According to a report from Sports Seoul, UEE and her agency Pledis Entertainment lost their lawsuit against cosmetics company ‘Aekyung‘ on the 11th.
UEE previously signed on as an endorsement model for Aekyung’s cosmetics brand ‘Point‘ in April 2010. According to UEE’s representatives, UEE was originally contracted for one year and her contract was supposed to be extended automatically for an additional year once the 1st one year contract term expired. However, Aekyung notified UEE’s agency prior to the expiration of the one year term that they no longer wish for UEE to continue as the endorsement model for the following year. UEE’s agency Pledis Entertainment then filed a lawsuit against the brand for a breach of contract.
UEE’s camp responded, “The contract was supposed to automatically extend without the need of a separate agreement. But Aekyung didn’t give out the proper payment within the fixed time frame. To compensate for damages, we ask for twice the original payment [adding up to a total of] 400 million won (~$366,000).”
At the first hearing, the court determined, “It is possible to see that the contract of this case was to be automatically extended. But after further inspection of the breach of contract and its motives, we decided to fine the defendant in damages worth 250 million won (~$230,000 USD).”
But at the second hearing, the court sided with the defendant’s side stating, “In this case, the term ‘automatic extension’ means that if both sides don’t have any special proceedings, the contract will continue on as normal. At the same time, if it fails to meet expectations, a party can also veto the extension. UEE’s side expressed their intent to reject a renewal of the contract, so the contract has ended. There is no obligation to pay the damages.”
