Kim Soo-hyun denies he dated, groomed underaged Kim Sae-ron in emotionally charged press conference

Actor Kim Soo-hyun on March 31 again denied allegations that he dated late actor Kim Sae-ron when she was underaged, disclosing an audio file as proof and rejecting evidence from the family of the deceased as fake.

It was his first public appearance since the scandal broke out on March 10.

“I never dated [Kim Sae-ron] when she was a minor,” said actor Kim in a highly emotional news conference on Monday evening in western Seoul, where he teared up multiple times.

“And it is also untrue that the late actor resorted to a tragic decision because I turned away from her or the agency pressured her about repaying her debt.”

Timeline of the Relationship Disputed

Kim again admitted to having dated the late actor for a year “four years before ‘Queen of Tears’ began airing,” which indicates 2020.

Kim denied accusations that he pressured the late actor to repay a financial debt to Goldmedalist, her former agency, revealing a phone call between the former CEO of Goldmedalist Byeon Jin-ho and Management Run CEO Ko Song-a, the late actor’s last agency.

In the phone call, Byeon tells Ko that debt payment documents would be sent to Kim Sae-ron, saying it was “just an administrative procedure” and asking for a “rough timeline” of when she could pay the debt back.

“Please make sure that Kim Sae-ron is aware of this by explaining these things to her … If I don’t follow these procedures, it’s a breach of duty,” the former CEO says in a cordial conversation with Ko.

The actor claimed the alleged KakaoTalk messages of the deceased actor, released by her family last week as evidence of the two’s relationship when Kim Sae-ron was still a minor, contained basic errors.

The errors include Kim Sae-ron saying that the photo of the two together posted on Instagram took place in 2016, when it actually took place in 2019, he said.

The chat room also has the actor saying the two’s age gap was 15 when it was actually 12.

Disputed Evidence and Response

“I will accept whatever criticism about my choices,” Kim said. “But that does not mean everything becomes fact. I will take action against the evidence the family of the deceased is releasing like they’ve verified it all.”

The ongoing dispute between the two sides began on March 10 when the late actor’s family claimed through right-wing YouTube channel Hoverlab, run by former MBC reporter Kim Se-ui, that Kim Soo-hyun dated their daughter for six years beginning in 2015, when she was just 15 years old.

Kim’s agency, Goldmedalist, vehemently denied the accusation at first but later admitted that the two had been in a relationship. However, the agency claimed the relationship began in the summer of 2019 when the late actor was 19, the legal age of adulthood in Korea.

Kim Soo-hyun’s denials prompted the late actor’s family to disclose more provocative evidence through Hoverlab, demanding an official apology from the actor.

The YouTube channel revealed a photo of a pantless man, speculated to be Kim Soo-hyun, washing dishes at Kim Sae-ron’s house. The family and Hoverlab’s operator also demanded the actor cancel the release of the upcoming Disney+ drama “Knock-Off,” in which he stars.

Legal and Industry Fallout

Kim Soo-hyun’s agency, Goldmedalist, filed a criminal complaint the next day against the operator on charges of making threats. The agency had taken earlier legal action against Hoverlab operator Kim and other parties for releasing an unauthorized photo of the actor on the YouTube channel.

The drama “Knock-Off,” reportedly a mega project worth 60 billion won (nearly $41 million), was set for an April release on the over-the-top platform but was officially postponed in the scandal’s wake.

Kim Soo-hyun was also pulled from several advertising campaigns, including ones for global luxury fashion house Prada and domestic cosmetics brand Dinto.

The mudslinging continued with the late actor’s family and Hoverlab disclosing KakaoTalk chats between Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun that allegedly took place in 2016, when the late actor was 16 years old, accusing Kim of “dating or sexually grooming” Kim Sae-ron.

The screen captures of the messages included lines like “I miss you” and “When can I fall asleep holding you?” by Kim Soo-hyun, with Kim Sae-ron responding, “I’ll do it whenever I want.”

Background on Kim Sae-ron

Late actor Kim took her own life on Feb. 16 at her home in eastern Seoul. She was 24 years old.

She was gearing up for a comeback, according to local reports, after living a low-profile life after being caught driving under the influence in May 2022 and subjected to severe public scrutiny.

The actor, born in 2000, was known to have suffered from financial problems after ongoing projects collapsed due to her drunk driving accident, including a 700 million won debt allegedly owed to Goldmedalist, her former agency.

Kim Soo-hyun and his attorney, Kim Jong-bok of LKB & Partners, said at the news conference that they had filed a damages suit worth 12 billion won against the late family on Monday.

The two did not take any questions from the floor.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]