Kim Soo Hyun Fired By Electric Appliance Brand (Photo Credit – Netflix)
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The ongoing controversy has taken a massive toll on Kim Soo Hyun’s career. Since the situation unfolded regarding his alleged involvement in Kim Sae Ron’s mental distress, the actor lost numerous brand deals overnight. From the highest-paid Korean actor to losing a shocking amount of followers, he is going through a major setback as fans worry if he will ever be able to recover his image. Amid the controversy and concerns, the latest report claims that he has been now fired by another brand who appointed him only 17 days ago.
According to Daum’s report, on March 18, 2025, Cuckoo China issued an official statement emphasizing that they are halting all promotional activities involving Kim Soo Hyun in light of the recent controversy.
“We will immediately suspend all promotional activities related to Kim Soo Hyun and replace all image materials featuring him on official platforms. We will halt all marketing plans involving him.”
The brand will take additional measures to handle the critical situation. They stated, “[We will] form a special task force to continuously monitor the progress of the situation.”
In addition to halting activities, the brand has also removed all images from the advertisements featuring the Queen of Tears actor. Cuckoo China is a popular brand specializing in electric appliances. They are best known for their rice cookers. Back on March 1, 2025, they tapped Kim Soo Hyun as a model for China, Indonesia, and Vietnam advertising.
Merely 17 days later, the actor lost this popular brand deal, and as per the report, Cuckoo China is also considering taking legal measures against him. However, details about the same have yet to be revealed.
For the unversed, Kim Soo Hyun’s name was unexpectedly dragged into the controversy following Kim Sae Ron’s death. It was the late actress’ aunt who claimed in a bombshell interview that the actor was in a relationship with her from 2015, when she was just 15. They were allegedly together for six years until 2021. Initially, his agency, GOLD MEDALIST, refuted this claim. However, later, they acknowledged that they were indeed together but only from the summer of 2019.
Although with this, he was momentarily able to dismiss the pedophile allegations, new evidence began emerging, raising further questions about their relationship timeline.
To fuel the matter, Kim Sae Ron’s family claimed that after Kim Soo Hyun established GOLD MEDALIST with his cousin, she transferred to the same company, initially doing many activities for free or minimal fees. However, she faced a major career setback after getting embroiled in a DUI controversy. At this time, the company came forward, paying the damages for her, and didn’t ask back the money initially.
However, that changed after her contract ended with GOLD MEDALIST. The agency reportedly began pressuring her to pay the 700 million KRW back. Kim Sae Ron, who was already struggling to stay afloat with almost no work in hand, tried to reach Kim Soo Hyun. Alleged text messages showed that she urged him to give her some more time so she could pay back slowly. However, as per reports, the actor never reverted back, allegedly causing her mental distress that may have played a role in her suicide.
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