Kim Soo-hyun Defends Against Allegations of Relationship with Kim Sae-ron

Actor Kim Soo-hyun has recently filed a defamation lawsuit in response to allegations made by the YouTube channel 가로세로연구소 (Gaseyeon) regarding his purported relationship with the late actress Kim Sae-ron, which allegedly began during their middle school years.

On May 9, Kim Soo-hyun's legal representatives from the law firm LK Partners announced that they have filed complaints against Gaseyeon operator Kim Se-yeol for violations of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation) and the Stalking Crime Punishment Act. Additionally, they have also filed a complaint against the family of the late Kim Sae-ron for the same defamation charges.

The day before, Gaseyeon and Kim Sae-ron's family held a press conference where they claimed that Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron had been in a relationship since middle school. They alleged that Kim Sae-ron had her first sexual encounter during her second year of middle school and that there exists a recording to support these claims. They further accused Kim Soo-hyun's team of attempting to bribe the informant with 4 billion KRW to obtain the recording, and when the informant refused, they allegedly attempted to have the informant killed.

In response, Kim Soo-hyun's team vehemently denied these allegations, stating that Kim Se-yeol's claims are completely false and based on fabricated recordings and downloaded images from the internet. They emphasized that they have taken additional legal action against those making these accusations.

On May 7, Kim Se-yeol held a press conference in Gangnam, Seoul, with the consent of Kim Sae-ron's family and their legal representative, attorney Bu Ji-seok. During this event, Gaseyeon presented what they claimed was a recording from January 10, a month before Kim Sae-ron's death, in which she allegedly discussed her relationship with Kim Soo-hyun. They claimed to have confirmed the authenticity of the voice in the recording with the family.

In the recording, a woman believed to be Kim Sae-ron stated, "I really trust you. Please keep this safe. I dated Soo-hyun oppa. I know it sounds crazy, but we started dating in middle school and broke up after entering university." She also expressed feelings of being used since middle school and mentioned that her first encounter with Kim Soo-hyun occurred during her second-year winter break.

Attorney Bu Ji-seok revealed that the family has filed charges against Kim Soo-hyun for violating child welfare laws and false accusations, asserting that Kim Soo-hyun engaged in inappropriate conduct with Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor.

The situation escalated when Kim Se-yeol claimed that a certain gold medalist offered 4 billion KRW for the recording, and a YouTuber named Lee Jin-ho also allegedly offered 1 billion KRW for the same. After refusing these offers, he claimed to have been attacked, shocking many.

In response, Kim Soo-hyun's team refuted Gaseyeon's claims, stating that the recording is entirely fabricated and that the supposed gold medalist believes it was created using AI technology. They clarified that the informant had sent manipulated recordings of Kim Sae-ron's voice while demanding money, and that they did not accept any of the informant's demands. They also dismissed the claims regarding the 'attack photos' as baseless and easily verifiable as images found online, asserting that Gaseyeon and the informant are misrepresenting these images as evidence.