After repeated denials, Korean star Kim Soo Hyun’s label Gold Medalist has admitted in a statement today (Mar 14) that the 37-year-old actor had dated late actress Kim Sae Ron.
However, unlike claims by YouTube channel HoverLab, better known as Garosero Research Institute, that their relationship began in 2016 when Sae Ron was 15, Gold Medalist said they dated from the summer of 2019, after she became of legal age, until autumn of 2020.
It added that the photo previously shared by Sae Ron in March 2024 and HoverLab on March 11 this year were both taken in 2020 when they were still dating.
“The clothes worn by Kim Sae Ron was released by a certain clothing brand in June of 2019. Therefore, HoverLab’s claim that the photo was taken in 2016, when Kim Sae Ron was a minor, cannot be true,” it said.
It added it can prove through the photo’s metadata that other intimate photos HoverLab shared of the pair were taken after Sae Ron became an adult.
“Despite HoverLab’s claims that there are multiple photos of the two taken in 2016, when Kim Sae Ron was a minor, such photos do not exist because they were not dating in 2016,” it said.
Gold Medalist criticised HoverLab of manipulating facts and misrepresenting dates.
“This is a deeply personal matter that has been twisted into a public spectacle,” it stated.
“False information is spreading like wildfire, causing immense harm to Kim Soo Hyun and those close to him.”
Sae Ron was found dead in her home in an apparent suicide on Feb 16, which is also Soo Hyun’s birthday. She was 24.
Following her death, HoverLab alleged that Soo Hyun was in a six-year-long relationship with the late actress when she was a minor.
The agency had originally planned to issue a response to allegations next week but decided to release a statement early as Soo Hyun was showing “symptoms of severe emotional distress” over accusations and false information spreading online.
Hoverlab warned in a YouTube live stream yesterday (Mar 13) that if Soo Hyun fails to issue a public apology to Sae Ron’s family, it will release what it described as “shirtless” photos of the actor “washing dishes” at Sae Ron’s home.
“We have a photo of someone shirtless and washing dishes at his girlfriend’s house. It’s not just a photo, there’s also a video. Next week, we plan to review someone’s statement of position and publish it,” it said.
It added in a YouTube community post that if he continues to lie, “three truly shocking photos and a video will be released”.
“These will be incomparable to the photos released so far,” it said.