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The legal battle between Cuckoo Electronics, a brand for which Kim Soo-hyun was muse for 10 years, and the actor, didn't take long to show its flaws. At the very first hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on November 14, the court curtly demanded that the group clearly state the grounds for its claim. An injunction that sounded a warning: the grounds for the lawsuit are unclear, if not non-existent.
A complaint based on rumours, not established facts
The brand was one of the first to cut its ties when the announcement of the rumors about Kim Soo-hyun in March 2025.
Cuckoo Electronics, Cuckoo Homesys and their Malaysian subsidiary Cuckoo International are claiming more than 2 billion won (around $1.4 million; 1.1 million euros) from Kim Soo-hyun and his agency Goldmedalist. The actor was their exclusive model for ten years, until the brand suspended its advertising in the spring, following accusations circulating online that Kim had had a relationship with actress Kim Sae-ron when she was underage.
The court, however, was not satisfied with these rumors. The judges asked the plaintiffs to specify how the "breach of trust" they were alleging was linked to any actual misconduct on Kim Soo-hyun's part:
- is the loss of trust mutual or attributable exclusively to the actor?
- what specific actions would have violated the contract?
- How do these actions constitute legal grounds for termination?
The court also indicated that the mere existence of "bad publicity complicating campaigns" was not sufficient to justify the break-up. As for the allegation of a relationship with a minor, the judges were clear: it is impossible to judge without establishing whether the accusation is true, and they asked whether Cuckoo intended to continue with the trial even before the end of any criminal investigations.
Cuckoo argued that the trust had been "irretrievably broken" and that this alone justified breaking it off without waiting for the outcome of investigations. Kim Soo-hyun's defense countered The company never indicated which specific clause of the contract had been violated, nor in what way the actor's response to the controversy had been inadequate.
A risky strategy for the brand's image
This legal action is all the more surprising given that Kim Soo-hyun has been the face of Cuckoo for a decade. A long relationship, in principle based on mutual trust. Yet instead of checking the facts or protecting its ambassador, the brand has chosen the hardest line: severing all ties and taking legal action.
A quick reaction... too quick. To the public, this looks more like abandonment than crisis management. Many see it as a company willing to sacrifice its muse even before ascertaining the veracity of the accusations. A move that could backfire, as the image of the "reliable partner" is one of the pillars of a mainstream brand.
Today, Cuckoo's case appears as fragile as the rumors on which it is based. And until the company clarifies its arguments precisely, as the courts are demanding, the case seems doomed to failure. The next hearing is scheduled for January 16, 2026.
