"Why He Decided To Ghost Us, Too" Say's Brand Representative While Clarifying Why Actor Kim Seon Ho Was Removed From Commercials Even Before He Admitted To Gaslighting Controversy

Brand representative clarifies why they removed actor Kim Seon Ho from all the commercials even before he admitted to the gaslighting and forcing abortion controversy.

On 17th October an anonymous Korean female made accusations on Kim Seon Ho for gaslighting and forcing abortion via the online community website Nate Pann. She revealed that Kim Seon Ho caused her physical and mental trauma since the two started dating in early 2020.

For about two days after the revelation neither the agency, SALT Entertainment, nor the actor himself responded to the growing online speculation. Later Kim Seon Ho’s fans received SALT Entertainment's response which stated that they are acknowledging the following issue.

As soon as the controversy was raised multiple brands removed Kim seon ho commercial from their websites and/or social media platforms. The online shopping platform 11Street, skincare brand La Roche Posay, outdoor clothing brand Nau, and Domino’s Pizza have all cut ties with the actor.

Kim Seon Ho finally admitted to the accusations and apologized to the ex-girlfriend for the negligence. Following the actor apology, Kim Seon Ho fans raised voices in concern about how these brands can remove him from the advertisement before his admitting to the issue.

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In the interview with Sports Chosun, a representative from one of the brands involved with Kim Seon Ho said, "When the scandal broke, we tried to get in touch with him or his agency the whole day.  We needed answers but it had been impossible to get a hold of him. We don’t understand why he decided to ghost us, too. He should have explained the situation and let us handle it with him. Only had he been up front, we wouldn’t have had to cut ties with him."

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The representative explained that the actor was going silent for three days and the lack of communication actually became the driving factor in these endorsements coming to an abrupt end, also he had become unreliable to work with.

The brand representative pointed out Kim seon ho and said:

Fame comes with additional responsibilities. Having more endorsements means having more terms and conditions to live by… And after seeing how little he cared for his responsibilities as a model binded by contract with us, we realized it would be impossible to continue working with him.

Kim Seon Ho’s reputation isn’t as important as his reliability. We need to be able to trust him as our model. But because he handled the crisis with zero professionalism and maturity, we have no choice but to reconsider our contract. We foresee that it will be difficult for him to rebuild the trust with other brands as well.

SALT Entertainment Releases New Statement Regarding Kim Seon Ho’s Exclusive Contract, Here Is What It Says

Korean brands are quick to respond to scandals as, from a business standpoint, any scandal plays a direct impact on their sales and they want to minimize any possible side effects. And according to them, "When signing a modeling contract, brands often include a ‘morals clause,’ binding both parties involved to prohibit certain behaviors. This, then, becomes the basis of their termination and penalty request when something does happen. While the clause itself is vague and open to interpretation—meaning its implementation also varies by the contract period and the situation at hand, an average termination penalty ranges from 200-300% of the initially signed modeling royalty."

A marketing insider’s comment that “Kim Seon Ho had been earning ₩400 million KRW (about $340,000 USD) to ₩500 million KRW (about $425,000 USD) per endorsement in 2021,” the actor could be owing up to ₩5.00 billion KRW (about $4.25 million USD) in penalties if the 10+ brands end up scrapping their deals with him following this scandal.

According to the report, none of the brands have notified him about terminating the contracts. For one, a Nau brand representative has confirmed, “Nothing has been decided yet. Any content featuring the actor has been removed since the scandal but the brand has not yet agreed on termination.”