2009-08-11 18:56
Actress Sued Over Opposition to US Beef
Staff Reporter A U.S. beef importer filed a 300-million-won ($250,000) compensation suit with a Seoul court against actress Kim Min-sun for allegedly misleading the public into a boycott of their product and damaging sales. According to the Seoul Southern District Court, A-Meat, which specializes in U.S. beef, filed the suit against the actress, claiming that Kim's comments, along with ``twisted reports and comments'' made on MBC's investigative program ``PD Notebook" about the beef, have caused the company to shut down 47 franchise stores nationwide, inflicting more than 2 billion won in losses. Amid fierce debates over the Lee Myung-bak government's resumption of U.S. beef imports, Kim posted an article on her Web site in May claiming that she'd ``rather drink up potassium cyanide than eat U.S. beef and bones tainted with bovine spongiform encephalopathy virus.'' Her comment caused a stir among consumers and is said to have led many other celebrities to speak up against the imports. ``Due to Kim's ignorant comments, people refused to eat U.S. beef. She damaged our business and, furthermore, the 300 billion won domestic market,'' Park Chang-kyu, the head of A-Meat, reportedly said. Kim's agent declined to comment on the issue. bjs@koreatimes.co.kr |
