Dramabeans » lawsuits

Lee Da-hae hit with lawsuit for breach of contract

javabeans — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:17:18 +0000

More trouble for actress Lee Da-hae, who is being hit with a lawsuit for dropping out of Coffee, the period spy film that cast Kim So-yeon to replace her.

According to the Seoul Central District Court on May 13, film production company Ocean Film filed suit for damages against the star and her management, DBM Entertainment. Ocean Film contends, “Ms. Lee agreed to appear in our movie Coffee and received 100 million won in salary. However, she decided to take a broadcast drama instead and informed us of her intent to drop the movie.” Now they are demanding payment for breach of contract, and are suing for 360 million won (approx $330,000 USD), citing compensation for damages.

DBM’s legal representative stated in a press release that they would fight back through whatever legal means necessary. Addressed in the statement were: the signing of Lee’s official contract, Lee’s salary for the movie, and the cause for her departure. (...)
Read the rest of Lee Da-hae hit with lawsuit for breach of contract (425 words)

Lee Na-young still waiting for her payday

javabeans — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:45:29 +0000

Runaway Plan B is wrapped and off the air, but lead actress Lee Na-young has yet to see a single cent from it, and is taking legal steps to claim her salary.

To that end, she has filed suit against producers with the Seoul Central District Court demanding the unpaid wages, according to her management company Keyeast. This comes after the drama that boasted a 10 billion won budget had trouble securing funding mid-shoot, troubled by ever-dropping ratings. Lee isn’t the only one who hasn’t been paid; other supporting cast members and crew are also waiting. According to management reps, other stars in the main cast like Rain, Daniel Henney, and Yoon Jin-seo have received some pay, though the rest is still outstanding.

A source with the production company promised to negotiate the matter, but it remains to be seen how long that might take if the problem is that there are no funds to be paid.

I hadn’t heard of Runaway running into mid-drama funding issues, although I can see how that happened after its strong start quickly took a dive as the show wasted episodes throwing around its money and glitz before getting down to the actual story. The ratings stabilized at 10% (down from 20%), but it was difficult wooing people back; turns out viewers can’t be bought off with empty style, and they checked out before the show could hook them by turning its attention to real conflict and drama.

It’s too bad, because I found myself enjoying Runaway a lot more once they started to take the story seriously, and it turned out to be much better than I initially thought. But you can’t blame people for moving on without waiting to see when — if — things would get better.

Via Segye

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Post tags: lawsuits, Lee Na-young, Runaway

Park Bo-young settles contract dispute with management

javabeans — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 13:20:45 +0000

Park Bo-young has finally settled the legal battle with her management company, Humane Entertainment, which hopefully means that we’ll be able to see her back onscreen soon. (Finally!)

Back in April, Park had filed a complaint against her management company alleging forgery of documents and requesting the termination of her contract. However, in June the company was acquitted and she faced the possibility of being countersued for defamation and libel. She faced an additional lawsuit, explained here, in which she and her company were accused by a film production company of reneging on a movie role. She was cleared of those allegations.

I love Park Bo-young, who has a wonderful presence and solid acting chops for one of her tender years. She has had a number of memorable roles in dramas and films (King and I, Our High School E.T., Secret Campus), but it was really the brisk comedy Speed Scandal, where she played a young unwed mother, that solidified her star status. It was a bummer that she would be kept from acting due to legal reasons, so I hope we see her back in action right away.

Via My Daily

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Never mind, Lee Byung-heon’s lawsuit revived

javabeans — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:00:02 +0000

Just after the court decided that the civil suit filed against actor Lee Byung-heon was withdrawn due to the plaintiff’s lack of action, they received paperwork in the mail from Lee’s accuser, Ms. Kwon, requesting another trial.

Kwon had returned to Canada last December and has not been back to Korea since, missing two hearings, one on April 22 and another on May 20, leading the the court to close the case on June 21. However, they then found that Kwon’s paperwork had come in that day (the last permissible day), reopening the suit in which she requested compensation of 100 million won for psychological damages incurred by Lee’s false promises and sexual misconduct.

Before this latest development, a source with Lee’s management, BH Entertainment, had stated, “We honor the decision of the court. [Lee] has suffered emotionally, but it seems this burden will be relieved.”

The next trial is scheduled for July 14. If Kwon does not appear, the suit will automatically be withdrawn and the case will be closed.

Via My Daily

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Lee Byung-heon’s legal troubles at an end

javabeans — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:43:54 +0000

After more than six months, Lee Byung-heon‘s legal woes have been resolved cleanly after the suit filed against him by ex-girlfriend Ms. Kwon has been withdrawn. The court closed the matter after judging that Kwon no longer intends to pursue the suit after she missed two hearings and failed to request a new pleading date; she returned to Canada at the end of last year and has made no effort to continue her case.

Not only does this free Lee from legal entanglements, the records of the case are essentially purged and will not be retained, making this lawsuit — at least in the eyes of the law — disappear as though it never happened.

A brief refresher: On December 8, 2009, Kwon filed a civil suit against the star, accusing him of luring her into a sexual relationship with false promises of marriage. She demanded 100 million won in compensation, and later also accused Lee of illegal gambling while filming overseas. She released photographs of the two together to prove that she was telling the truth about being in a relationship with Lee. He was also the target of blackmail by men connected with Kwon who threatened to make a stink if he didn’t pay up. He refused, and countersued for defamation. In the spring, he was cleared by the court of gambling charges.

Good news for Lee! Now he can focus on work; his upcoming thriller I Saw the Devil (from The Good, The Bad, The Weird director Kim Ji-woon) will be released later this summer.

Via E Daily, Seoul.co.kr

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Park Bo-young in Playful Kiss?

javabeans — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:50:29 +0000

Oh, this would make my day. Park Bo-young is the top contender for the Korean drama adaptation of Itazura na Kiss, which was adapted into the Taiwanese hit series It Started With a Kiss.

The 20-year-old actress is not only talented, but has a lovely presence that really comes through the screen, and she was wonderful playing a young single mom in the movie that made her a star, Speed Scandal. Back when the drama was first announced, I’d thought it would be great to get Park onboard but hadn’t had much hope, because she has been tangled up in legal disputes with her management, which is why she hasn’t acted since 2008′s Speed Scandal.

(In brief: A production company sued Park and her management, Humane Entertainment, of fraud and embezzlement. They accused Park of agreeing to appear in their movie production, Sound of Ice, while harboring no intention to actually participate. They also accused the management company of taking money under the pretext of using them as production funds for its own operations. The prosecutor found Park clear of charges and now she’s looking to get back to work.)

My interest took a sharp swing upward when director Hwang In-roi signed on (he of Goong and Return of Iljimae), and I’d LOVE to see Park Bo-young cast in this. Writing is Go Eun-nim of MBC’s Hon.

A source with the production explained that aside from Park, they had auditioned a hundred hopefuls for the lead role. After they finish casting in late June, filming will begin in July. The drama is aiming for a fall premiere and is eyeing the Wednesday-Thursday slot after MBC’s Road No. 1 airs.

Via Hankook Ilbo, Newsen, BNT News

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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 80 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: lawsuits, Park Bo-young, Playful Kiss

Lee Byung-heon speaks out

javabeans — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:33:53 +0000

After the story broke about an ex-girlfriend of Lee Byung-heon accusing the star of tricking her into a sexual relationship (which Lee’s side refuted as an attempt at blackmail and extortion), Lee has now responded personally. He posted his feelings in a December 13 message on his homepage, and while he didn’t address any of the accusations directly, he called them “distorted truth” and encouraged his fans not to worry, as the truth will come out in the end.

(...)
Read the rest of Lee Byung-heon speaks out (464 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 113 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: controversies, lawsuits, Lee Byung-heon

Choi Jin-sil’s slanderer given lighter punishment on appeal

javabeans — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:05:12 +0000

Deceased actress Choi Jin-shil‘s netizen tormentor (identified only as Baek, female) has been penalized with 40 million won fine ($35,000) in an appeal trial, which reverses her earlier sentencing. Baek is the netizen who slandered and harassed Choi, even calling the actress at home, before Choi committed suicide last October.

(...)
Read the rest of Choi Jin-sil’s slanderer given lighter punishment on appeal (510 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 51 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bad behavior, Choi Jin-shil, Jo Sung-min, lawsuits, netizens

Lee Byung-heon targeted for blackmail

javabeans — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:51:31 +0000

Get ready for what will surely become another entertainment industry rollercoaster of scandalous claims: Lee Byung-heon, megastar and current lead in KBS drama IRIS, has been accused by a Korean-Canadian woman of sexual misconduct and slapped with a lawsuit. Lee refutes the claims and is fighting back.

According to Lee’s management company, BH Entertainment, the star had been the target of “severely slanderous” phone calls beginning in November from an undisclosed group of men, who blackmailed Lee with threats to “expose him to a scandal” if he did not pay them several billions of won. On December 8, a lawsuit was filed with the Seoul District Court by a 22-year-old Canadian gyopo (a Ms. Kwon), who charged that Lee had lured her into a sexual relationship with false promises of marriage. As a result of the mental and physical harm she suffered, she demanded compensation for damages. The amount is for 100 million won, or roughly $86,000 USD.

The woman in question had been a student studying rhythmic gymnastics at York University in Canada before meeting Lee in September 2008, and was a Canadian national athlete. He had been in Toronto to promote his movie The Good, The Bad, The Weird when they met through a friend’s introduction. The president of a company that sponsored Lee told her that she could continue to study and practice gymnastics in Korea and asked her to move to be with Lee. Lee approved the idea, and she left Canada. However, she says that Lee’s behavior changed after her arrival in Korea, and he grew indifferent. He set her up in a home in Seoul but left her to be alone most of the time. She emphasized, “I believe that as a famous star, he used his celebrity and financial power to merely toy with me then abandon me.”

A BH Entertainment representative explained, “Lee Byung-heon did have a girlfriend whom he met last autumn and broke up with this spring, but the abovementioned men threatened to create falsehoods about him and the ex-girlfriend while demanding money. However, when Lee Byung-heon refused to comply, they presented the woman as plaintiff in a civil suit.” The threats demanded 2 billion won (approx $1.7 million) and the men are said to be connected to Ms. Kwon, although their exact relationship was not disclosed. The rep explained that as Lee’s side had done nothing wrong, they had requested an investigation into the threats. They will counter through legal channels with their own lawsuit for defamation of character.

Via Segye, BNT News

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Post tags: controversies, lawsuits, Lee Byung-heon

IRIS served with plagiarism suit

javabeans — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:52:36 +0000

KBS’s hit spy drama IRIS has found itself entangled in plagiarism charges. On December 7, novelist Park Chul-joo filed a suit with Seoul Central District Court accusing the drama’s production company of ripping off his spy novel The Sun Doesn’t Rise on Mt. Fuji.

In his complaint, writer Park asserted that the drama takes the story, situations, and developments from his own book: “The drama IRIS heavily plagiarized my novel in over 162 instances. I have suffered severe mental distress, and I’ve also suffered financial losses, as I have had to give up the chance to produce the book as my own drama.” Included in the allegedly plagiarized points are: the threat of nuclear explosion in the middle of the city, the hero’s confrontation with the North Korean female spy, and the fact that the North Korean spy falls for the hero who treated her injuries.

According to Yonhap News, the production company refuted the claims, saying, “The plot may be similar, but it is not plagiarism.”

Often I think these plagiarism claims are cases of unfortunate coincidences — you can’t own an idea, after all. But these do sound like pretty specific points, although without having read the book, it’s hard to say…

Via E Daily, DongA

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