In a recent lawsuit filed by Boys Over Flowers Actress Gu Hye Sun against her former agency, HB Entertainment, she suffered a defeat, prompting her to announce her intention to appeal. However, HB Entertainment also indicated a firm stance in response to the legal action.
On the 20th June, HB Entertainment released a statement, stating, “Due to years of disputes related to Gu Hye Sun’s exclusive contract and repeated false claims, we have suffered significant financial and emotional damages.” The agency accused Gu Hye Sun of distorting the court’s judgment and portraying herself as a victim based on false facts. They declared, “This has nothing to do with unpaid fees or abuse. We cannot tolerate any further serious damage to our reputation, so we will take legal action against all of Gu Hye Sun’s false statements and false reporting.”
According to legal sources on the 18th, the 63rd Civil Conciliation Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Park Chan-seok) ruled against Gu Hye Sun in a lawsuit seeking compensation of approximately 170 million won from her former agency, HB Entertainment. In response to the ruling, the law firm representing Gu Hye Sun, Law Firm Liu, stated through a press release on the 19th, “Gu Hye Sun will soon appeal the decision, and we believe that we must sound the alarm regarding the agency’s abuse and non-payment of appearance fees.”
On the same day, Gu Hye Sun expressed her thoughts on her social media account, saying, “I have been deeply contemplating whether it is right for me to bear the burden of over 300 million won in losses alone due to the unpaid YouTube appearance fees from my former agency. Despite accumulating more than 10 million views in total, my former agency not only refused to pay the fees but also forcibly discarded videos that contained the cherished memories of my beloved pet. They also resorted to filing criminal complaints against witnesses who were trying to help me, causing me years of torment.”
Meanwhile, Gu Hye Sun married actor Ahn Jae-hyun in 2016, but they reached a mutual agreement to divorce after three years. Following the divorce, Gu Hye Sun notified HB Entertainment of the termination of her exclusive contract in August of the same year, and the dispute was resolved through mediation at the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board. The mediation condition required Gu Hye Sun to pay 35 million won to HB Entertainment for the construction of a YouTube channel for content creation. However, Gu Hye Sun filed a lawsuit, claiming that HB Entertainment gained unjustifiable financial benefits from the YouTube content. She argued that she had paid the specified amount but was not compensated for her loss.
Source: (1)
