According to an exclusive report by News1 on October 17, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Arin’s agency, WM Entertainment, in a lawsuit filed against mobile game company A and advertising production company B, ordering partial payment of the claimed fees.
The court ordered A and B to jointly pay Arin 198 million won (approx 148,000 USD) in modeling fees, along with late interest.
Last June, company A signed a contract with company B to handle the advertising for a mobile game, paying 198 million won in model fees and half of the TV commercial production cost, amounting to 115.5 million won (approx 86,333 USD).
Arin, who signed a contract with both companies, appeared in the advertisement, which was first released in August of last year.
According to the contract, A and B were required to pay the modeling fee within 30 days of the advertisement’s first airing. However, Arin’s agency never received the payment.
In court, A argued that the contract stipulated that the payment would be made through B, and that they had already transferred the fee to B. However, the court held A responsible for the unpaid fee.
The court stated, “The contract explicitly outlines A’s obligation to pay the model fees,” and emphasized, “Even if A paid B, A cannot be exempt from responsibility unless the fee is deposited into the agency’s account.”
The court further noted that any financial loss A incurred due to B’s failure to transfer the fee should be resolved between the two companies under their advertising contract.