On the 26th, lawyer Bu Ji-seok of Buyu Law Firm, the legal representative for the family of the late Kim Sae-ron, reiterated through an official press release that included a statement from the deceased’s mother that ‘it is true Kim Soo-hyun dated the deceased when she was a minor.’
The late Kim Sae-ron’s mother expressed, “After much deliberation, I’ve gathered the courage to write this. Our case is currently under investigation by law enforcement agencies. The authorities recommended that we ‘refrain from contact with the media,’ and we accepted. However, lawyer Go Sang-rok, who represents Kim Soo-hyun, has recently been inciting public opinion with false claims through continuous posts on his YouTube channel, ‘Jingyeogui Gobyeon’.”
She continued, “While we are not engaging with the media at all, the other party is continuously doing so through their lawyer’s YouTube channel. I worry that the world might believe their false claims and that the truth might be shaken and buried. For this reason, while I trust the investigative authorities to judge objectively, I am anxious that they might be swayed by the other party’s false claims and view the case contrary to the truth,” she added.
Additional evidence was also released to prove that the late Kim Sae-ron dated Kim Soo-hyun when she was a minor. This included recorded statements from acquaintances, a memo Kim Sae-ron wrote before Kim Soo-hyun’s military enlistment, messages with a friend, as well as messenger conversations and photos from 2017-2018.
The acquaintances’ statements included accounts of how friends who knew about the relationship during Kim Sae-ron’s high school years would ‘give hints’ to others by singing the OST from Kim Soo-hyun’s drama ‘Moon Embracing the Sun.’ It also mentioned how she changed her pet cats’ names from ‘Patddeok’ and ‘Kkultteok’ to ‘Dal’ (Moon) and ‘Gureum’ (Cloud). The mother explained, “Many acquaintances have provided specific statements with anecdotes about the deceased dating Kim Soo-hyun when she was a minor,” adding, “Her younger sibling also gave a detailed statement to investigators.”
The contents of a memo, claimed to have been written by Kim Soo-hyun before his military enlistment and recovered through forensics, were also revealed. Messages from the period when the deceased was a high school student included exchanges like, “Would it be wrong to say I want to spend every remaining day with you?”, “It’s difficult for us. We have so much to overcome. The most immediate obstacle is our age,” and “If oppa said that because you really plan to see me again, then I can wait. Or rather than waiting, I can just keep on liking you.”
However, regarding the messenger conversations where the other party’s name is marked as ‘Unknown,’ the deceased’s mother claims, “Circumstantially, it is clearly Kim Soo-hyun.” Kim Soo-hyun’s side has previously denied this, so the truth cannot be determined at this stage. The same applies to the speculation about the so-called ‘dakdoritang’ (spicy chicken stew) video. The mother expressed confidence in her claims, stating, “The results of the official investigation will soon reveal who is telling the truth.”
Finally, the late Kim Sae-ron’s mother expressed her wish: “I hope that this press release will be the last, and that both sides will stop responding to the media and wait for the results of the investigation.” The family has previously sued Kim Soo-hyun for violating the Child Welfare Act and for false accusation.
In response, Kim Soo-hyun’s side has consistently denied dating the deceased when she was a minor, stating, “It is edited, fake evidence. We dated for one year after she became an adult.” They have also filed civil and criminal lawsuits, including a 12 billion won claim for damages, against individuals including Kim Se-ui, the operator of the Garo Sero Institute (Gaseyeon) who first made the allegations, and the family. They have also been sued and reported for defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
Kim Soo-hyun is in a legal battle not only with the family but also with advertisers. Several brands that hired him as a model have filed lawsuits for damages against his side. The release of the Disney+ original series ‘Knock-Off,’ starring Kim Soo-hyun, has been postponed indefinitely. The statement from the late Kim Sae-ron’s mother puts a halt to Kim Soo-hyun’s consistent claims of innocence, leading many to await the court’s decision.
