Actor Kim Sumi's Stake Company Wins Civil Lawsuit Over Unpaid Crab Payments Exceeding 100 Million Won

Seafood Distribution Company Files Lawsuit Claiming "Payment Not Received"
Court Rules "Sales Contract Not Recognized... Not Unjust Enrichment"

Actress Kim Sumi's food company, in which she holds shares, was sued in a civil lawsuit but won in the first trial.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 12th, Judge Kim Seongdae of the Incheon District Court Civil Division 1 ruled against plaintiff A in a lawsuit over payment for goods filed against Napalkkot F&B.

Napalkkot F&B is a food company in which Kim holds shares, and at one time, Kim's son served as the CEO. Kim's son stepped down from the CEO position last year and is currently serving as a director.

A, the CEO of a seafood distribution company, filed a lawsuit in December of the following year, claiming that despite delivering blue crabs twice to Napalkkot F&B in December 2021, he had not received a total of 177 million won.

A's company had a contract to supply blue crabs with company B, a seafood wholesale and retail business, not with Napalkkot F&B, but claimed that since B requested the delivery to Napalkkot, the payment should be made by Napalkkot. A argued, "If a direct blue crab sales contract with Napalkkot F&B is not recognized, it ultimately means Napalkkot F&B gained unjust enrichment."

Actor Kim Soo-mi [Image source=Yonhap News]

However, Napalkkot F&B countered that there was no direct contractual relationship with the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit, so the claim is not legally valid.

The court ruled that the blue crab sales contract could not be recognized, and therefore, it was not unjust enrichment by Napalkkot F&B. The reason was that A failed to specify the date, place, and details of the sales contract, and A himself acknowledged the supply contract with company B.

Judge Kim explained, "There is insufficient evidence to recognize that a blue crab sales contract was concluded between A and Napalkkot F&B," adding, "Napalkkot F&B received blue crabs from A's company corresponding to the amount of claims entangled with another company."

Earlier this year, Napalkkot F&B filed a police complaint against Kim and his son on charges of embezzlement. The company claimed that the Kim family, who had an exclusive contract for the 'Kim Sumi' trademark for 10 years, sold the trademark without permission to third parties about 10 times from 2019 to 2020 and embezzled over 600 million won.

However, Kim's side refuted, stating that the current CEO Song was registered as the CEO of Napalkkot F&B by forging private documents, and said, "We filed a complaint for forgery of private documents, but they are trying to disgrace a celebrity."

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