omonatheydid | Kim Bum Questioned over a Legal Dispute

Kim Bum, one of the stars of the KBS smash hit drama "Boys Over Flowers," was questioned by prosecutors for about an hour last week over a legal dispute between his former and current agencies, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Thursday.

The summons came after the president of Eyagi Entertainment, identified only as Hwang, Kim's former agent, filed a damage suit against Kim and his agency KingKong Entertainment for an alleged breach of contract.

Eyagi Entertainment said it signed a contract with Kim in October 2008 to represent him for the next six years and paid him 150 million won, but that the actor cancelled the contract unilaterally around March 2009 when"Boys Over Flowers" was in its final episodes.

Eyagi said Kim has earned nearly 800 million won since he terminated the contract. It filed the suit with a Seoul district court, claiming 500 million in damages.

But KingKong Entertainment denied that a contract violation had occurred.

"It's not a breach of contract by the actor but a dispute caused in the process of merger and demerger between KingKong Entertainment and Eyagi Entertainment. The contract was cancelled as Eyagi did not keep the promises it made during the merger process," it said. "We are going to take legal steps."

The prosecution questioned Eyagi Entertainment's chief in December. It also summoned KingKong Enertainment's head, identified only as Lee, on Feb. 1 for questioning.

Kim Bum, born in 1989, made his acting debut in the MBC drama "The Daring Sisters," and rose to stardom with "Boys Over Flowers."

Source: The Korea Times