Kim Soo Hyun recently lost a luxury apartment in Galleria Forêt to a cosmetic company after the advertiser filed a lawsuit against the actor over damages caused by his dating controversy. The development came just a day after Seoul’s Eastern District Court gave the actor and his agency, Gold Medalist, the upper hand in seizing Garo Sero host Kim Se Ui’s two apartments in a bid to recover damages caused by the YouTuber’s reporting, where he accused Soo Hyun of being in an inappropriate relationship with late actor Kim Sae Ron.
Since the advertisers pulled out of their contract based on the evidence submitted by Garo Sero, which Soo Hyun’s legal team insists is fabricated, his lawyers have now taken the case to South Korea’s National Forensic Service (NFS) to verify the files’ authenticity. If the files turn out to be doctored, it could flip the entire case.
Also read: Kim Soo Hyun’s loses luxury apartment as he fails to pay penalty fee, a day after winning court order to seize Kim Se Ui’s properties
Kim Soo Hyun moves to the National Forensic Service
Since March, Garo Sero and Kim Sae Ron’s family have dropped plenty of digital content they claim as evidence, pictures, screenshots, call logs, alleged audio recordings, and more, forcing Soo Hyun and his agency to hold a press conference. There, he admitted to dating Kim Sae Ron, but denied claims that they were together when she was underage, insisting the relationship only began after she became an adult. But Garo Sero didn’t stop. They even dragged in the attorney, threatening to sue him based on a re-constructed audio recording. Soo Hyun’s lawyer, Bang Sung Hoon from LKB & Partners, stated, “It’s true that provisional seizure was granted, but Kim Soo Hyun is the victim of criminal slander by Garo Sero Institute. Their false claims that Kim dated and exploited the underage Kim Sae Ron led to these consequences. The blame lies with the instigators, not Kim.”
His team is now fighting back against all the advertisers who dropped him based on that “fabricated” evidence. One of them, a medical beauty company called CLASSYS, had hired Kim to endorse their brand, Volnewmer. When the scandal blew up, CLASSYS scrapped the deal and sued him for damaging their reputation, securing a court order to seize one of his luxury apartments worth about ₩3 billion KRW (around $2.2 million USD). Three more companies have followed suit.
Kim Soo Hyun fans call for a boycott
Kim Soo Hyun enjoys a massive fanbase in South Korea and globally, some of whom have even launched a petition to protect the actor from cyberbullying. They have now accused CLASSYS of causing “secondary harm”, stressing that the brand is doing additional harm to someone who is already being targeted. Fans argue that the company made money off Kim Soo Hyun’s image for years, but turned against him when the controversy broke. They are now threatening to boycott the brand unless it publicly explains itself.
Also read: Kim Soo Hyun scores first big win: YouTuber Kim Se Ui’s properties seized, Tzuyang case reopened, arrest warrant looms if he skips summons
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Kim Soo Hyun and Gold Medalist have filed a countersuit for ₩11 billion KRW (around $8 million USD) against both Garo Sero Institute and Kim Sae Ron’s family. The charges include defamation, to privacy breach and the distribution of malicious information. Additional complaints have been filed under South Korea’s sexual violence laws and the Information and Communications Network Act. Earlier, the actor’s legal team confirmed that they are working on the provisional seizure of Garo Sero’s bank account, where Soo Hyun is the direct creditor.
