Kim Soo-hyun investigation in 'final stages' nearly a year after allegations

Actor Kim Soo-hyun speaks at a press conference on March 31, 2025, denying allegations of dating the late actor Kim Sae-ron when she was underage. [YONHAP]

 
It's been almost a year since an allegation that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated late actor Kim Sae-ron as a minor was posted on YouTube. Police say they are now nearing the end of an investigation into Kim Soo-hyun's cross-complaints with Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family and the channel’s operator.
 
Investigators at the Gangnam and Seongdong precincts have been examining a series of accusations filed by Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sae-ron's family and Kim Se-ui, the operator of the YouTube channel Hoverlab, between March and June last year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Some of the cases will conclude soon.
 

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Park Jeong-ho, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, signaled on Jan. 26 that the inquiry was nearing its end. 
 
“We are conducting the investigation diligently, and it is in the final stages. We expect to reach a conclusion soon," he said at a regular press briefing.
 
 
Kim, Kim and Kim
 
The dispute began on March 11 last year, less than a month after Kim Sae-ron died on Feb. 16, 2025. HoverLab, a far-right political channel also known as Garo Sero Institute in Korean, claimed that she had been in a six-year relationship with Kim Soo-hyun beginning when she was 15, citing information from her family.
 
The channel also argued that Kim Sae-ron died because Kim Soo-hyun's agency urged her to repay debts stemming from a drunk driving incident.
 
Kim Soo-hyun and his agency Goldmedalist rejected those claims. At a news conference on March 31, they said he dated Kim Sae-ron from the summer of 2019, after she became an adult, until the fall of 2020. They denied that he had ever been in a relationship with her while she was underage.
 

Kim Se-ui, right, head of the YouTube channel Hoverlab, and attorney Bu Ji-seok, legal representative of the family of late actor Kim Sae-ron, hold a press conference related to actor Kim Soo-hyun at Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on May 7, 2025. [NEWS1]

 
Soon after, Kim and his agency filed complaints against the bereaved family, an unidentified person who claimed to be Kim Sae-ron’s aunt and Kim Se-ui, on charges of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
 
 
Suits and countersuits
 
What began as a public dispute over a celebrity relationship has since grown into at least seven criminal cases.  
 
Kim Soo-hyun filed an additional complaint accusing HoverLab and others of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, including allegations related to distributing images and coercion involving such material on March 20, 2025. He has also accused HoverLab of intimidation, stalking, false accusation and further defamation.
 
HoverLab and Kim Sae-ron’s family, for their part, filed complaints against Kim Soo-hyun and a fan coalition supporting him, alleging violations of the Child Welfare Act, false accusations and defamation. Earlier this month, police declined to forward a case filed by HoverLab against the fan coalition, determining that it did not meet the threshold for prosecution.
 
Central to Kim Soo-hyun’s complaints is a photograph released by HoverLab when it first released the dating allegations. The image showed the actor washing dishes while partially undressed. Kim Soo-hyun argues that posting the image inflicted sexual humiliation and damaged his reputation by portraying him as someone who dated a minor.
 

Pictures of actor Kim Soo-hyun and late actor Kim Sae-ron provided by the late actor's aunt to YouTube channel Hoverlab [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
The actor’s representatives also accused the channel of intimidation after it said during a livestream that it would release video footage of Kim if the streaming service Disney+ did not cancel the release of “Knock-Off,” an upcoming series starring the actor.
 
Separately, Kim Soo-hyun has filed a lawsuit at the Seoul Central District Court seeking 12 billion won ($8.3 million) in damages from HoverLab and others, arguing that the allegations forced him to suspend his entertainment activities.
 
HoverLab and Kim Sae-ron's family have countered that Kim Soo-hyun violated the Child Welfare Act by engaging in a relationship with Kim Sae-ron when she was underage and abusing her. Kim Soo-hyun denies the accusation and, on June 23 last year, filed a complaint accusing the channel and the family of false accusation.
 
 
Credible source?
 
Another flashpoint involves an audio recording that HoverLab and the family released at a news conference on May 7. They said the file captured a private conversation between Kim Sae-ron and an informant.  
 
Questions soon emerged about whether the recording had been manipulated using AI.
 

Actor Kim Soo-hyun, left, and Kim Se-ui, operator of YouTube channel Hoverlab [NEWS1]

 
Police asked the National Forensic Service to analyze the file. In December, the agency reported that because the version submitted for analysis was edited, it could not determine whether it had been technically altered.
 
“The National Forensic Service concluded that because the audio file was edited, it could not determine whether there had been technical manipulation,” Ko Sang-rok, a lawyer for Kim Soo-hyun, said in a telephone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo. “We expect the investigative team to assess the substantive issues, including inconsistencies in the content.”
 
“The parties’ claims sharply conflict, but we are strengthening the completeness of the investigation through various pieces of evidence and testimony,” a police official familiar with the case said. “We will wrap it up swiftly.”


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 SON SUNG-BAE [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]