Actor Kim Soo Hyun, embroiled in controversy over dating a minor, may face hundreds of billions of KRW in penalties for his upcoming drama 'Knock-Off.'

According to industry sources on March 27, Disney+ has postponed the premiere of 'Knock-Off' Season 1, which was initially scheduled for next month.

The 18-episode drama was set to be released in two seasons. The production team had already completed filming for Season 1 and planned to wrap up Season 2 by next month. However, due to Kim Soo Hyun’s controversy, all schedules have reportedly been halted.

'Knock-Off' is a major production with a budget exceeding 60 billion KRW (~41 million USD) for both seasons, a significant portion of which was allocated to Kim Soo Hyun’s appearance fee. He was reportedly paid 500 million KRW (~341,354 USD) per episode, totaling 9 billion KRW (~6.14 million USD), making up about 15% of the total production cost.

With the show’s release now delayed, the financial burden is expected to fall entirely on Kim Soo Hyun. While the exact penalty terms remain undisclosed, standard contracts typically include clauses stating that if an actor causes public controversy due to legal violations or socially unacceptable behavior, they must compensate two to three times their appearance fee.

In the worst-case scenario, if 'Knock-Off' is scrapped entirely, Kim Soo Hyun could be liable for damages ranging from 18 billion to 180 billion KRW (approx. 12.3 million USD to 123 million USD), based on simple calculations.

He may also owe penalties to advertisers. Kim Soo Hyun currently serves as a brand model for 16 companies, including Eider, Shabu All Day, Dinto, Homeplus, Shinhan Bank, Tous Les Jours, Cuckoo, Prada, and Jo Malone London. His annual endorsement fee is reportedly around 700 million KRW (~478,00 USD) per contract, meaning potential penalty fees could exceed 22 billion KRW (~15 million USD).

Kim Soo Hyun became embroiled in controversy after allegations surfaced that he dated fellow actress, the late Kim Sae Ron, when she was a third-year middle school student in 2015. Additionally, he and his agency, Gold Medalist, were accused of pressuring Kim Sae Ron to repay a 700-million-KRW debt.

Initially, Kim Soo Hyun denied the dating allegations entirely, but later admitted that they had been in a relationship from 2019 to 2020, after she became an adult. However, on March 27, Kim Sae Ron’s family held a press conference, releasing text messages Kim Soo Hyun allegedly sent her in 2016, which included statements like, “Give me a real kiss later. Is that forbidden too?” and “I miss you.”

SEE ALSO: Kim Soo Hyun may incur 1.3 billion KRW (~887,093 USD) penalty after canceling Taiwan fan meeting