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If you have been watching K-dramas for a long time, you would definitely know who Kim Soo-Hyun is. From ruling the entertainment industry with his versatile acting skills and charming presence to living a luxurious life, he was among the highest-paid actors in South Korea. However, things took a different route in his life after he was accused of dating the late actress Kim Sae-Ron when she was only 15. The age gap and her being a minor sparked a lot of online conversation.
Despite giving a hit K-drama named Queen of Tears last year, the actor is now losing everything he had earned- fame, respect, and wealth. Many brands have canceled and terminated their deals, his upcoming dramas have been postponed, some companies have sued him, and his life has become a mess, whether on professional grounds or in his personal life. Scroll ahead to read more about his journey from being the richest actor to losing his financial status.
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Kim Soo-Hyun was one of the highest-paid and wealthiest actors in the South Korean industry, having a significant income flow from other sources as well. According to Tatler Asia, as of 2024, his net worth was $117 million. Based on the reports, the Hallyu star used to take home 500 million KRW ($348K USD) per episode of a series. As per The Korea Times, Soo-Hyun got a paycheck of 5 billion KRW ($3.7 million USD) for his association in the K-drama, Queen of Tears, which featured 16 episodes.
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Apart from dramas and movies, Kim Soo-Hyun earned considerable money from his brand deals. He has been associated with many luxurious brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, MIDO Watches, COSRX, and Dunkin’ Donuts. As per Lifestyle Asia, the actor used to earn $6.6 million from his brand deals alone. He also used to have a huge fan following on Instagram. He was among the most followed South Korean actors with more than 20 million followers, further boosting his income.
My Love From The Star actor’s most expensive real estate purchase was a penthouse worth 8.8 billion KRW ($6.2 billion USD) in Seoul. According to Maeil Business Newspaper, he bought this property in January 2024 because of its aesthetic features, including the stunning view of the Han River.
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Kim Soo-Hyun lived lavishly until a huge blow came toward him, and his world crumbled. In February 2025, South Korean actress Kim Sae-Ron committed suicide, and soon after that, her alleged aunt claimed that it was Kim Soo-Hyun who used to harass and groom her, and even tried to extort money from her, which led to her death. She also revealed that he used to date her when she was a minor, and that ignited a rage among the netizens, leading to the spread of hatred against him.
Many speculative theories started to surface, and many blame games happened. Despite all the efforts he put into proving his side of the story through a press conference, everything failed. This controversy slowly started to affect his career. He lost a lot of brand deals, including luxurious brands like Prada. Even after shooting for G-Dragon’s show Good Day, he was removed from the episode.
On March 18, he lost a popular brand endorsement deal with Cuckoo China. The company issued an official statement explaining why they are pausing all promotional events with Kim Soo-Hyun. They wrote, “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.” For those who don’t know, this brand had appointed him just 17 days before issuing this announcement.
According to a new report (via Soompi), Kim Soo-Hyun has been sued for 3 billion KRW ($2 billion USD) by two unnamed companies who had appointed him as their advertisement model. They now want to get back the money they had paid him and some compensation for the damages. The media outlet also mentioned that more companies will join the lawsuit as they will be terminating their contract with the actor.
A lawyer from the inside stated, “Kim Soo-Hyun has signed advertisement model contracts with 15 brands, each valued between 1 billion KRW (about 696K USD) and 1.20 billion KRW (about 835K USD). Usually, companies are reluctant to make it known that they were the first ones to file a lawsuit [against their model]. But once one company files a lawsuit, more can be expected to join later on.”
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