By Lee Kyung-min
A court ordered actress Lee Seung-yeon to pay 100 million won ($92,000) in compensation to Tongyang for violating an advertising contract, Thursday.
Seoul Central District Court said that Lee and her management company are responsible for financial damage incurred by the company after Lee was embroiled in a lawsuit on charges of possessing and using propofol, an anesthetic.
“According to the contract Lee was under, she should not have engaged in any behavior that could cause negative impact on product sales. The months-long investigation of Lee and her conviction led to a breach of this clause in the contract,” the judge said in his ruling.
“During the investigation and trial period, she failed to meet the contract terms because she could not appear on TV with such ongoing drug allegations, which are deemed a threat to public health,” the judge added.
In February 2012, the advertiser paid 450 million won for a two-year contract with Lee. Until December, Lee hosted a TV talk show and worked as a model for the clothing line of Tongyang.
However, since January 2013, Lee was investigated on drug charges and was sentenced in November to an eight-month prison term suspended for two years.
Alongside Lee, the court handed down the same sentence to two other actresses, Park Si-yeon and Jang Mi-in-ae, who were indicted on the same charges.