Park Seojoon's Lawsuit Over 6 Years of Unauthorized Soy Sauce Marinated Crab Scene Use: The Outcome of the 6 Billion Won Damages Claim

Used in Advertising for Six Years Without Consent
Park Seojoon Claims "6 Billion Won in Property Damages"
Media Reports "Actual Lawsuit Filed for 60 Million Won"
Court Orders Restaurant Owner to Pay 5 Million Won in Damages

Actor Park Seojoon eating soy sauce marinated crab in the 2018 tvN drama "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?". tvN D ENT YouTube

Actor Park Seojoon filed a lawsuit against the owner of the restaurant where he acted out a scene eating soy sauce marinated crab in the drama "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?" and won the case. Park claimed a violation of his portrait rights, arguing that the restaurant owner used the scene in advertisements without his consent.

According to legal sources and Herald Economy on July 2, the 13th Civil Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court (presiding judge: Seok Junhyeop) ruled in favor of Park Seojoon in his damages lawsuit against Mr. A, ordering Mr. A to pay Park 5 million won in compensation. This amount is approximately 0.08% of the 6 billion won in property damages claimed by Park's side.

The case began with a scene in the July 2018 tvN Wednesday-Thursday drama "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?" in which Park Seojoon, in order to win favor with the family of his on-screen girlfriend Park Minyoung, eats soy sauce marinated crab with great enthusiasm. About a year later, restaurant owner Mr. A created a banner using the scene from the drama, adding phrases such as "The place where Park Seojoon devoured soy sauce marinated crab" and "The marinated crab restaurant that even captivated Park Seojoon." He displayed the banner both inside and outside the restaurant for about five years, from August 2019 to September last year.

After learning of this belatedly, Park Seojoon filed a damages lawsuit against Mr. A. He claimed 6 billion won, calculated by multiplying the typical annual advertising contract fee of 1 billion won by the six-year period of infringement. He also requested an injunction prohibiting Mr. A from displaying the banner or running advertisements in the future, and demanded that Mr. A pay 1 million won for each violation of this order. Although the claimed damages amounted to 6 billion won, MyDaily reported that the actual lawsuit was filed for 60 million won.

Promotional banner of the restaurant where actor Park Seojoon was filmed eating soy sauce marinated crab in the tvN drama "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim?". Online community

In contrast, Mr. A argued, "The photo used on the banner is a widely publicized scene from the drama," and "It is industry practice for drama photos to be used in promotional materials by sponsors of the drama."

The court partially ruled in favor of Park Seojoon. The court stated, "Even if a celebrity's portrait and name are already public, it is clear that they must not be used for another's business without the individual's permission," thus siding with Park Seojoon. However, considering factors such as the relatively small scale of Mr. A's restaurant, the court set the compensation at 5 million won.

Neither side appealed the ruling, so the lawsuit concluded with the first trial verdict becoming final.