Actor Park Seo Jun won a partial victory in a damages lawsuit against a restaurant that unlawfully used a scene from a broadcast he appeared in for advertising. The side of Park Seo Jun is gaining weight in their stance that this is a legitimate legal action against malicious acts repeated over several years.
On the 3rd, a media outlet reported that the 13th Civil Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (Director General Seok Jun Hyup) ruled in favor of Park Seo Jun, stating that 'A' (the restaurant owner) should compensate Park Seo Jun 5 million won.
This incident originates from a scene aired in the tvN drama 'What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?' in 2018. After a scene in which Park Seo Jun dined at a crab restaurant was broadcast, A used it for marketing by writing phrases like 'The house where Park Seo Jun had an eating spree' and 'A crab restaurant Park Seo Jun also fell for' on banners, displaying them inside and outside the restaurant for about 5 years, and has operated online search advertisements for about 6 years.
The issue is that these advertisements were made without Park Seo Jun's explicit consent. According to his agency Awesome Entertainment, 'We requested multiple times to stop the postings since 2019, but the malicious act continued where they would take down the portal site search ads and banners and then repost them, and thereafter they did not respond to our demand to take them down, which led to the lawsuit.' This can be interpreted as a deliberate and intentional infringement of portrait rights, beyond simple misuse.
In response, Park Seo Jun's side filed a lawsuit, arguing that the continued use of his image and name for commercial purposes without his consent is a clear infringement of portrait rights. Some public opinion expressed a negative view that Park Seo Jun 'sued a small business for 6 billion won'; however, his agency explained, 'Considering the advertising model fees, the estimated damages are 6 billion won, but taking into account the scale of the defendant's business and other circumstances, the actual amount claimed in the lawsuit is 60 million won.'
The court acknowledged the infringement of portrait rights, stating, 'Just because a celebrity's likeness and name have been made public, it does not mean one can use them for others' business without permission,' but recognized only compensation of 5 million won considering that the other party is a small self-employed individual. Additionally, the request for a 'prohibition order on infringing acts' requested by Park Seo Jun’s side was dismissed on the grounds that 'currently, all banners and advertisements have been removed.'
The agency confirmed, 'We have noted that secondary harm, such as malicious ridicule and defamation regarding the legitimate ruling, is ongoing,' and warned that they will respond without leniency or settlement to acts infringing on the portrait rights and personality rights of their actors.
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]