[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Sung-pil] Actor Kang Ji-hwan (real name Jo Tae-gyu), who lost the first trial in an unjust enrichment lawsuit filed by the drama 'Joseon Survival' production company, has appealed the ruling.
According to the court on the 30th, Kang Ji-hwan submitted a notice of appeal the day before to the 16th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Lim Ki-hwan), which handled the first trial. Earlier, on the 16th, the court partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the unjust enrichment lawsuit filed by Studio Santa Claus Entertainment, the production company of Joseon Survival, against Kang Ji-hwan and his former agency Jellyfish Entertainment. At that time, the court ordered, "Kang Ji-hwan must pay Studio Santa Claus Entertainment approximately 5.34 billion KRW plus delayed interest, and Jellyfish Entertainment must jointly bear 610 million KRW of that amount." According to the Civil Procedure Act, an appeal must be filed within 14 days from the day after the delivery of the official judgment document. As of the afternoon of the appeal deadline, the former agency has not yet submitted an appeal.
Studio Santa Claus Entertainment (formerly Five Riders Korea), the production company of the drama Joseon Survival, signed a contract with Kang Ji-hwan in April 2019 through his then agency Jellyfish Entertainment. The appearance fee was 76.3 million KRW per episode, totaling 1.526 billion KRW. The contract included a clause stating that "the party responsible for contract termination or cancellation must pay double the appearance fee already paid to the other party as a penalty." Studio Santa Claus Entertainment later signed an export contract worth 4.7 billion KRW with Japan's NBC Universal Entertainment Japan, conditional on Kang Ji-hwan's appearance in Joseon Survival.
However, in July 2019, after completing filming for 12 out of 20 episodes of Joseon Survival, Kang Ji-hwan was arrested and indicted on charges of forced molestation and quasi-rape. The charges involved sexual assault against two female outsourced staff members who were sleeping after a company dinner with agency staff at his home in Opo-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi Province. With the lead actor arrested and indicted, Studio Santa Claus Entertainment was unable to continue production and notified Kang Ji-hwan of contract termination. Subsequently, they filed a lawsuit demanding payment of the full appearance fee, penalties, and damages totaling approximately 6.3896 billion KRW.
Previously, Kang Ji-hwan was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a 3-year probation by the first trial court after being found guilty of forced molestation and quasi-rape. Kang Ji-hwan appealed the ruling, but the second trial court dismissed the appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the original judgment in November last year, confirming the guilty verdict.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
