Figure skater Kim Yu-na wins suit against former agency

A Seoul court on Monday ordered the former agency of South Korean figure skater Kim Yu-na to pay her outstanding portions of her endorsement money. The Seoul Central District Court said it has handed down a settlement between Kim and IB Sports, under which the company must pay the figure star 800 million won (US$691,440) by Jan. 13. Under the settlement, the two sides agreed not to file another civil or criminal suit regarding their old management deal, according to the court. Kim filed the suit against IB Sports in November 2010, alleging that the company owed her 876 million won from her endorsement deals she signed while under IB's management. Kim's deal with IB Sports expired in April last year, and she and her mother founded a new agency named All That Sports. Kim, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and the 2009 world champion, is one of South Korea's most popular athletes. Though she has not competed this year amid speculation about retirement, Kim remains a highly sought-after star among local advertisers. After the suit was filed, IB Sports countered that it was entitled to its share from Kim's endorsement deals that she reached while with IB. This was Kim's second legal dispute with a former management firm. In April 2007, she joined IB Sports while still under contract with International Merchandising Corp., a subsidiary of the multinational management firm IMG. The skater said she chose IB Sports because the previous agency failed to line up enough endorsement deals for her. International Merchandising sued IB Sports for damages, claiming IB had improperly tried to entice Kim away from the IMG subsidiary. But a Seoul court ruled in May 2008 that under Korean law, athletes can terminate contracts with agents at their discretion.