Popular comedians lose appeal against game company verdict

Noh Woo-jin (left), Kim Byung-man and Ryu Dam / Screen capture from KBS

By Kim Da-hee

Three popular comedians have lost an appeal against a decision that cleared a game company they sued for breach of contract, Seoul Southern District Court said Sunday.

Kim Byung-man, 41, Ryu Dam, 37, and Noh Woo-jin, 36, famous for their “Expert” sketch on the KBS variety show, “Gag Concert,” had sued IX2 GAMES for using their images without consent, seeking 100 million won ($85,360) in damages.

The company signed a contract with the comedians in 2009 to advertise its online website “nolto.” The agreement included a radio recording and photo shoot for the website, was renewed three times until 2012.

However, the comedians sued for breach of contract, claiming the company used their images when it recruited affiliated Internet cafes.

Seoul Southern District Court dismissed the initial case on Sept 15, 2015, saying, “There is no evidence that the company distributed images of the comedians to its affiliated Internet cafes since June of 2010.”

The comedians then lodged an appeal, claiming the unauthorized use of their images tarnished their images.

But the appellate tribunal dismissed their appeal, saying, “The verdict of the first trial was justifiable.”