On the 7th, at a shared office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, attorney Ji Seok Bu, the legal representative of the late Kim Saeron's family, and Kim Seui, the head of the Garosero Research Institute, are delivering a statement. Photo by Yonhap News
The family of the late actress Kim Saeron has filed a complaint against actor Kim Soo-hyun, accusing him of violating the Child Welfare Act and of making false accusations. The complaint reportedly contains the family's claim that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Saeron since she was in her second year of middle school and that they had a sexual relationship.
At a press conference held on May 7 at a shared office in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, attorney Ji Seok Bu (from the law firm Buyu), the legal representative for the family, stated, "We have filed a complaint on the grounds that Kim Soo-hyun engaged in acts constituting sexual abuse against Kim Saeron when she was a minor," and added, "We have also filed a counter-complaint against Kim Soo-hyun for false accusation, in response to his lawsuit against the family for spreading false information."
An audio recording released at the press conference included Kim Saeron telling an acquaintance during her lifetime, "I dated Kim Soo-hyun since my second year of middle school, and we had sexual intercourse that winter." The family explained that this recording was delivered to an acquaintance in New Jersey, United States, in January of this year.
Since March, the family has claimed that Kim Soo-hyun dated the late actress for about six years starting in 2015, and has released messages and photos exchanged between the two. Kim Soo-hyun's side initially refuted these claims as "completely groundless," but later stated, "He dated Kim Saeron from the summer of 2019, after she became an adult, until the fall of 2020." Kim Soo-hyun held a press conference himself, completely denying the allegations, and filed a lawsuit against the family and the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute (Gaseyeon), seeking 12 billion KRW in damages and for defamation.
Meanwhile, the family claims that a representative of Kim Soo-hyun's agency and YouTuber A offered a large sum of money to the informant in an attempt to obtain the recording. It is known that the relevant audio and evidence of this inducement have been submitted to investigative authorities.
In response, Kim Soo-hyun's side strongly refuted the audio recording, stating that it was "completely fabricated." The legal representative of Gold Medalist, the agency, from the law firm LKB & Partners, stated in an official position, "We believe the recording released by Gaseyeon was manipulated using AI and other technologies," and added, "The informant who provided the file has a history of demanding money in the past and has no connection whatsoever to Kim Saeron." They continued, "We are conducting a technical analysis, and if evidence of manipulation is confirmed, we will disclose it immediately."
Regarding the "attack photos" released during the press conference, they added, "These are merely images that can be found through an internet search," and asserted, "The claim that Kim Soo-hyun or his agency orchestrated the attack is clearly false." Kim Soo-hyun's side defined the press conference as a "manipulative act for cyber terror," and filed complaints and accusations against Gaseyeon and those involved for violating the Information and Communications Network Act and the Stalking Punishment Act.
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