Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron. Image: YouTube/SBS; Instagram/@ron_sae
Kim Soo-hyun personally addressed the allegation that he had dated late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, with the actor denying it again and lamenting the supposed “fake testimonials and evidence that are piling up.”
“Firstly, I am sorry. Because of me, I think so many people are suffering. And also, I feel sorry that the late actor Kim Sae-ron isn’t able to rest in peace,” Soo-hyun began during the press conference held on Monday, March 31, as translated to English by news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily.
“I consider myself a coward. I have always been too preoccupied with holding on to what I have… That’s why it took me so long to stand here today,” he said.
An emotional Soo-hyun admitted he previously thought several times about addressing the allegations to end the “hell-like situation,” but he hesitated every time as it may “push everybody, including [him], into trouble.”
“It was the same situation when [Kim Sae-ron] posted a picture of her and me when ‘Queen of Tears’ was airing,” he said, referring to his 2024 TV series. “I was together with her for about a year, about 4 years before the drama aired. But at that time, I denied our relationship. I fully understand that criticizing my choice is justified.”
“I had so much to protect as its lead actor. What would have happened if I had admitted to a yearlong relationship? What would happen to the actors, the staff who were working overnight and the production team who had all everything staked on that project?… Could I really make that decision just for my peace of mind? The more I thought of it, the more I thought that shouldn’t be what I do,” he added. “I am willing to receive any criticism that say I am selfish and cowardly.”
Soo-hyun then lamented how the controversy has also “defamed” Sae-ron “by revealing her private life through photos.”
“But I couldn’t let it be. I couldn’t accept (them) coercing me to take what’s fake as the truth,” he said. “I never dated [Kim Sae-ron] 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.”
“And it is not true that she had made this tragic choice because of me or my agency pressuring her over a debt,” he added.
DUI incident
Soo-hyun said the two of them didn’t have communication after their breakup. He also noted that he could not reach out to Sae-ron when she had a DUI incident because she was in a relationship with someone at the time.
“We were already living our own lives and I didn’t know what to say… But the family of the late actor, just because I am the ex-boyfriend of the late actor, is asserting that I pushed her to death,” he said. “They are demanding me to confess to something that I didn’t do. [They said] you played with her even from when she was a minor. You threatened her with money. So you are a murderer.”
Soo-hyun then revealed an audio recording of an apparent phone call between the CEO of Sae-ron’s former talent agency Management Run and the CEO of GoldMedalist, her previous agency and Soo-hyun’s current agency—which supposedly refutes the claim that the late actress was pressured to repay her debt to GoldMedalist.
Soo-hyun further alleged that the recording Sae-ron’s family released regarding her second debt payment “is something that’s newly recorded.”
‘Cleverly manipulated’
“And the same goes for the KakaoTalk chat that the late family initially revealed,” he continued, pointing out the supposed wrong details in the conversation with regards to his and Sae-ron’s age, her agency, and contract. “These fake testimonials and evidence are piling up just because we dated.”
“The late actor’s family disclosed KakaoTalk conversation through a press conference. On that YouTube channel, they are framing me as pedophile, accusing me of grooming based on KakaoTalk chats we had in 2016. The person who is having the conversation with the late actor is different for the KakaoTalk chats made in 2016 and 2018,” he said.
Soo-hyun revealed he requested for the conversations revealed by Sae-ron’s family to undergo analysis, and it showed that “the chat made in 2016 and 2018 were made by different people.”
“There is evidence of photos and videos and KakaoTalk chat that’s not original but that have been cleverly manipulated,” he claimed.
Vows to clear name
Soo-hyun stressed that he is willing to accept the criticisms over his choices, but that he would not “betray” himself and those who believe in him by regarding something false as the truth.
“If all the evidence the family holds is true, I hope they can be verified legally after a thorough investigation… I am scared what they will reveal today and distort to make me a killer,” he said. “But if I surrender to such pressure and say that something that’s false is true, I would be betraying not only myself but all of the people that have sent belief and love to me…. No matter how much I live wearing a mask as a celebrity, I cannot do that.”
“I have done what I have done. I will take any criticism for that. But the things I haven’t done, I haven’t done,” he added. “I want to clear my name. I will not ask for trust. I will prove it.”