TPO – Many people believe that Aekyung Group – the parent company of Jeju Air – has deleted past advertisements in collaboration with Kim Soo Hyun because it was affected by the recent noise about his relationship with the late actress Kim Sae Ron.
OSEN reported that Kim Sae Ron’s family accused Kim Soo Hyun ‘s management company – rumored to have had feelings for the late actress since she was 15 – of initially paying for the damages caused by the accident caused by the late actress, but then demanded that Kim Sae Ron pay or else they would sue, causing her to have a psychological crisis and commit suicide on February 16, at the age of 25.
Amid these allegations, many have turned their attention to Kim Soo Hyun ‘s brand endorsement deals and speculated whether companies would continue to work with the actor. Among them, eagle-eyed netizens noticed that an ad the actor shot for Jeju Air was no longer available, leading to rumors that the airline had deleted the video to distance itself from the controversy.
Kim Soo Hyun became the face of Jeju Air in 2015. Photo: Jeju Air.
It is known that in 2015, Jeju Air invited Kim Soo Hyun to be the representative face of the airline for a year to promote the brand in the Asian market. Therefore, Kim Soo Hyun’s image continuously appears on posters, videos, interiors and exteriors of Jeju Air planes.
In response to netizens’ questions, Jeju Air’s representative explained that they had set all videos featuring previous advertising models – including Kim Soo Hyun – to private after the incident where a Boeing 787-800 of the airline’s aircraft belly-landed at Muan Airport, killing 179 people late last year. Therefore, this decision is unrelated to the recent controversy surrounding Kim Soo Hyun.
In a new development about actor Kim Soo Hyun, according to some industry insiders, Korean advertising contracts often include moral clauses related to advertising fees, so the 37-year-old actor could face a fine of up to 150 billion won ($11.25 million) if brands terminate the contract.
Regarding Jeju Air, Yonhap recently quoted a source from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea as saying that all of the airline’s B737-800 cargo flights had to be suspended from February 2 to March 29 to focus on stabilizing passenger operations. According to Ch-aviation’s fleet data, these planes had previously flown regularly between Seoul, Incheon, China and Vietnam.
All Jeju Air B737-800 cargo flights were suspended from February 2 to March 29 following the crash that killed 179 people. Photo: AP.
Jeju Air also reduced its passenger flights by about 1,900 in the first quarter of this year, citing the financial and operational fallout from the crash that killed 179 people.
Not only Jeju Air, South Korea is currently suspending all civilian passenger flights to/from Muan airport until April 18 to conduct safety and facility inspections.
Earlier, during an emergency landing at Muan Airport , Jeju Air’s Boeing 737-800 crashed into a concrete barrier at the end of the runway, leading to a catastrophic accident. After that, South Korea decided to remove the barriers at Muan Airport and 6 airports across the country and replace them with breakable structures.
