Controversy Over School Violence Involving Seo Yea-ji... Court Rules "Incidents Before Contract, Advertisers Not Liable for Compensation"

Actor Seo Yea-ji Gaslighting and School Violence Allegations Verdict
'Only Contract Termination Recognized'... "Agency to Pay 225 Million Won"

Actor Seo Yea-ji, who was previously involved in a school violence controversy, was ruled by the court that she is not liable for damages to the advertiser.

On the 16th, according to the legal community, the Civil Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Song Seung-woo) recognized only the responsibility for refund due to contract termination in the lawsuit filed by Yuhan Health Life against Seo Yea-ji and her agency, and ruled that "the agency must pay 225 million KRW."

In July 2020, Yuhan Health Life signed an advertising model contract with Seo Yea-ji for a health functional probiotic product and paid the agency 450 million KRW as model fees.

Actor Seo Yea-ji. [Photo by Yonhap News]

However, in April of the following year, while the advertisement was airing, allegations arose that Seo Yea-ji had committed school violence in the past and gaslighted her partner. The agency denied these claims as groundless, but Yuhan Health Life terminated the contract on the grounds that Seo Yea-ji violated the 'maintenance of dignity agreement,' and the advertisement was immediately suspended. Subsequently, Yuhan Health Life filed a lawsuit claiming model fees, penalties, and damages.

The contract between the two parties stipulated that "the advertising model must not be charged with or admit to offenses such as drunk driving, hit-and-run, assault, school violence, drugs, etc., or engage in conduct that damages dignity as a public figure."

The court ruled, "Even if the allegations against Seo Yea-ji are true, they all occurred before the contract period," and judged that Seo Yea-ji could not be considered to have violated the contract solely based on the allegations.

Yuhan Health Life argued that school violence was listed as a violation of the maintenance of dignity agreement and that it constituted a breach of contract. However, the court pointed out, "If interpreted that way, it would force Seo Yea-ji to disclose past violations of the maintenance of dignity obligation during the contract negotiation stage," adding, "This constitutes a serious infringement of fundamental constitutional rights."

Nevertheless, regardless of the truth of the allegations, the court judged that Yuhan Health Life's termination of the advertising model contract was lawful because Seo Yea-ji's image was damaged. According to the contract clause stating that "if the advertisement airing is canceled after the model fee has been paid, 50% of the model fee must be refunded," the court ruled that the agency must pay Yuhan Health Life 225 million KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.