Getty PicturesSouth Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun, identified for his roles in a number of hit drama collection and films, made a tearful public look at a press convention on Monday to disclaim allegations made by the household of actress Kim Sae-ron who died in an obvious suicide in February.
“I can not admit to one thing I did not do,” he stated.
On the centre of the controversy are two principal allegations: that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron when she was solely 15, and that Kim Soo-hyun’s company pressured her to repay a debt she owed earlier than her dying.
The controversy has shocked the nation and its leisure trade, and has generated huge backlash towards the actor.
Kim wept as he stated that though he dated the actress for a 12 months when she was an grownup, they by no means dated whereas she was a minor.
Monday’s media convention got here after weeks of accusations and counter-accusations between Kim Sae-ron’s household and Kim Soo-hyun’s camp within the wake of her dying.
The scandal broke on 10 March, lower than a month after Kim Sae-ron’s dying. A YouTube channel, identified for its controversial political content material, claimed that the 2 had dated for six years, when she was 15. The channel has since launched movies and photographs it claims have been taken throughout their relationship.
Final week, the legal professional representing Kim Sae-ron’s household held a press convention, revealing extra chat historical past allegedly between the 2 actors from 2016, when she was 16.
Kim Soo-hyun’s company initially denied the allegations however later clarified that they dated, although solely between 2019 and 2020, when she was an grownup.
The actor himself had remained silent till Monday. On the press convention, he grew to become emotional, reiterating to reporters that they solely dated as two adults.
“Many individuals are struggling due to me,” he stated, apologising to his followers and workers. “I additionally really feel sorry that the late actress [Kim Sae-ron] is not capable of relaxation in peace.”
“I by no means dated her when she was a minor,” he continued. “Apart from the truth that each of us have been actors, our relationship was identical to that of every other odd couple.”
He additionally defined why he denied the connection when she uploaded a later-deleted picture of the 2 of them to her Instagram account in 2024 throughout the airing of Netflix hit present Queen of Tears, by which he performed the lead function.
“I had a lot to guard as its lead actor. What would have occurred if I had admitted to a year-long relationship? What would occur to the actors, the workers who have been working in a single day and the manufacturing workforce who had every part staked on that venture?” he stated. “The extra I considered it, the extra I believed that should not be what I do.”
Any admission of a romantic relationship or a accomplice continues to be seen as scandalous to followers in South Korea’s leisure trade, the place celebrities private lives come underneath intense scrutiny.
Getty PicturesKim Sae-ron herself was a victim of online hate by followers after she was fined 20 million received (£11,000; $14,000) for a 2022 drink-driving incident.
Previous to that, she was seen as one of the crucial promising younger actresses in South Korea.
On the time, she was managed by the identical company as Kim Soo-hyun, which was co-founded by his relative. Kim Sae-ron joined GoldMedalist in January 2020 and left in December 2022.
Kim Sae-ron’s household claimed that GoldMedalist coated the compensation for her drunk-driving incident. They allege that the company later pursued authorized motion for compensation and that, whereas the actress requested Kim Soo-hyun for extra time to settle the debt, her request went unanswered.
On Monday, Kim Soo-hyun denied claims that “she made the tragic selection due to me or my company pressuring her over a debt.”
He launched a voice recording of a telephone name from a 12 months in the past, allegedly between his company and Kim Sae-ron’s consultant.
Within the recording, the CEO of GoldMedalist seems to elucidate that the doc they despatched her concerning the debt was merely for “procedural causes” and that her workforce may take time to reply.
He additionally accused Kim Sae-ron’s household of manipulating chat information as proof and said that he had submitted his personal proof to the related authorities for verification. He urged her household to do the identical.
Kim Soo-hyun, 37, is an A-list actor in South Korea, identified for his roles in a number of hit drama collection and top-grossing films, together with My Love from the Star, Netflix’s Queen of Tears, and the movie Secretly, Vastly.
He has additionally been a favorite amongst advertisers within the nation, although many manufacturers have now distanced themselves from him amid the controversy. On 17 March, trend model Prada introduced that it had mutually determined to finish its collaboration with him, in keeping with Reuters. This adopted comparable strikes from Dinto, a Korean beauty model.
A Disney+ present that stars Kim Soo-hyun has additionally been placed on pause as a result of scandal, in keeping with native information outlet Yonhap.
His lawyer said on Monday that that they had filed a prison criticism towards Kim Sae-ron’s household and the YouTube channel operator, together with a civil lawsuit for damages value 12 billion received.
Her household has not commented on the lawsuits or his newest remarks.
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