"They Used Baek Il-seob’s Face for 30 Years"—Court Orders Company to Pay KRW 100 Million for Unauthorized Use

[Financial News] A company that attached actor Baek Il-seob’s photograph to kitchenware and sold the products for decades without permission has been ordered to pay KRW 100 million in damages.
According to legal sources on the 16th, Moon Hyun-jung, presiding judge of the Civil Division 5 at the Western Branch of the Busan District Court, ruled partially in Baek’s favor in a damages lawsuit he filed against Company A, a kitchenware manufacturer and seller. Judge Moon ordered Company A to pay Baek KRW 80 million in property damages and KRW 20 million in consolation money, for a total of KRW 100 million, plus delayed-payment damages.
Since the mid-1990s, Company A had sold its kitchenware, including pots, with stickers bearing Baek’s photograph. The company also used his photograph in product images and descriptions posted on its website and online shopping malls.
In September 2019, Baek’s representatives sent Company A a certified letter demanding that it stop using his photograph without permission. However, Company A continued operating and promoting its products as if Baek were the company’s advertising model until it shut down in February this year.
Even after the company closed, product images bearing Baek’s photograph were found to remain posted on its website and online shopping malls. Baek ultimately sought KRW 154.43 million, arguing that the commercial use of his photograph without consent violated his Right of Publicity, portrait rights, and right to a name.
Company A claimed that it had verbally entered into an advertising-model contract with Baek around 1994 without specifying a term and had paid him KRW 10 million in modeling fees around 2010. Judge Moon rejected the claim, saying there was no evidence to support it. The judge also found it difficult to conclude that Baek had implicitly permitted the subsequent use of his photograph, particularly because his representatives had sent a certified letter in 2019 demanding that the use stop.
However, the court did not recognize Baek’s claims concerning infringement of his Right of Publicity and right to a name. The judge cited the difficulty of recognizing the Right of Publicity as an independent property right under current law and the fact that Baek’s name was not written on the stickers attached to the products. The court nevertheless found that using his photograph to promote the products without his consent constituted an unlawful act that violated his portrait rights.
Judge Moon explained, "By commercially using the plaintiff’s likeness without his permission, the defendant caused the plaintiff to suffer a loss because he was unable to receive an amount equivalent to the value of using his likeness." The judge calculated the property damages at KRW 80 million, taking into account Baek’s public recognition, the period during which his photograph was used, and the company’s estimated profits.
Judge Moon also recognized KRW 20 million in consolation money, stating, "In the case of public figures such as entertainers, the scope of protection for personal interests may be more limited than that for ordinary people because their profession entails broadly consenting to the public disclosure of their likeness." The judge added, "However, when a person’s likeness is used in commercial advertising or promotion, it is reasonable to presume, absent special circumstances, that the person suffered emotional distress."
[email protected] Kim Hee-seon Reporter