Aftermath of Actress Ji-soo’s ‘School Violence Exit’… Ex-Agency Ordered to Pay 880 Million Won

The lawsuit filings left behind by actress ‘Ji-soo’ and the ‘school violence’ scandal were brutal. During the broadcast run of the KBS 2TV drama ‘River Where the Moon Rises,’ the agency that had previously managed him ultimately paid a steep price after he was removed from the project in disgrace.

A fatal butterfly effect from the ‘school violence’ risk… Confirmed liability of 880 million won

According to the legal community on the 6th, Ji-soo’s former agency, ‘KeyEast,’ submitted a notice of withdrawal of its appeal to the Supreme Court on the 24th of last month to the Supreme Court’s Panel 3 (presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun). With that, the long legal battle ‘KeyEast’ had brought against production company ‘Canvas N’ (formerly Victory Contents) was brought to a close. A final ruling was issued confirming a payment order of ‘about 880 million won’ and interest on late payments as determined by the appellate court.

The huge damages lawsuit was sparked by the ‘Ji-soo’ ‘school violence’ controversy that swept through the entertainment industry in March 2021. He, who played the male lead ‘Ondal’ in the drama, acknowledged in part that he had been the one who caused harm in the past around the time of episode 6’s broadcast, then moved ahead with the decision to voluntarily step down. The particularly painful point was that, at the time, the drama had already shot as many as 18 episodes out of a total of 20.

The sudden departure of a starring actor dealt the production company a devastating blow. ‘Canvas N’ rushed in replacement actor ‘Na In-woo’ and took the extreme measure of ordering reshoots. To keep its promises to viewers, the company had to endure astronomical bleeding of ‘additional production costs,’ including fully reshooting the already aired portions covering episodes 1 through 6.

The production company, which found itself at a crossroads, ultimately drew the sword of a damages claim lawsuit on a scale of 3 billion won against its then agency, ‘KeyEast.’ After a fierce legal debate, the trial court recognized the production company’s responsibility for damages of ‘about 1.42 billion won’ and ruled in favor of the production company. Then, in the appeal court, the standard for calculating the amount of damages was adjusted, resulting in a final reduction confirming ‘about 880 million won.’ The case is set to remain as a weighty precedent that highlighted the importance of ‘risk management’ driven by moral lapses by contracted artists in the entertainment industry.