Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun has vehemently denied allegations that he groomed and dated the late Netflix star Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor.
Throughout a shock press convention on Monday in Seoul, South Korea, the 37-year-old Soo-hyun tearfully addressed accusations that he dated Sae-ron — who died by suicide at age 24 on Soo-hyun’s birthday in February — when she was 15. South Korea defines juveniles as anybody under 19.
“I can’t admit something I didn’t do,” Soo-hyun told press, according to the BBC.
While Soo-hyun admitted that the pair had dated for a year when Sae-ron was an adult, he denied ever having dated her when she was underage.
Soo-hyun’s remarks come weeks after he found himself at the center of the scandal, which first erupted when a YouTube channel published videos and photos of the two actors, claiming they had been in a six-year relationship that allegedly began when Sae-ron was 15.
Last week, the attorney representing Sae-ron’s family held a press conference and revealed further messaging history allegedly shared between the two actors from 2016, when she was 16.
Soo-hyun’s agency initially denied the family’s allegations before later clarifying that the two had dated from 2019 to 2020 when Sae-ron was an adult.
At Monday’s press conference, Soo-hyun defended his previous denial of their relationship in 2024 when Sae-ron posted a later-deleted Instagram photo of them during the airing of his Netflix romance drama Queen of Tears.
“I had so much to protect as its lead actor,” he explained. “What would have happened if I had admitted to a year-long relationship? What would happen to the actors, the staff who were working overnight and the production team who had everything staked on that project? The more I thought of it, the more I thought that shouldn’t be what I do.”
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Admissions of any romantic relationships throughout the South Korean leisure trade are sometimes seen as scandalous, as celebrities’ private lives are sometimes topic to intense scrutiny by followers.
The controversy, which has since rocked the South Korean leisure trade, moreover includes accusations that Soo-hyun’s company, GoldMedalist, pressured Sae-ron to repay a debt she owed him previous to her loss of life.
In 2022, Sae-ron confronted a interval {of professional} problem after a 2022 drunk driving incident, for which she acquired a court docket advantageous of 20 million gained ($14,000).
Sae-ron’s household claimed that GoldMedalist, to which she had additionally been signed from 2020 to 2022, lined her authorized fines. Nonetheless, GoldMedalist took authorized motion in opposition to Sae-ron for reimbursement and ignored her request for extra time to provide you with the cash, her household alleged.
Soo-hyun denied these claims at Monday’s press convention, saying that Sae-ron didn’t make “the tragic alternative due to me or my company pressuring her over a debt.”
“Many individuals are struggling due to me,” Soo-hyun added, apologizing to his followers and workers. “I additionally really feel sorry that the late actress [Kim Sae-ron] isn’t capable of relaxation in peace.”
Soo-hyun’s profession has confronted important harm within the wake of the scandal. A number of manufacturers, together with Prada and Korean cosmetics firm Dinto, have since ended their partnerships with him. In the meantime, Disney+ has reportedly paused a present starring Soo-hyun because of the controversy, in line with native information company Yonhap.
The actor’s authorized group has filed legal complaints in opposition to Kim Sae-ron’s household, in addition to the YouTube channel, together with a civil lawsuit in search of damages of KRW12 billion (roughly $8.1 million).
The Impartial has reached out to GoldMedalist for remark.
If you’re experiencing emotions of misery, or are struggling to manage, you possibly can converse to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), electronic mail jo@samaritans.org, or go to the Samaritans web site to search out particulars of your nearest department.
If you’re primarily based within the USA, and also you or somebody you recognize wants psychological well being help proper now, name or textual content 988, or go to 988lifeline.org to entry on-line chat from the 988 Suicide and Disaster Lifeline. This can be a free, confidential disaster hotline that’s out there to everybody 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
If you’re overseas, you possibly can go to www.befrienders.org to discover a helpline close to you.
