No refund owed, Seoul court rules, as actor Kim Soo-hyun beats watch brand’s lawsuit

Actor Kim Soo-hyun has been cleared by the Seoul Eastern District Court of any obligation to repay Swiss watch brand Mido approximately 577 million won in advertising fees.

The court dismissed Mido's claims that their endorsement contract, terminated due to allegations of Kim dating a minor, justified a refund.

The ruling became final after Mido did not appeal.

Additionally, police decided not to pursue charges against Kim due to insufficient evidence related to the minor-dating allegations.

SEOUL, September 14 — Actor Kim Soo-hyun, best known for hit K-dramas such as It’s Okay to Not Be Okay , Queen of Tears and My Love from the Star, has won a final court ruling clearing him of any obligation to repay Swiss watch brand Mido roughly 577 million won (RM1.81 million) in advertising fees.

The dispute stemmed from Mido’s attempt to end its endorsement contract with Kim over allegations that he had dated a minor.

The Seoul Eastern District Court dismissed Mido’s claims in full in an August 27 ruling, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The ruling became final after Mido did not appeal by the September 10 deadline.

Mido reportedly signed an advertising contract with Kim in 2020, renewing it annually.

In November 2024, the brand paid a modelling fee of 900 million won (RM2.7 million) and extended the contract for another year.

The controversy erupted in March 2025, when a YouTuber published purported chat messages suggesting Kim had dated the late actor Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor.

Kim Sae-ron died in February 2025.

Mido terminated its contract with Kim two months later, in May, and sued to recover about 577 million won (RM1.81 million) – the portion of the fee corresponding to the remaining contract period – arguing the controversy had damaged the model’s commercial value.

Kim’s agency, Gold Medalist, countered that he bore no fault that would justify ending the contract, and therefore owed no refund.

The court accepted that argument last month in dismissing Mido’s claim.

Separately, the Seoul Seongdong police station decided in July not to forward Kim’s case to prosecutors, citing insufficient evidence to support allegations that he violated the Child Welfare Act or made a false accusation in connection with the minor-dating claims.

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首尔东部地方法院裁定演员金秀贤无需向瑞士手表品牌美度偿还约5.77亿韩元的广告费。

法院驳回了美度（Mido）的诉求，即由于金·卡戴珊被指控与未成年人交往而终止的代言合同，美度有权要求退款。

米多没有上诉，判决即告生效。

此外，由于与未成年人约会指控相关的证据不足，警方决定不对金某提起诉讼。

首尔，9月14日讯——因出演《虽然是精神病但没关系》、《眼泪女王》和《来自星星的你》等热门韩剧而闻名的演员金秀贤，赢得了最终的法庭裁决，免除了他向瑞士手表品牌美度（Mido）偿还约5.77亿韩元（181万令吉）广告费的任何义务。

这场纠纷源于美度集团试图终止与金的代言合同，原因是金被指控与未成年人交往。

据《韩国中央日报》报道，首尔东部地方法院在8月27日的裁决中驳回了美度（Mido）的全部诉讼请求。

米多在9月10日截止日期前没有提出上诉，因此该裁决最终生效。

据报道，Mido 于 2020 年与金·卡戴珊签订了广告合约，并每年续签。

2024 年 11 月，该品牌支付了 9 亿韩元（270 万令吉）的模特费，并将合同延长了一年。

这场争议爆发于 2025 年 3 月，当时一位 YouTuber 发布了据称是聊天记录的信息，暗示金在未成年时曾与已故演员金赛纶交往。

金赛纶于2025年2月去世。

两个月后，也就是 5 月份，美度终止了与金的合约，并提起诉讼，要求追回约 5.77 亿韩元（181 万令吉）——相当于剩余合约期的费用——理由是这场争议损害了该模特的商业价值。

金的经纪公司 Gold Medalist 反驳说，他没有任何过错，因此没有理由终止合同，也无需退款。

上个月，法院采纳了这一论点，驳回了米多的诉讼请求。

另外，首尔城东警察局在7月份决定不将金某的案件移交检察官，理由是证据不足以支持他违反《儿童福利法》或在与未成年人约会的指控中作出虚假指控。

为雪儿和好莱坞带来闪耀光芒的设计师鲍勃·麦基去世，享年87岁。

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