[theqoo] GRAVE ‘CUT LOSS’ OF KIM SOOHYUN… MODEL FEES TOTALLY 1 BILLION, 16 CFS → 20 BILLION WON PENALTY?

According to industry sources on the 12th, Kim Soohyun is currently working as a model for 16 companies, including Eider, Shabu All Day, Dinto, Homeplus, Shinhan Bank, Tous Les Jours, Cuckoo, Prada, and Jo Malone London.

With Kim Soohyun recently becoming embroiled in a personal controversy, the advertising industry is on high alert.

K2 Korea and Shabu All Day removed all photos of Kim Soohyun from their official channels, citing concerns about damage to their brand image. Cosmetics company Dinto has put all of Kim Soohyun’s scheduled activities on hold. The CEO of Dinto stated, “All of our employees have been working together to verify the facts and discuss our response strategy. Currently, all planned activities related to the model have been suspended.”

CJ Foodville signed Kim Soohyun as the model for Tous Les Jours in September last year, with the contract set to expire at the end of this month. The company has reportedly decided not to renew the contract.

Kim Soohyun has commanded top-tier advertising fees, leveraging his popularity in China and Southeast Asia. Following the success of the 2012 drama My Love from the Star, his estimated annual earnings from advertisements alone reached 50 billion KRW (~34,46 M USD). At the time, his model fee was around 1 billion KRW per year (~689 K USD). Although his momentum slowed due to military enlistment, he remains one of the top models in the industry.

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Given his high model fees, the penalty for contract termination is also expected to be substantial. Although the exact amount is undisclosed due to confidentiality agreements, advertising contracts typically include clauses stating that if a model violates laws or causes a social scandal, they must pay a penalty amounting to two to three times the advertising fee.

If Kim Soohyun’s annual model fee is estimated at 500 million KRW (~345 K USD), the penalty he may have to pay could range between 16 billion to 24 billion KRW (~11 M to 16.5M USD).

Cases of celebrities paying penalties for breaching their obligation to maintain a good reputation are not uncommon. In 2014, comedian Lee Soogeun, who was convicted of illegal gambling and sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year suspended sentence, was sued by Bullsone, a car accessories company for which he had been a model, for damages exceeding 2 billion KRW (~1.4 M USD). After a legal dispute over the penalty, the court ruled that he had to pay 700 million KRW (~482 K USD), which was 280% of his model fee of 250 million KRW (~ 172 K USD).

1. But he has a lot of moneyㅎㅎ

2. 20 billion is nothing, make it 40 billion

3. These advertisers should ask more

4. That’s way too little?

5. I feel like he would still have money left even if he repaid everything

6. He did this to himself

7. He can easily afford this

8. He has a sh*t ton of money. Do you know how much his appearance fees alone are?

9. He must have so much money. Worrying about celebrities is the most useless thing

10. Every time I see an ad of his, I barf