
More recently, it was reported that Kim Soo Hyun did not pay lawsuit fees for his 12 billion won damages claim against the bereaved family of Kim Sae Ron and the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute.
On Thursday (April 17), News1 reported that the 14th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court ordered Kim Soo Hyun to pay delivery costs and stamp duty on April 2. According to the report, although he initially announced plans to file a 12 billion won damages lawsuit, the actual amount stated in the court filing was 11 billion won. As a result, the court ordered his legal team to pay court fees and delivery costs based on the higher amount of 12 billion KRW. The litigation fee for his high-stakes case against the deceased family was estimated to be around 38 million won.
The Seoul Central District Court ordered the “Queen of Tears” actor to correct the stamp duty and delivery fee, which are legal fees paid when filing a lawsuit, proportional to the claimed amount. The court set a deadline for April 16, and his side submitted a correction form and requested an extension.
The lawsuit, worth approximately 12 billion won ($8.45 million), claims defamation and seeks damages for alleged false claims about Kim Soo Hyun’s relationship with Kim Sae Ron. Some speculate that the request for an extension might be an attempt to delay paying the fees.
On April 17, his agency and legal team, LKB & Partners, denied claims of non-payment of litigation fees in official statements. His lawyer, Kim Jong Bok, stated that they paid the total stamp duty and delivery fee of 38,299,500 won: “We paid without any issues.”
He explained that the application for an extension of the deadline was due to a routine address correction.
“We paid all the necessary court fees and delivery charges. It is not true that we failed to pay the lawsuit fees. The request to extend the correction deadline was made to fix the defendant’s address, not because of unpaid fees”, attorney Kim clarified.
Last month, allegations surfaced that Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron secretly dated for 6 years when she was in middle school. However, his agency denied these claims, stating they are “completely unfounded” and announced legal action against spreading misinformation.
After denying it several times, the Kdrama actor admitted to dating Kim Sae Ron from 2019 to 2020, after she turned 19. The bereaved family alleged that Kim Soo-hyun dated her for six years, starting in 2015, and shared photos and videos as evidence.
On March 31, Kim Soo Hyun held a press conference, tearfully denying allegations of dating the late actress when she was a minor and claiming the relationship started after she became an adult. He also denied involvement in her death and pressure to pay off debts.
Additionally, there’s an ongoing dispute regarding a 700 million won penalty related to Kim Sae Ron’s drunk driving accident. The Gold Medalist allegedly pressured her to pay 700 million won while she was on hiatus. On the other hand, the agency denies these claims and stated they wrote off 700 million as bad debt.
Kim Sae Ron was found dead on February 16, the same day as Kim Soo Hyun’s birthday. Her friend discovered her body and contacted authorities.
