Kim Soo-hyun's side releases official statement… Reversing their earlier denial of 'dating fact'
Actor Kim Soo-hyun (37) has directly refuted the claims made by the YouTube channel 'Garoseoro Research Institute' (hereinafter referred to as Garoseoro).
On the 13th, Kim Soo-hyun's agency Gold Medalist released an official statement stating, "We were planning to release an official statement next week based on verifiable evidence to refute Garoseoro's report. However, this morning, Kim Soo-hyun showed severe psychological anxiety, necessitating the urgent distribution of this statement."
The agency stated, "Kim Soo-hyun and actress Kim Sae-ron (25) were in a relationship from the summer of 2019, after Kim Sae-ron became an adult, until the fall of 2020," further asserting, "The claim that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor is not true."
In particular, regarding the '2016 photos' claimed by Garoseoro, the agency countered, "The photos released by Kim Sae-ron on Instagram on March 24, 2024, and the photos shown by Garoseoro in their broadcast on the 11th were all taken on the same day in the winter of 2020," and emphasized, "The clothing worn by Kim Sae-ron at that time was a brand product released in June 2019, making the claim of photos taken in 2016 invalid."
The agency added, "Another photo released by Garoseoro on the 12th was also taken on Christmas Eve 2019 (December 24), and we have obtained the metadata for this," emphasizing, "The relationship between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron began after 2019, and there could not have been a '2016 photo' as claimed by Garoseoro. They were not in a relationship at that time."
While it is true they dated… "They started their relationship after becoming adults."
Regarding the letters from Kim Soo-hyun during his military service, which were presented by Garoseoro, the agency explained, "The letters Kim Soo-hyun sent to Kim Sae-ron during his military service were just among the letters he sent to close acquaintances," and pointed out, "Garoseoro distorted the timeline by claiming that the two had been dating since 2015, using photos taken after Kim Sae-ron reached adulthood to mislead the public into thinking they were from her minor years. They also combined postcards sent after they started dating with military letters to make them look like love letters."
Claims that Kim Soo-hyun ignored Kim Sae-ron's financial issues were also rebutted as false.
Gold Medalist stated, "After Kim Sae-ron's DUI incident, we worked together with the agency to resolve various penalties related to her acting activities and compensation to affected businesses," noting, "The penalty incurred from the incident was about 1.114 billion won, and the agency had been trying to minimize the amount to reduce Kim Sae-ron's burden. Subsequently, through Kim Sae-ron's efforts, the remaining compensation was reduced to about 700 million won."
The agency continued, "However, after the DUI incident, Kim Sae-ron found it practically difficult to repay the debt due to challenges in her activities," adding, "Accordingly, in December 2023, the agency treated her remaining debt as a loss compensation. In the audit report dated April 1, 2024, it can be confirmed that all claims against Kim Sae-ron were recorded as bad debt."
Request for penalty refund due to potential 'breach of trust'… Considering legal action against Garoseoro
The agency also explained the background of having to comply with legal procedures: "If the agency had unilaterally covered Kim Sae-ron's penalties, there was a possibility that corporate executives could be held liable for breach of trust. Additionally, there was a concern that such costs might not be recognized as business expenses," explaining, "Based on the advice of law firms and accounting firms during the accounting audit process in early 2024, we decided on a way to handle Kim Sae-ron's claims. If the agency were to treat the amount as bad debt without any debt pressure, it could be seen as a unilateral debt exemption, raising concerns about another breach of trust."
The agency stated, "All claims raised by Garoseoro are untrue, and we are considering legal action. We will respond firmly to any spread of unverified false information."
※ The following is the full text of Gold Medalist's official statement.
※ The following is the full text of Gold Medalist's official statement.
Image Source: Kim Soo-hyun / Instagram 'soohyun_k216', Actress Kim Sae-ron / News1, Instagram 'soohyun_k216', YouTube 'Garoseoro Research Institute'
