Kim Soo-hyun prevails in Mido fee case

Actor Kim Soo-hyun and his agency, Gold Medalist, have won a final ruling clearing him of any obligation to repay Swiss watch brand Mido roughly 577 million won ($430,000) in advertising fees, after Mido tried to end its contract over allegations that Kim dated a minor.

The Seoul Eastern District Court dismissed Mido's claims in full in an Aug. 27 ruling on the contract-fee lawsuit Mido filed against Gold Medalist and others, according to legal sources Friday.

The ruling became final after Mido did not appeal by the Thursday deadline.

Mido signed an advertising contract with Kim in 2020 and renewed it annually. In November 2024, it paid a modeling fee of 900 million won and extended the contract for another year.

His minor-dating allegations surfaced in March 2025, stemming from a YouTuber who published purported chat messages suggesting Kim had dated the late actor Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor; Kim Sae-ron died in February 2025.

Mido terminated the contract two months later, in May, and filed suit seeking the return of about 577 million won — the portion of the fee corresponding to the remaining contract period — arguing that the controversy damaged the model's commercial value.

Gold Medalist countered that Kim bore no fault that would justify terminating the contract, and therefore had no obligation to return the fee.

The court last month reportedly accepted Gold Medalist's argument in dismissing Mido's claim.

Separately, the Seoul Seongdong Police Station decided in July not to forward Kim's case to prosecutors, citing insufficient evidence on allegations that he violated the Child Welfare Act and made a false accusation in connection with the minor-dating claims.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]