HH Media-Tech v Kim Yong Hyun: Breach of Contract & Account of Profits Dispute

In 2002, the Singapore High Court heard the case of HH Media-Tech Pte Ltd v Kim Yong Hyun, concerning a breach of contract claim and a counterclaim for discounts, loss of development fees, and an account of profits. HH Media-Tech (plaintiffs) claimed against Kim Yong Hyun (defendant) for repayment of advances and an account of profits from sales of television components. The defendant counterclaimed for discounts given, an account of profits, and loss of development fees. The court found in favor of the plaintiff, ordering the defendant to repay the outstanding sums and to provide an account of profits, while dismissing the defendant's counterclaim.

1. Case Overview

1.1 Court

High Court

1.2 Outcome

Judgment for the Plaintiff; the Defendant's counterclaim is dismissed.

1.3 Case Type

Civil

1.4 Judgment Type

Grounds of Decision

1.5 Jurisdiction

Singapore

1.6 Description

Singapore High Court case involving HH Media-Tech and Kim Yong Hyun concerning breach of contract and account of profits related to TV components.

1.7 Decision Date

24 November 2002

2. Parties and Outcomes

Party Name	Role	Type	Outcome	Outcome Type	Counsels
HH Media-Tech Pte Ltd	Plaintiff	Corporation	Judgment for Plaintiff	Won	Sin Lye Kuen of Khattar Wong & Partners Jassy Bragassan of Khattar Wong & Partners
Kim Yong Hyun	Defendant	Individual	Counterclaim Dismissed	Lost	Thean Chow Leong of Chris Chong & CT Ho Ho Chee Tong of Chris Chong & CT Ho

3. Judges

Judge Name	Title	Delivered Judgment
Lai Siu Chiu	Judge	Yes

4. Counsels

Counsel Name	Organization
Sin Lye Kuen	Khattar Wong & Partners
Jassy Bragassan	Khattar Wong & Partners
Thean Chow Leong	Chris Chong & CT Ho
Ho Chee Tong	Chris Chong & CT Ho

4. Facts

Plaintiffs and defendant entered into an oral agreement in May 1998 for the defendant to design and develop components for TV kits to be sold by the plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs agreed to pay the defendant a development fee for each component supplied.
Plaintiffs made advances to the defendant totaling US$488,257.55 and S$120,000 between May 1998 and February 2000.
The defendant's prices to the plaintiffs increased steadily over time.
The agreement provided that the components developed by the defendant would be sold exclusively to the plaintiffs and their customers.
In June 2001, the plaintiffs discovered that the defendant had supplied components directly to IEP, one of the plaintiffs' customers.
The plaintiffs also discovered that the defendant had attempted to solicit another of the plaintiffs' customers, Silk Road.

5. Formal Citations

HH Media-Tech Pte Ltd v Kim Yong Hyun, Suit 359/2002, [2002] SGHC 282

6. Timeline

Date	Event
1986-01-01	Tang Boon Siew took over the running of the family business
1992-01-01	Tang first met the defendant
1998-04-08	Contract signed between Marcon Holdings, Distar Electric Corporation, the plaintiffs, and the defendant
1998-05-01	Oral agreement concluded between the plaintiffs and the defendant
1998-05-08	Plaintiffs advanced S$80,000 to the defendant
1998-11-01	Tang and the defendant visited Egypt and Turkey
1999-02-01	Plaintiffs shipped 7,000 units of chassis to IEP
1999-03-01	Defendant occupied a portion of the plaintiffs' office
1999-06-01	Defendant moved out of the plaintiffs' premises
2000-03-01	Plaintiffs secured a contract for a television mould from Silk Road
2000-12-01	Plaintiffs secured a contract for 10,000 sets of chassis from Silk Road
2001-06-01	Tang ascertained that the defendant had supplied components directly to IEP
2002-02-06	Plaintiffs' solicitors made a demand on the defendant for repayment of the balance of US$156,367.37 and S$110,000
2002-04-02	Plaintiffs commenced proceedings against the defendant
2002-11-25	Decision Date

7. Legal Issues

Breach of Contract
- Outcome: The court found that the defendant breached the implied term of the agreement by poaching the plaintiff's customers.
- Category: Substantive
- Sub-Issues:
  - Failure to supply components exclusively
  - Solicitation of plaintiff's customers
Account of Profits
- Outcome: The court ordered the defendant to provide an account of profits made from sales to the plaintiff's customers.
- Category: Substantive

8. Remedies Sought

Repayment of Advances
Account of Profits

9. Cause of Actions

Breach of Contract
Account of Profits

10. Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

11. Industries

Electronics

12. Cited Cases

Case Name	Court	Affirmed	Citation	Jurisdiction	Significance
The Moorcock	N/A	Yes	The Moorcock test	N/A	Cited for the implied term in the agreement that the defendant would not approach the plaintiffs' customers.

13. Applicable Rules

Rule Name
No applicable rules

14. Applicable Statutes

Statute Name	Jurisdiction
No applicable statutes

15. Key Terms and Keywords

15.1 Key Terms

Television kits
Micro-processor ICs
Components
Development fee
Exclusive supply
Solicitation of customers
Advances
Account of profits

15.2 Keywords

Breach of contract
Account of profits
Television components
Singapore High Court
Commercial dispute

17. Areas of Law

Area Name	Relevance Score
Breach of Contract	75
Contract Law	70
Commercial Disputes	60
Misrepresentation	50
Agency Law	40
Fraud and Deceit	30
Company Law	30

16. Subjects

Contract Dispute
Commercial Dispute