윤은혜 (Yoon Eun-hye)

Conflicts with management

In July 2007, conflicts with Yoon's Management Eight Peaks surfaced; eventually Yoon filed a Certification Of Contents (COC) to cancel her contractual agreement with the company.^[1] The contents of the first COC stated that in January 2007, Yoon was confirmed to star in the MBC drama Que Sera Sera and had even completed the script reading and rehearsal for the upcoming shoot. However, the company forced Yoon to withdraw for Yoon to star in a company-produced drama, and as an effect, she was replaced by Jung Yu-mi. After her withdrawal, Yoon took a two-day vacation to Gangwon Province in March. Eight Peaks claimed that they had no knowledge of this so-called incident and spread a rumour of Yoon's irresponsibility online which damaged her reputation.^[2] Yoon filed a second COC in August, which included evidence to support the disagreeable actions made by Eight Peaks. These actions included the improper handling and distribution/division of earnings and proceeds as well as the unilateral (one-sided) manner of making and carrying out decisions which caused immense problems."^[2]

Yoon and Eight Peaks finally came to a mutual agreement through careful negotiations and settled their disputes amicably. With her contract dispute resolved, it was reported in October 2008 that Yoon signed on with Kraze Entertainment as her new management company.^[3]

Plagiarism accusations

Following Yoon's win on the Chinese fashion program Goddess Fashion, in which she presented a white coat with collars and a unique fringe on the sleeves to give a feeling of wings following the film theme of Chronicles of Narnia, Yoon was accused of plagiarism by Korean fashion designer Yoon Choon-ho. The designer accused the actress of ripping off his design after being made aware of her piece on the show, and posted a comparison of his creation versus hers, stating that he and his team had worked hard on the piece from the F/W (Fall/Winter) line. Yoon Choon-ho additionally revealed that he had heard her and her stylist had picked up a sponsorship outfit just days ago.^[4] Additionally, she was embroiled in another allegation of plagiarism when another design of hers was accused of being similar to a dress from 2015 F/W Dolce & Gabbana.^[5]

She denied the allegations, saying that her idea for the outfit came from a 2008 Victor & Rolf style and the 2014 Lanvin Collection, which used feather decorations. She further condemned Yoon Choon-ho for trying to cash in on her fame.^[6][7]

1. 이, 재환 (July 5, 2007). 윤은혜 "자체 제작 드라마 출연강요" 전속해지 통보. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2010 – via Nate.
2. 김, 은구 (August 8, 2007). 윤은혜 계약해지 안되면 소송 불사...소속사에 2차 내용증명. Edaily (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
3. Kang, Seung-hun (October 23, 2007). 윤은혜, 크라제 엔터테인먼트와 계약 체결. iNews24 (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
4. Bahk, Eun-ji (September 6, 2015). "Yoon Eun-hye faces plagiarism". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
5. Bahk, Eun-ji (September 8, 2015). "Yoon Eun-hye faces another plagiarism claim". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
6. Bahk, Eun-ji (September 7, 2015). "Yoon Eun-hye denies plagiarism". The Korea Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
7. "Yoon Eun-hye apologizes over design fuss". The Korea Times. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original on August 9, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.