Actor Kim Soo Hyun (age 37) is facing repercussions in the advertising industry as he remains silent on the controversy surrounding his alleged relationship with the late actress Kim Sae Ron. If the scandal continues to escalate, he may be required to pay substantial penalty fees to advertisers.

As of March 12, Kim Soo Hyun serves as a model for 16 brands, including Eider, Shabu All Day, Dinto, Homeplus, Shinhan Bank, Tous Les Jours, Cuckoo, Prada, and Jo Malone London.

However, his involvement in a personal controversy has sent shockwaves through the advertising industry. Companies such as K2 Korea and Shabu All Day have removed all promotional images of Kim Soo Hyun from their channels due to concerns over potential brand image damage. Cosmetics brand Dinto has also put all scheduled activities involving him on hold. The company's CEO stated, "Our entire team has been verifying the facts and discussing how to respond. For now, all scheduled events related to the model have been suspended."

CJ Foodville, which signed Kim Soo Hyun as a model for Tous Les Jours in September last year, has reportedly decided not to renew his contract, which expires at the end of this month.

Kim Soo Hyun has long been one of the highest-paid advertisement models, particularly in China and Southeast Asia. Following the success of the 2012 drama 'My Love from the Star,' his annual advertisement revenue was estimated at 50 billion KRW (~34.4 million USD), with his yearly model fees for a company reaching 1 billion KRW (~687,113 USD). Although his momentum slowed somewhat due to his military enlistment, he remains one of the top advertising models in the industry.

According to the Korea Corporate Reputation Research Institute, Kim Soo Hyun ranked eighth in the brand reputation index for January 2025, following actors like Byun Woo Seok and Cha Eun Woo, as well as sports stars like Son Heung Min and groups such as BTS and BLACKPINK. Given that Cha Eun Woo reportedly earns between 700 million and 1 billion KRW annually per company as a model, industry experts speculate that Kim Soo Hyun's fees would be slightly lower or around the same range.

As his modeling fees are among the highest in the industry, the penalty for breach of contract is also expected to be substantial. While the specific penalty clauses remain undisclosed due to confidentiality agreements, advertising industry experts speculate that the total penalty fee sum could reach up to 20 billion KRW (~13.7 million USD).

There have been multiple cases of celebrities facing hefty financial penalties for violating their contractual moral clauses. Past cases include actress Kim Sae Ron, who had to pay millions of KRW in damages to a cosmetic brand due to a controversy. Actor Won Bin was also mentioned in the controversy, with a netizen claiming in a comment under the Garo Sero Research Institute’s latest video that he had been willing to pay off Kim Sae Ron’s 700 million KRW debt, which she was allegedly pressured to repay by Kim Soo Hyun and his agency.

According to Kim Sae Ron’s bereaved family, the late actress sent a message to Kim Soo Hyun on March 19, 2024—around the same time he reportedly sent her a 700 million KRW payment demand. In the message, she pleaded, “Oppa, it’s me, Sae Ron. I received the payment notice. You said you would give me enough time before filing a lawsuit, so I’ve been working hard to prepare for my comeback. I was planning to repay you little by little from each project, but I really can’t pay 700 million KRW all at once. It’s not that I don’t want to pay—it’s that I can’t. Do we really have to go to court over this? Please, I beg you, just give me some time.”

Kim Sae Ron’s family claimed that after sending this message and trying to call Kim Soo Hyun multiple times, he did not answer. When she tried calling from her cousin’s phone, that number was reportedly shared with entertainment reporters, leading to multiple journalists contacting the family to verify whether it was really her.

Meanwhile, a comment on the video’s live chat claimed that “in another video, Kim Sae Ron’s aunt revealed a three-minute audio recording, stating that Won Bin was aware of Kim Sae Ron’s distress over the 700 million KRW debt and tried to pay it off for her. Won Bin is truly amazing. This makes me emotional. But Kim Soo Hyun, who has assets worth hundreds of billions, couldn't hold back and pressured her with legal notices to repay the 700 million KRW.”

SEE ALSO: Kim Sae Ron's bereaved family releases an AI-generated memorial video of the late actress