Kim Soo-hyun has been reported among South Korea’s highest-paid actors, but the available reports do not establish him as the country’s highest-paid actor today. Coverage of his fee for the 2024 drama Queen of Tears gave conflicting figures, and a March 2025 report said the top-paid title had moved to someone else. No comparable 2026 ranking is established by the available reporting.
Who is Kim Soo-hyun?
Kim Soo-hyun is a South Korean actor known internationally for television dramas including My Love from the Star (2013) and Queen of Tears (2024), according to the Associated Press. His association with the “highest-paid” label comes from media reports about compensation, not from a permanent official title or award.
How much was Kim Soo-hyun reportedly paid for Queen of Tears?
Reports in 2024 disagreed, and neither figure should be treated as a publicly verified contract amount.
| Reported figure | What the report says | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| 5 billion won for 16 episodes | The Korea Times reported the total in 2024, attributing it to its sister publication, the Hankook Ilbo. The Korea Times report | An attributed report of a total fee, not an independently verified or disclosed contract. |
| 800 million won per episode | A separate March 2024 report claimed this rate; the production company denied the figure. Soompi’s coverage | A disputed claim, not an established payment. |
Dividing the reported 5-billion-won total by 16 would produce an arithmetic average, but it would not verify a per-episode contract rate. The conflicting reports do not support combining or averaging the amounts into a definitive fee.
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Is Kim Soo-hyun still South Korea’s highest-paid actor?
That cannot be confirmed from the available reporting. A March 2025 VnExpress International report said the highest-paid position had moved away from Kim. That report does not provide a definitive, like-for-like ranking for 2026. Comparisons would need to identify each actor’s project, episode count, fee basis, source and date; the available coverage does not establish those details in a consistent current ranking.
What happened after the 2025 allegations?
The compensation reports are separate from the controversy surrounding Kim Sae-ron. In April 2025, Kim denied dating her while she was underage and said their relationship began when she was an adult, according to the Associated Press. At a press conference, he also denied that his avoidance or pressure from his agency over debt caused her death.
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In May 2026, Yonhap reported that Kim’s agency, Gold Medalist, issued a statement after a YouTuber was arrested on charges connected to false and fabricated claims. The agency said, “We deeply thank investigative authorities for their efforts in uncovering the truth based on objective evidence.” That is the agency’s characterization, not a court finding. Yonhap’s report.
In July 2026, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that police had cleared the minor-dating allegations and that Kim returned to official activity after a 16-month hiatus. Read the report. This describes reported police findings; it should not be presented as a final court judgment.
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- 3-DVD set, Korean Audio with English Sub
Kim Soo-hyun’s return to commercial work
The Korea Times reported in July 2026 that Kim’s agency confirmed he filmed a commercial and photo shoot for Bench, a Philippine fashion brand. The Korea Times report. The reported shoot marks a return to commercial activity; it does not establish current campaign terms or any particular merchandise availability.
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- 7-DVD set, Korean Audio with English Sub
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