Does the estate of the late International star South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun face a penalty fee for canceled advertisement contracts, due to alleged drug use, that is estimated to reach 10 billion won ($7.5 million)? No, that's not true: The agency representing the late actor filed a complaint citing a report on Korean news outlet TV Chosun, which initially stated Lee's penalty amount as 10 billion won, and was subsequently removed. An investigation of the actor's death continues and no legal decisions have been made concerning the actor's estate.
The claim originated from a video (archived here) published on TikTok by @josipang1818 on November 6, 2023, with a caption, translated into English from Korean by Lead Stories staff, that reads:
The advertising industry generally requires a penalty fee for breach of contract that is two to three times the original amount of the contract. As news of Lee Sun-kyun's alleged drug use was revealed, advertising companies who employed Lee as a model are on high alert.
In the case of (Korean actor) Yoo Ah-in, who tested positive for four different drugs, he was expected to pay more than 10 billion won. Lee Sun-kyun's penalty is also estimated to reach 10 billion won, like Yoo Ah-in.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Jan 5 16:56:45 2024 UTC)
The claim about the penalty fee linked the case of the late actor to a case involving another South Korean actor, Yoo Ah-in (archived here), who appeared in court on December 12, 2023, for a first hearing over his alleged drug use. Lee Sun-kyun's penalty fee story was reported by TV Chosun as a piece of "exclusive" news that revealed the estimated penalty amount and it appears to be based on speculation since there are no legal proceedings underway involving Lee's estate and his former advertisers.
A search for the original TV Chosun report shows no results after it was removed (archived here) on January 4, 2024, following a threat of legal actions against the channel by Lee's agency Hodu & U Entertainment. The agency posted a statement on Instagram stating that the penalty claim was false on January 3, 2024.
This is what the post looked like on Instagram (archived here) at the time of writing:
(Source: Instagram screenshot taken on Fri Jan 5 16:59:12 2024 UTC)
The post in Korean, translated by Lead Stories staff, reads:
Recently, we have recognized that rumors and false facts about our actor are spreading. We have started collecting related data and decided to take legal action simultaneously. In the future, we will firmly deal with all situations in which false information is spread.
In addition, we are profoundly sorry about the malicious and indiscriminate reporting of the late actor Lee Sun-kyun in some media outlets over the past three months.
We hoped that the truth would be revealed through a fair police investigation in the end, but we can no longer expect it, so we would like to correct the facts one by one.
Neither party has provided further comment on the report of a possible penalty since a legal proceeding is underway on the action brought against TV Chosun by the late actor's agency.
The death of Lee Sun-kyun remains under investigation (archived here) and the amount of a possible penalty has not been decided.
