Kim Soo-Hyun Is A Loser. That's it. That's The Tweet.
What the title says.
Kim Soo-Hyun is a South Korean actor, You may have seen him in K-dramas such as Secretly, Greatly (2013), It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020), and Queen of Tears (2024). This past Monday in Seoul, South Korea, Soo-Hyun cried crocodile tears while addressing the accusations that he dated actress Kim Sae-ron when she was only 15. She died by suicide at the young age of 24 on Soo-Hyun’s birthday this past February.
Soo-Hyun admitted the pair had dated for a year, but assured that Sae-Ron was an adult by the time of their relationship.
“I never dated her when she was a minor,” he said. “Except for the fact that both of us were actors, our relationship was just like that of any other ordinary couple.”
Right…
Following that tearful press conference, Soo-Hyun and his legal team wasted no time in filing multiple lawsuits—not only against the YouTube channel Garosero Institute that exposed Soo-Hyun and brought forth the allegations but also against Sae-Ron’s family. He accused them of defamation and violation of information protection.
As if the death of their daughter wasn’t enough.
Mind you, the YouTube channel had both photo and video evidence supporting its claims.
Kim Sae-Ron was born on July 31, 2000. She started her career as a child model in 2001 and transitioned to acting years later.
You may recognize her from Bloodhounds (2023), The Man from Nowhere (2010), and Mirror of the Witch (2016). Her future was on the rise and incredibly bright. But two years before her death, she was involved in a drunk driving incident and was heavily ridiculed online, which devastated her public image beyond repair.
Sae-ron’s family claims that Gold Medalist (Soo-Hyun’s agency) had agreed to cover her legal fees regarding the incident. However, instead of honoring that agreement, the company switched its stance, taking legal action against Sae-Ron for repayment while ignoring her requests for more time to settle the issue.
It’s stated that Sae-Ron was continually ignored by Soo-Hyun. Sae-Ron’s family lawyer said that Sae-Ron posting this photo of them together on Instagram was her desperate attempt to get his attention but she was berated by netizens—his fans.
Soo-Hyun denied those claims during Monday’s press conference, stating that Sae-ron did not make, “the tragic choice because of me or my agency pressuring her over a debt.”
“Many people are suffering because of me,” Soo-hyun added, seemingly apologizing to his fans and staff. “I also feel sorry that the late actress [Kim Sae-ron] isn’t able to rest in peace.”
He couldn’t even summon the human decency to say her name. Instead, he offered hollow words and a soulless apology to his fans and staff while, in the same breath, suing her grieving family.
Despite Soo-Hyun denying any inappropriate relations with a minor and having a legal team providing text messages to back his claims. Sae-Ron’s family refuted these claims by revealing original Kakao talk messages between Sae-Ron and her cousin.
In one of those messages, Sae-Ron wrote:
“I was 16 years old, and my partner was 30. Our 6-year relationship came to an end just like that. Since I was born to become an actress, during the season when my company and management were about to renew their contract, I was looking into other companies. While I was discussing a contract with my ex-partner's company, I ended up signing a contract with the Gold Medalist without considering the contract terms and conditions. I took on roles such as new talent casting and visual directing without hesitation, but I would like to make it clear that I did not receive any fair compensation for this work.”
Alongside this, Garosero Institute published screenshots showing the following text:
Red box text:
"The photo uploaded to the story is from 2016. The relationship lasted from November 19, 2015, to July 7, 2021. I was 16 years old, and my partner was 30 years old. Thus, our six-year relationship came to an end."
Yellow text:
"The original clearly specifies the date of the photo and the duration of the relationship."
This directly contradicts Soo-Hyun’s defense.
The full translated messages can be found here. And the original article in Korean, with a side-by-side comparison of Soo-Hyun claims and Garosero Institute’s original messages (including screenshots and a video scrolling through the conversation), can be found here.
Since the allegations surfaced, Soo-hyun has been dropped and collaborations have ended with companies including Parada, Dinito, and Disney+, which has reportedly paused a show starring him.
The press conference took no questions, but one brave reporter, a woman, spoke up at the end. I can't translate her exact words—my Korean is a bit cooked—but essentially, she asked: "When did you first meet Kim Sae-Ron?"
The actor did not acknowledge or answer the question, likely because admitting it would mean he would have to confront the uncomfortable truth:
He met her when she was around 12 years old. He was 25-26.
Kim Sae-ron, you deserved better. 편히 쉬세요.
