Former employees of Shim Hyung-rae have won a lawsuit over wages that the disgraced comedian-turned-director failed to pay at his bankrupt movie production company, court officials said Sunday.

The Seoul Southern District Court ordered Shim, head of Younggu-Art Entertainment, to pay his employees 891.5 million won ($770,190) in monthly wages and severance pay to his employees, they said.

After the ruling, the employees are expected to receive their payments from the winning bid of 4 billion won in a foreclosure auction of Younggu-Art's real estate and its building. The court is scheduled to divvy up the bid money among Shim's creditors, with the ex-employees on the top of the priority list.

The employees first filed a complaint over unpaid wages in August with the Seoul metropolitan agency of employment and labor.

The prosecution took over the case in October and indicted him the following month.

Shim, who had previously admitted most of the charges against him, chose not to defend himself at the trial.

Once an iconic slapstick comedian in the 1980s, Shim delved into film production in the 1990s but had mixed results. His production company fell into heavy debts this year after his latest Hollywood-targeted film, "The Last Godfather (2010)," disappointed at the box office.

Aside from wage issues, Shim also came under embezzlement charges this year and had also allegedly threatened his investors who demanded a refund of their money. (Yonhap News)