On November 6th, the Civil Division 6-1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Je-wook, Kang Kyung-pyo, Lee Kyung-hoon) ruled in favor of Jellyfish Entertainment in an appeal regarding a damages claim against their former actor Kang Ji-hwan, ordering him to pay about 3.48 billion won to the plaintiff.
This decision differs from the first-instance ruling. In November last year, the court ruled against the plaintiff, stating, “The exclusive contract between both parties ended in May 2019, and the incident in question occurred two months later, so no damages can be claimed.”
In July 2019, after the airing of episode 10 of TV Chosun’s drama “Joseon Survival Period”, Kang Ji-hwan was arrested over allegations that he sexually molested and assaulted two of his agency’s female employees at his home. He was detained on July 12th, 2019, exited the drama and was subsequently sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison with a suspended sentence of 3 years.
Due to Kang Ji-hwan’s sudden exit, the production company had to reduce the originally planned 20-episode schedule and recast his role, resulting in substantial losses. Consequently, the production company filed a lawsuit against Kang Ji-hwan and his agency, claiming penalties and damages. In January 2022, the Supreme Court finalized a ruling that Kang Ji-hwan and his former agency must jointly compensate the production company 5.3 billion won.
Source: Daum