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| Actor Kim Jung-hyun / Courtesy of O& Entertainment |
Actor Kim Jung-hyun has broken his silence and said he will take legal action against his former agency O& Entertainment, with which he has been having a contract dispute.
The actor's PR agency released a statement on his behalf, Wednesday, announcing that the contract had been terminated as of that day.
"We will seek to restore his reputation and get the facts straight to clear any misconceptions," the statement said. "From now on, we will take legal action against any claims or arguments regarding the terminated management contract that involve defamation and false accusations against Kim."
O& has been claiming that Kim's contract should be extended by an additional 11 months to cover the time he took a mid-season hiatus from the MBC series "Time" in 2018 for health reasons.
Adding that O& failed to do its part in managing Kim's roles, his PR agency said it forced him to take the part in "Time" despite knowing he was suffering from health issues.
It also claimed that the management agency was in the process of closing due to the deficits it has suffered every year. "In the process, the agency raised issues regarding his contract and shared them with the media which unacceptably diminished his reputation," it said.
O& refuted this the same day, saying it was in the process of "reorganizing the business."
It added that other actors it represented respected their contracts without any issues until they expired.
"On the other hand, Kim could not continue with his career for 11 months due to personal reasons," it said. "During that period, we supported him unconditionally, and later, he got back on track with his career… so matters of his contract should be handled through a different process."
Adding that the claims made by Kim were "one-sided and far from the truth," it also vowed to take legal action against the actor if he "continued to give false information to the media."
Kim's dispute with O& was triggered early last month after a rumor about him dating "Crash Landing on You" co-star Seo Ji-hye made headlines.
Seo's agency, Culture Depot, denied the rumor, saying they were seen together to discuss his possible transfer to its management.
O& claimed its contract with Kim should be guaranteed for 11 more months and accused Culture Depot of violating the Korea Entertainment Management Association's regulations on "poaching." This forbids agencies or artists from discussing or signing deals with other parties until three months before their current contract ends.
Kim became popular through the JTBC sitcom "Welcome to Waikiki" after debuting in the film "Overman" in 2015. Following his time off, he restarted his career with the romantic series "Crash Landing on You" in 2019, followed by the recently wrapped "Mr. Queen."
