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Allegations that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated the late Kim Sae-ron as a minor were false, police conclude

Published: 21 May. 2026, 15:46 Updated: 21 May. 2026, 18:08

Actor Kim Soo-hyun holds a press conference to address allegations that he had a relationship with the late actor Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor at the Stanford Hotel in Mapo District, Seoul, on March 31, 2025. [YONHAP]

Police concluded that allegations that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated late actor Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor were false and partially based on AI-fabricated material, according to an arrest warrant application reviewed by the JoongAng Ilbo on Thursday.

In the arrest warrant application for Kim Se-eui of the controversial far-right YouTube channel Hoverlab, submitted by Seoul Gangnam Police Precinct, authorities argued that KakaoTalk screenshots and an audio file Kim Se-eui presented as evidence of an inappropriate relationship were fabricated, with names in the chat logs edited to identify Kim Soo-hyun as the conversation partner, and the audio manipulated using AI.

Despite knowing this, Kim Se-eui spread the false claims for economic gain, including YouTube revenue, police alleged.

"The suspect distributed false information with the intent to defame Kim Soo-hyun, despite being fully aware that he had never been in a relationship with the deceased from when she was a minor," police wrote.

The KakaoTalk messages that Kim Se-eui released in March 2025 as supposed evidence of the relationship were fabricated, police found.

Last year, Kim Se-eui received — from a family member of Kim Sae-ron — a total of 11 screenshots of KakaoTalk conversations that the late actor had had with an "unidentified person" in 2016, and edited the screenshots in seven places, including changing the name of the conversation partner to "Kim Soo-hyun," according to police.

Actor Kim Soo-hyun, left, and his attorney Kim Jong-bok attends a press conference to address the recent controversy involving his relationship with late actor Kim Sae-ron at Stanford Hotel Seoul in Mapo District, western Seoul, on March 31. [YONHAP]

KakaoTalk often displays a profile as "unidentified person" if the KakaoTalk account has been deleted or if the other party has blocked the recipient.

"The suspect knew that the identity of the conversation partner had not been confirmed, but posted the manipulated materials to make it appear as if the two had actually been talking to each other," police wrote.

Investigators have separately booked the family's legal representative as a suspect. Police said the attorney "not only provided the criminal materials to Kim Se-eui and spread false information, but also amplified and reproduced them, committing the crimes in an organized and planned manner."

An audio file of the late actor that Kim Se-eui's side released in May 2025 was also fabricated using AI, police concluded.

Kim Se-eui, head of Garosero Research Institute hold a press conference about actor Kim Soo-hyun at Space Share in Gangnam District, Seoul, on May 7, 2025. [NEWS1]

Kim Soo-hyun's lawyer Ko Sang-rok addressed the development on his social media on Wednesday.

"Kim Soo-hyun's side did not file a complaint against the family's attorney," Ko said.

"It appears that investigators found evidence of conspiracy and made the lawyer a suspect. It is highly unusual for a lawyer who started as a suspect's defense counsel to be recognized as an accomplice and converted into a suspect themselves," he said.

Kim Se-eui's actions "collapsed Kim Soo-hyun's social base and his economic activities across the board, and destroyed the basis for his professional survival," police said.

"With the actor still receiving psychiatric treatment, any further spread of false information by the suspect could lead to serious and irreparable harm," police added.

Kim Se-eui has rejected the warrant request as a maneuver to obstruct his reporting. "I had originally planned to do additional reporting on a sexual crime case involving a certain prominent politician in Hanoi, Vietnam," he said in a livestream on Wednesday. "The arrest warrant was suddenly filed out of nowhere to interfere with our reporting," he added.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed the arrest warrant against Kim Se-eui on Wednesday for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, specifically the provisions on illegal filming and distribution using cameras. The warrant review hearing will take place next Tuesday at the Seoul Central District Court.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY OH SAM-GWON [[email protected]]