Kim Sae-ron. Image: GoldMedalist via The Korea Herald
The bereaved family of Kim Sae-ron Monday sued a YouTuber for spreading false rumors about the actress while she was alive.
On Monday, attorney Bu Ji-seok of the law firm Buyou, representing Sae-ron’s family, appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police to submit a complaint against YouTuber Lee Jin-ho for allegedly spreading false rumors about her.
Bu was accompanied by Kwon Young-chan, head of the Korea Association for Suicide Prevention, and Kim Say, head of HoverLab, the far-right YouTube channel that claimed Kim Soo-hyun and Sae-ron had been allegedly dating for six years, starting in 2015 when she was 15.
At a press conference, Bu said Sae-ron’s family is suing Lee for spreading a number of false claims since 2022, including that she staged a “self-made romance” by posting a photo of herself with Soo-hyun in March 2024.
According to Bu, the former child star uploaded the picture in a desperate attempt to have Soo-hyun contact her after receiving a notice from GoldMedalist, his agency, urging her to repay a 700 million won ($483,000) debt. GoldMedalist was also Sae-ron’s agency until she left in December 2022 after her drunk-driving incident earlier in May.
“Kim Sae-ron suffered extreme distress after receiving the first certified notice (from her agency) and sent a message to Kim Soo-hyun, saying, ‘Please save me.’ When she did not get a response, she thought that posting on social media a photo taken while they were in a relationship might prompt a reply, which led her to upload the picture,” said Bu. The photo was uploaded on March 24, 2024.
(From left) Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun in a now-deleted Instagram story. Image: Instagram/@ron_sae
Bu claimed YouTuber Lee had demeaned Sae-ron by calling the photo a “staged act” and spread falsehoods. Thus, filing a complaint was unavoidable. “After Kim Sae-ron’s passing, Lee Jin-ho deleted (his) past videos, which is a clear attempt to destroy evidence,” he added.
Bu said that the recently released photos of Soo-hyun and Sae-ron by HoverLab were aimed at disproving Lee’s claims. The photos were obtained from the actress’ family.
“The bereaved family asks for understanding that they had no choice but to disclose the relationship (between Sae-ron) and Kim Soo-hyun to prove that YouTuber Lee Jin-ho’s claims were false and that they had to release photos of their romantic relationship to do so,” said Bu.
According to Bu, Sae-ron received a second certified notice from GoldMedalist on March 25, 2024, again urging her to repay the debt.
“While (GoldMedalist) claims that it had no choice but to send the letter due to a breach of trust issue, in reality, it was essentially a demand for the deceased to repay the debt within a given period,” stated Bu.
Bu also claimed the letter warned Sae-ron not to contact Soo-hyun or other agency actors and threatened legal action over the photo.
Bu further said, “It is impossible to even begin to imagine the psychological distress the deceased must have suffered after receiving such notices.” He added that the family is considering taking legal action against Soo-hyun’s side. Soo-hyun is the founder and owner of GoldMedalist.