South Korean Actress Sued Post-Mortem for Being Abused
In October, fans of South Korean actress/model Choi Jin-sil were devastated to learn that she had committed suicide. Now her story has taken an even more shocking and tragic twist.Back in 2004, she was sued by Shinhan construction company who accused her of failing to fulfill her duties as a spokesperson for the company. The Korean Herald wrote, "'Models who failed to maintain appropriate dignity as representatives of the products they represent should compensate for the damages caused to their advertiser,' the top court ruled.”
Her crime? Getting beaten by her husband, Cho Sung Min. Shinhan decided that being a victim of abuse was somehow equivalent to damaging the advertiser and therefore deserving of a lawsuit.
South Korea's Supreme Court originally ruled in Choi Jin-sil's favor, but Shinhan appealed last year and was granted 1.1 billion dollars in damage, effectively taken one-fifth of the estate left to Choi Jin-sil's children.
Clearly, this is a huge injustice by both the Shinhan construction company and the Supreme Court, and, while South Korea has its own culture and customs, this case only serves to further justify the objectification of women in society and must be horribly crushing to Choi Jin-sil's family and friends.
The Shinhan construction company can be contacted here.
