In a heartfelt public statement, South Korean celebrity Kim Soo-hyun refuted accusations made by the family of actress Kim Sae-ron, who passed away in February after appearing to commit herself.
“I can’t admit to something I didn’t do,” the 37-year-old stated during a press appearance in Seoul on Monday.
Two claims at the heart of the dispute are that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a juvenile, at the age of 15, and that his agency coerced her into paying back a loan she owed him.
The controversy has stunned South Korea’s entertainment sector and sparked a backlash against Kim Soo-Hyun, one of the country’s most well-known celebrities thanks to his performances in several popular drama series and motion pictures.
Even though he dated the actress for a year while she was an adult, Kim sobbed as he explained that they never dated when she was a minor.
The media briefing on Monday followed weeks of accusations and rebuttals between Kim Soo-hyun’s team and Kim Sae-ron’s family following her passing.
Less than a month after Kim Sae-ron’s passing, on March 10, the controversy surfaced. The two dated for six years, starting when she was fifteen, according to a YouTube channel that is well-known for its contentious political views. Since then, the channel has shared images and videos that it says were captured during their romance.
At a press briefing last week, the lawyer for Kim Sae-ron’s family disclosed additional purported chat history between the two actors from 2016, when she was sixteen.
After first refuting the claims, Kim Soo-hyun’s agency stated that they did date, but only while she was an adult, from 2019 to 2020.
Up until Monday, the actor himself had said nothing. He broke down in tears during the press appearance, reminding reporters that they were just dating as two adults.
“Many people are suffering because of me,” he remarked, expressing regret to his employees and admirers. Additionally, I regret that the late actress Kim Sae-ron cannot rest in peace.
He went on to say, “I never dated her when she was a minor,” “Except for the fact that both of us were actors, our relationship was just like that of any other ordinary couple.”
When she posted a later-deleted photo of the two of them to her Instagram account in 2024, during the premiere of the Netflix blockbuster series Queen of Tears, in which he starred, he also gave an explanation for why he denied the relationship.
“As its main actor, I had a lot to defend. What if I had come clean about being in a relationship for a year? He said, “What would happen to the production team, the actors, and the employees who were working through the night?” “The more I thought of it, the more I thought that shouldn’t be what I do.”
Fans still view any disclosure of a romantic relationship or a partner as shocking in South Korea’s entertainment industry, where the private lives of superstars are closely scrutinized.
Fans hated Kim Sae-ron online when she was fined 20 million won (£11,000; $14,000) for driving under the influence in 2022.
She had previously been regarded as one of South Korea’s most promising young actors.
She was then under the management of the same agency that Kim Soo-hyun was under, which his relative had co-founded. Kim Sae-ron left GoldMedalist in December 2022 after joining in January 2020.
According to Kim Sae-ron’s family, GoldMedalist paid for the damages she received after her drunk driving accident. They claim that the agency eventually filed a lawsuit to collect the debt and that the actress requested extra time from Kim Soo-hyun to pay the obligation, but she was not granted it.
Claims that “she made the tragic choice because of me or my agency pressuring her over a debt” were refuted by Kim Soo-hyun on Monday.
He made public a sound recording of a phone conversation that purportedly took place between his agency and Kim Sae-ron’s agent a year ago.
The CEO of GoldMedalist seems to clarify on the tape that the paper they sent her about the debt was only for “procedural reasons” and that her staff could take their time answering.
He added that he had sent his own evidence to the appropriate authorities for confirmation and accused Kim Sae-ron’s family of falsifying chat logs as proof. He encouraged her relatives to follow suit.
The 37-year-old South Korean A-list actor Kim Soo-hyun is well-known for his parts in several popular drama series and high-grossing motion pictures, such as My Love from the Star, Queen of Tears on Netflix, and Secretly, Greatly.
Although several firms have now distanced themselves from him due to the scandal, he has also been a favorite among the nation’s advertising. According to Reuters, luxury company Prada declared on March 17 that it had mutually agreed to terminate its partnership with him. This came after Korean cosmetics company Dinto took similar actions.
Local news source Yonhap reports that a Disney+ program starring Kim Soo-hyun has also been halted because of the controversy.
On Monday, his attorney announced that they had filed a civil case for damages of 12 billion won, in addition to a criminal complaint against the YouTube channel operator and Kim Sae-ron’s family.
Regarding the cases and his most recent statements, her family has remained silent.
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