Kim Soo-hyun Wins His First Ad Lawsuit And The ₩10 Billion War Over His Reputation Is Just Getting Started

A Seoul court has finalized its ruling: the allegations were fabricated, the contract termination was unjustified, and the Queen of Tears star keeps every won. But five more brands are still in line.

The Verdict That Could Change Everything

Kim Soo-hyun just won the first battle in a legal war worth more than ₩10 billion ($7.5 million) and the ripple effects could determine whether one of Korea’s biggest actors ever fully reclaims the career that was nearly destroyed by a fabricated scandal.

Seoul Eastern District Court’s 13th Civil Division officially confirmed on Thursday that Swiss watch brand Mido’s lawsuit demanding the return of approximately ₩570 million ($424,000) in advertising fees has been dismissed in its entirety. Mido let Wednesday’s appeal deadline pass without filing, making the August 27 ruling which found that Kim bore no fault for the contract termination final and irreversible.

It is the first resolved case among a string of advertiser lawsuits that collectively exceed ₩10 billion in claims. And according to Kim’s attorney, Bang Sung-hoon of LKB Pyeongsan, the implications extend far beyond a single watch brand.

“This result will have a significant impact on the other cases,” Bang said.

Kim Soo-hyun waving in a leather jacket / News 1

The Anatomy of a Fabricated Scandal

To understand why this verdict matters, you need to understand what happened to Kim Soo-hyun in the spring of 2025 and how quickly a career built over 15 years can unravel when disinformation moves faster than due process.

In February 2025, actress Kim Sae-ron who had been managed by Kim Soo-hyun’s agency Gold Medalist before her contract ended in 2022, and who had been involved in a drunk driving incident that same year was found dead. Less than a month later, a YouTube channel with a history of controversial political content released allegations claiming Kim Soo-hyun had been in a relationship with Kim Sae-ron since she was 15 years old. The channel published purported KakaoTalk messages and a voice recording as evidence.

The fallout was immediate and devastating. Prada, which had appointed Kim as a global brand ambassador just three months earlier, terminated its contract. Other brands followed in rapid succession. Kim suspended all professional activities, including drama and advertising work, and entered what would become a year-long hiatus at the peak of his career.

Kim acknowledged having had a relationship with Kim Sae-ron, but categorically denied it began while she was a minor, stating they only began seeing each other after she became an adult.

What followed was a forensic investigation by the Seoul Gangnam Police Station that systematically dismantled the allegations. In May 2026, police confirmed that the KakaoTalk messages had been altered and the voice recording purportedly of Kim Sae-ron saying she had dated Kim Soo-hyun since middle school was entirely fabricated using AI voice-cloning technology. The YouTuber behind the channel faced arrest proceedings for distributing false information with the intent to defame.

By July 2026, police declined to forward cases accusing Kim of violating the Child Welfare Act or making false accusations, citing insufficient evidence. The investigation, for all practical purposes, was over. The allegations were false.

But by then, the commercial damage had already been done.

What the Court Actually Ruled

The Mido case centered on a straightforward contractual question: when a brand terminates an endorsement deal based on allegations that later turn out to be fabricated, can it demand the talent return the fees?

The court’s answer was unequivocal: no.

Presiding Judge Choi Su-jin ruled that the allegations of a relationship with a minor during Kim Sae-ron’s underage years were “fabricated false revelations” and therefore did not constitute attributable fault on the part of the model. Since Mido unilaterally terminated the contract not Kim there was no basis for demanding the return of fees already paid.

The financial specifics: Mido first signed Kim as a brand ambassador in December 2020 and renewed annually. In November 2024, the brand paid ₩900 million and extended the contract for another year. When the controversy erupted in March 2025, Mido terminated the deal in May and sued to recover ₩570 million corresponding to the unused portion.

The court dismissed the claim entirely. Kim keeps the full amount.

Kim Soo-hyun dressed in a blue jacket is waving / News 1

The Cases Still to Come

The Mido verdict is a first domino, but five more lawsuits remain active. Cuckoo Electronics and its affiliates, outdoor brand Eider, medical aesthetics company Classys, cosmetics brand Dinto, and health supplement company FromBio have all filed claims seeking damages or fee refunds. Together, the remaining cases total more than ₩10 billion.

Each will have its own factual nuances different contract terms, different timelines, different damage theories. But the Mido ruling establishes a powerful precedent: if the underlying controversy was based on fabricated allegations, the model cannot be held at fault for the reputational damage that followed.

For the brands, the calculation just became more complicated. Pursuing claims against an actor whose scandal has been officially debunked by both police forensics and a court of law carries its own reputational risk.

The Bigger Picture: A Career in Suspension

What makes this case resonate beyond contract law is the sheer scale of what Kim Soo-hyun had built before the allegations hit.

At the time of the scandal, he was arguably the most commercially dominant actor in Korea. Queen of Tears (2024), his tvN drama opposite Kim Ji-won, had just shattered records: a 24.85% nationwide finale rating that made it the highest-rated drama in tvN history, surpassing Crash Landing on You. On Netflix, the series amassed 29.2 million views and 682.6 million viewing hours, becoming the platform’s biggest K-drama of the year. Even Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were spotted watching it.

His endorsement portfolio at the time of the scandal was estimated to be among the largest of any Korean actor spanning luxury fashion (Prada), electronics (Cuckoo), watches (Mido), outdoor wear (Eider), cosmetics, and health products. The total value of contracts terminated or disputed reportedly exceeded ₩15 billion.

All of it evaporated within weeks of a YouTube video that police would later confirm was built on doctored messages and AI-generated audio.

Kim has been slowly re-emerging since the police cleared him. But the advertising lawsuits and the unresolved question of whether brands will face consequences for acting on unverified allegations represent the final chapter of a saga that exposed how vulnerable even the most established careers are to weaponized disinformation.

Thursday’s verdict suggests the legal system, at least, is catching up.