Park Seo Joon wins lawsuit against raw marinated crab restaurant owner over unauthorized promos
Park Seo Joon filed a lawsuit against Mr. A, owner of a raw marinated crab restaurant that provided the filming location for tvN’s What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim?
The dispute started when Mr. A used a scene featuring Park Seo Joon eating raw marinated crab without the actor’s consent to promote his restaurant. The banners with slogans like “The restaurant where Park Seo Joon devoured crabs” and “The crab dish even Park Seo Joon fell in love with” were displayed from August 2019 to September 2024, alongside six years of Naver search ads.
Park Seo Joon’s legal team initially sought ₩6.00 billion KRW (~$4.44 million USD) in damages, calculating ₩1.00 billion KRW (~$739,000 USD) per year based on his average endorsement fees.
Mr. A argued that using such scenes for promotion is “common business practice for K-Drama sponsors,” but the court ruled in Park Seo Joon’s favor. The final awarded damages were only ₩5.00 million KRW (~$3,700 USD). Both sides were ordered to cover their own legal fees.
The ruling is final, with no appeals filed. Mr. A has removed the banners and ads.
Fans are divided online, many accusing Park Seo Joon of being petty for the initial high damages claim. Comments include:
- “That 6 billion claim is seriously petty.”
- “Wow… okay, got it. This shows Park Seo Joon’s true character, LOL.”
- “Even 5 million won is a lot for a small business owner.”
Park Seo Joon’s agency, awesome.ent, clarified the actual lawsuit sought ₩60.0 million KRW (~$44,400 USD), not ₩6.00 billion, and warned against “secondary harm” like defamation following the court ruling.
We had repeatedly requested the advertisements be taken down since 2019, but the restaurant would take down the portal search ads and banners only to put them back up again. Later, they ignored all further takedown requests. These malicious actions led to the lawsuit. While the estimated damages based on standard advertising model fees amount to 6 billion won, the actual lawsuit sought 60 million won, taking into account the defendant’s business size and other relevant circumstances.
We have also confirmed that secondary harm is ongoing, including malicious mockery and defamation regarding the rightful court ruling. We will respond to any acts that infringe on our actor’s portrait and personal rights without leniency or settlement.
— awesome.ent
Watch the crab mukbang scene from What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? here.
