A company that used photographs of actor Baek Il-sub to promote its kitchenware for about two decades without his consent has been ordered to pay 100 million won ($72,000) in damages.
Judge Moon Hyun-jung of the Busan District Court's Western Branch ruled that "the defendant shall pay the plaintiff 100 million won" in a damages suit Baek filed against a Busan-based kitchen equipment manufacturer and retailer identified as Company A, according to legal sources on the 16th.
Company A had attached stickers bearing Baek's face to pots and other kitchen products it sold since the mid-1990s. The photographs appeared not only on the products themselves but also in product images and descriptions posted on the company's website and online shopping malls. On some online marketplaces, the products were sold under a name evoking Baek's.
The dispute surfaced after Baek belatedly learned of the practice. In September 2019, his side sent Company A a certified letter demanding an immediate halt to the use of his photographs without consent, and warned that it could pursue civil and criminal action.
Company A did not stop. It continued using Baek's photographs to sell products as if he were its advertising model until it shut down in February this year, the investigation found. Product images featuring the photographs even remained on the company's website and online shopping malls during the litigation.
Baek sued for damages, arguing that the commercial use of his photographs without consent violated his right of publicity as well as his rights to his likeness and name. He sought a total of 154.43 million won, consisting of 124.43 million won in property damages and 30 million won in compensation for emotional distress.
The court did not recognize the right of publicity Baek claimed as a separate property right. It ruled, however, that Company A's use of his photographs for profit without consent constituted an unlawful act infringing his right to his likeness.
"There is no evidence whatsoever to establish that an advertising model contract was signed between the plaintiff and the defendant, or that the defendant paid advertising fees to the plaintiff," the court said. It also found that Baek could not be seen as having implicitly permitted free use of the photographs, citing his formal objection to their use in 2019.
"Everyone has the right not to have their face or other physical features that identify them made public or used for profit without authorization," the court said, adding that using the photographs to promote products without consent itself amounted to infringement of the right to one's likeness.
The court set property damages at 80 million won, taking into account the compensation Baek could have received under a proper contract for the use of his likeness. It added 20 million won in compensation for emotional distress caused by the long-term unauthorized use, bringing the total to 100 million won.
