Recently, the court has issued an order to temporarily blockade a luxury apartment in Seongdong district, Seoul, under the name of actor Kim Soo Hyun.
The plaintiff is a company specializing in the production of Classys cosmetic medical equipment. The company previously chose Kim Soo Hyun as its advertising model. But after unilaterally terminating the actor's contract, Classys sued him for 3 billion won in damages and asked the court to freeze the property.
However, according to Money Today, Kim Soo Hyun's property freeze is different from the case of Kim Se Ui - head of YouTube channel Garosero - who had previously had 2 apartments blocked for being involved in illegal acts (sued by Kim Soo Hyun's management company for defamation and tracking).
Legal experts say that in Kim Soo Hyun's case, filing a compensation lawsuit with a request for frozen assets is a normal procedure in contract disputes.
The decision to freeze the property arose from Classys' cancellation of the advertising contract after rumors that Kim Soo Hyun had dated the late actor Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor.
The contract stipulates that if the advertising model "causes social controversy leading to the termination of the contract, the contract breach fee must be paid".
However, according to legal experts, the court's acceptance of the request for freezing assets does not mean that Kim Soo Hyun was wrong, but only that the court admits that there is a basis to ensure enforcement of the verdict if Classys Company wins the lawsuit in the official lawsuit.
If Kim Soo Hyun wins the lawsuit, he will not be held liable, which means he will not have to pay 3 billion won and the apartment will be demolished and sealed off.
On the contrary, Classys Company could file a lawsuit on Kim Se Ui's side and Kim Se Ron's family - who have spread the information accusing Kim Soo Hyun of causing damage to the company that signed an advertising contract with him.
In this case, Classys will claim non-contractual damages as a third party whose rights have been violated.
Meanwhile, on June 9, the court accepted the application for freezing measures against Kim Se Ui's two apartments, submitted by Kim Soo Hyun. The total amount of money required for freezing is 4 billion won.
However, this is different from confiscating the apartment named after Kim Soo Hyun.
Lawyer Noh Jong Eon of Jaejeon Law Firm explained: Appeatment of assets due to illegal acts (of Kim Se Ui) requires the plaintiff (of Kim Soo Hyun) to prove a clear link between illegal acts and damages. While blocking due to breach of contract only needs to be based on the content of the contract".
Therefore, the blockade of Kim Se Ui's apartment can be understood as the court has determined that there is some clear basis for the cause and amount of damage that Kim Soo Hyun requested.
The legal battle between Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Se Ui began in March this year, when Kim Se Ui and Kim Se Ron's family publicly accused Kim Soo Hyun of having a relationship with Kim Sae Ron from 2015 to 2021, when she was not old enough to mature.
But Kim Soo Hyun denied the accusation. He confirmed that the two have only been dating for about a year, since mid-2019, when Kim Sae Ron was an adult.
Kim Soo Hyun's management company, Gold Medalist, has sued Kim Se Ui and the actor's family for defamation, spreading false information, and demanding compensation of 12 billion won.
