Kim Soo-hyun has been cleared of allegations that he dated late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was underage, according to South Korean police.
JoongAng Daily reviewed an arrest warrant application and reported on May 21 that the police concluded the materials released by journalist-turned-YouTuber Kim Se-eui on his YouTube channel HoverLab in 2025, which alleged the 38-year-old actor was in a relationship with Sae-ron when she was 15, are false.
The police added that screenshots of chat messages and an audio file that Kim had released as “evidence” were fabricated, with the names in the chat log edited to Soo-hyun’s and the audio manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI).
Sae-ron died of suicide aged 24 in February 2025.
In early March 2025, HoverLab, also known as Garo Sero Institute, released intimate photos of Soo-hyun and Sae-ron received from the latter’s family, claiming they dated when she was a minor.
Soo-hyun, who was at the height of his popularity then from drama Queen of Tears (2024), later explained through a statement by his management agency Gold Medalist that he was in a relationship with Sae-ron from summer 2019 to autumn 2020, when she had become an adult.
Sae-ron’s family continued to release screenshots of text messages allegedly between the two, insisting Soo-hyun had “either dated or sexually groomed” her.
During a press conference on March 31, 2025, Soo-hyun broke down in tears as he reiterated Sae-ron wasn’t a minor when they dated, adding the testimonies and evidence released by HoverLab were false. Lawyers representing him and his agency said then that they had sued people involved in the expose for damages.
In the aftermath of the incident, Soo-hyun was dropped by brands he endorsed, including luxury fashion brand Prada and Korean cosmetics brand Dinto, and was required to pay damages.
One of his luxury apartments in Galleria Foret worth three billion won (S$2.5 million) was temporarily seized in June 2025 for unpaid penalty fees.
According to Korean media reports, police said on May 21 that Kim’s actions “collapsed Soo-hyun’s social base and his economic activities across the board and destroyed the basis for his professional survival”.
They added that Soo-hyun is still receiving psychiatric treatment and further spread of false information could lead to “serious and irreparable harm” to him.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office filed an arrest warrant against Kim on May 20 on charges linked to alleged violation of the sexual crimes law involving illegal filming and distribution.
Kim claimed in his livestream on May 20 that the warrant request was intended to interfere with his reporting activities.
He is scheduled to appear in court on May 26.
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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com
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