Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun breaks down, denies role in Kim Sae-ron’s suicide or dating her as a minor

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: “I 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.”

Allegations of dating Kim Sae-ron as a minor

The controversy first surfaced in early March following a YouTube exposé that claimed Kim Soo-hyun had dated Kim Sae-ron during her teenage years.

Kim Sae-ron was found dead on 16 February — the same day as Kim Soo-hyun’s birthday — 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.

Source: HoverLab on YouTube

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-hyun’s 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 ‘King of Tears’ — a reference to his Netflix drama ‘Queen of Tears’.

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-ron’s 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 “substantial grounds” 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

Sulli’s family has demanded answers from Kim Soo-hyun regarding her involvement in the 2017 film ‘Real’, 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.

Sulli’s brother later commented that the conference was “so predictable it wasn’t even surprising” and that they watched it “expressionlessly”.

‘Real’ 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 Sulli’s struggles, the experience during filming and the subsequent public reaction played a significant role in her distress.

Also read: Kim Soo-hyun allegedly dated late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was 15, later sued her over S$642K debt

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Featured image adapted from Han Myung-Gu on WireImage and 가로세로연구소 on YouTube.