Kim Soo-hyun tearfully denies underage dating allegations with Kim Sae-ron amidst public scrutiny
Kim Soo-hyun has publicly denied allegations that he was romantically involved with the late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was underage.
The South Korean actor, 37, addressed the accusations in an emotional press conference yesterday (31 March).
Source: The Dong-A Ilbo
He stated: โI did not date the deceased when she was a minor. And it is also not true that the deceased made a tragic choice because of me turning a blind eye.โ
Allegations of dating Kim Sae-ron as a minor
The controversy first surfaced in early March following a YouTube exposรฉ that claimed Kim Soo-hyun had dated Kim Sae-ron during her teenage years.
Kim Sae-ron was found dead on 16 February โ the same day as Kim Soo-hyunโs birthday โ at the age of 24. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Kim Soo-hyun acknowledged that they had dated five years ago, in 2019, but stressed that their relationship began when she was of legal age.
The press conference followed claims from the HoverLab YouTube channel, which suggested they had been in a relationship since 2015, when Kim Sae-ron was just 15 years old.
In South Korea, 15 is the age of a minor and below the legal age of consent.
Public reaction & AI analysis of Kim Soo-hyunโs speech
During the 40-minute press conference, Kim Soo-hyun broke down in tears as he addressed the media.
Source: tenasia
However, his emotional display was met with scepticism, with many dubbing him the โKing of Tearsโ โ a reference to his Netflix drama โQueen of Tearsโ.
Source: @afridaylight on X
One Korean netizen even ran his speech through an artificial intelligence (AI) detector, which found that 93% of it was AI-generated.
This led to public criticism and accusations of insincerity.
Translation: Kim Soo-hyun gave such a lengthy explanation that I ran the script through an AI detector, and it turned out to be 93% AI-generated.
Source: @nilfver1 on X
After denying that he dated Kim Sae-ron while she was underage and refuting any involvement in her suicide, Kim Soo-hyun left the press conference without answering any questions.
Legal actions & brand dissociation
In response to the allegations, Kim Soo-hyun and his agency, Goldmedalist, have filed a defamation lawsuit against Kim Sae-ronโs family and HoverLab.
They are seeking damages of nearly 12 billion won (S$11 million) and have reported the matter to the authorities.
The scandal has led to professional setbacks for Kim Soo-hyun.
Luxury brand Prada terminated its contract with him, and cosmetic brand Dinto also ended its advertising agreement, citing โsubstantial groundsโ making the contract unfeasible.
Family of late singer Sulli seeks answers
In addition to the allegations involving Kim Sae-ron, Kim Soo-hyun is also facing scrutiny over his past collaboration with the late singer Sulli, who took her own life in 2019.
Source: Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Sulliโs family has demanded answers from Kim Soo-hyun regarding her involvement in the 2017 film โRealโ, particularly concerning the intimate scenes and their impact on her well-being.
However, Kim Soo-hyun did not address the matter in his press conference.
Sulliโs brother later commented that the conference was โso predictable it wasnโt even surprisingโ and that they watched it โexpressionlesslyโ.
โRealโ included controversial intimate scenes between Kim Soo-hyun and Sulli, which were reportedly not in the original script.
The family has suggested that while many factors contributed to Sulliโs struggles, the experience during filming and the subsequent public reaction played a significant role in her distress.
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Featured image adapted from Han Myung-Gu on WireImage and ๊ฐ๋ก์ธ๋ก์ฐ๊ตฌ์ on YouTube.
