Kim Soo-hyun's Agency Denies Allegations Related to Late Actress Kim Sae-ron
On March 14, 2025, Goldmedalist, the agency representing actor Kim Soo-hyun, issued a detailed statement refuting claims made by individuals claiming to be the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron, as well as allegations from the YouTube channel Garoseoro Research Institute (가로세로연구소). The agency firmly stated that the assertion that Kim Sae-ron was in a relationship with Kim Soo-hyun during her minor years is untrue. Furthermore, they dismissed allegations of financial pressure, stating, 'Due to the broadcast by Garoseoro, Kim Soo-hyun has been portrayed as a devil who drove Kim Sae-ron to her death. The claim that Goldmedalist pressured Kim Sae-ron for debts related to her drunk driving incident, and that she sought help from Kim Soo-hyun who then ignored her, is false. In fact, Goldmedalist covered all of Kim Sae-ron's remaining debts that she could not manage.'
Goldmedalist provided evidence, explaining that after the drunk driving incident, they worked with Kim Sae-ron to resolve various penalties and compensations owed to affected businesses, amounting to approximately 1.114 billion KRW. They made efforts to minimize her financial burden, ultimately reducing the compensation to about 700 million KRW.
Despite these efforts, Kim Sae-ron faced difficulties in her career and was unable to repay the remaining amount. Consequently, Goldmedalist determined that she could no longer repay her debts and wrote off the debts as losses in December 2023. An audit report dated April 1, 2024, confirms that all claims against Kim Sae-ron were treated as bad debts.
The agency clarified that the notice sent to Kim Sae-ron was a necessary legal procedure between them. They emphasized that if they had arbitrarily taken on her penalties, it could have led to potential embezzlement charges against their executives. Goldmedalist explained that they sent the notice to prove that Kim Sae-ron was in a state of 'uncollectible' debt.
Additionally, they expressed concerns that Kim Sae-ron might have to pay gift taxes on any benefits received from debt forgiveness. A message sent by Kim Sae-ron to Kim Soo-hyun on March 19, 2024, was written in this context. Goldmedalist stated that they needed to follow legal procedures to address Kim Sae-ron's debts.
The agency also refuted claims that Kim Soo-hyun personally lent money or sought repayment from Kim Sae-ron, asserting that he was not in a position to do so. They noted that Kim Sae-ron, lacking legal knowledge, mistakenly contacted Kim Soo-hyun instead of her creditors, and that Kim Soo-hyun was unaware of the situation. At that time, the two had been separated for four years.
Goldmedalist stated that they did not directly demand repayment from Kim Sae-ron. They mentioned that on March 26, 2024, Kim Sae-ron's legal representative expressed gratitude for the agency's past support and indicated a willingness to discuss a repayment plan, which led to the resolution of their creditor-debtor relationship. After writing off the debt, Goldmedalist has not made any further demands for repayment.
The agency concluded that it is reasonable to assume that Kim Sae-ron believed she was completely free from her debts to Goldmedalist. They criticized the linking of her death a year later to these financial matters as an unfounded and malicious speculation. Goldmedalist expressed their commitment to understanding Kim Sae-ron's difficult circumstances and emphasized their efforts to prevent her from incurring gift taxes while managing her penalties, including setting interest rates at 0% and delaying penalties at 0%. They expressed their sorrow over the misrepresentation of their actions as pressure for repayment, especially in light of the tragic circumstances surrounding Kim Sae-ron's death.
