Actor Kim Soo-hyun's side has expedited the announcement of an official statement originally scheduled for next week due to the artist's rapidly unstable state. Among the numerous claims raised by the Garoseoro Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as 'Gaseyeon') related to the late Kim Sae-ron, only the fact of their past relationship was acknowledged, emphasizing that they dated for one year after Kim Sae-ron became an adult, not during her minor years. All other claims were completely denied.
On the 14th, Kim Soo-hyun's agency Gold Medalist issued an urgent press release. They stated, “Gold Medalist had planned to distribute a statement next week based on verifiable evidence to refute Gaseyeon's reports, but early this morning, Kim Soo-hyun showed signs of severe psychological instability, and he is experiencing extreme confusion due to claims that the cause of the late Kim's sudden death lies with him following Gaseyeon's report, prompting us to urgently clarify our position.”
The agency claimed, “Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron were in a relationship from the summer of 2019, after Kim Sae-ron became an adult, until the fall of 2020. It is not true that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron during her minor years.”
They further stated that the photos Kim Sae-ron posted on her SNS in the early morning of March 24, 2024, and the photos released by Gaseyeon on March 11, 2025, were all taken in the winter of 2020, citing the clothes Kim Sae-ron wore at that time as evidence.
According to the agency, the T-shirt Kim Sae-ron wore at that time was released by a brand in June 2019. The agency rebutted, “Thus, Gaseyeon's claim that the photo was taken in 2016, when Kim Sae-ron was a minor, is impossible.”
They also claimed, “Another photo released by Gaseyeon on March 12, 2025, was taken on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2019, and we have secured the metadata for that photo (at the bottom of the paragraph). The photo released on March 13 can also be confirmed to have been taken on the same day, as evidenced by the same outfit.”
They emphasized, “All the photos Gaseyeon presented as evidence that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron since her minor years were taken during Kim Sae-ron's adult years. The repeatedly claimed ‘2016 photos’ by Gaseyeon cannot exist because the two were not in a relationship at that time.”
They also clarified the letters Kim Soo-hyun sent to Kim Sae-ron during his military service.
The agency stated, “The letter in question was one of the letters sent to close acquaintances. As can be seen from the content, Kim Soo-hyun was adapting to military life and often wrote in detail about his daily life in the military to his acquaintances. The expression ‘I miss you’ was a light expression made by a soldier to close acquaintances.”
They added, “The claim that Kim Soo-hyun ignored Kim Sae-ron's economic issues is not true,” stating, “The debt issue was entirely between Gold Medalist and Kim Sae-ron. The assertion that Kim Soo-hyun lent money to Kim Sae-ron personally or suddenly demanded repayment is a misconception. Kim Soo-hyun has never lent money to Kim Sae-ron, nor has he ever urged repayment, nor was he in a position to do so.”
They explained that when Kim Soo-hyun received a text regarding the content certification from Kim Sae-ron, Gold Medalist advised him that it would not be appropriate to respond without professional knowledge. They later explained the purpose of the content certification to Kim Sae-ron, and in March 2024, they received a text from Kim Sae-ron's legal representative stating, “Thank you for the sincerity you have shown to our client over the past time.”
The agency expressed, “The photos of the two released by Gaseyeon are indeed real. However, that does not make Gaseyeon's claims ‘truth.’ They throw out a few pieces of evidence that can attract public attention, remove the context behind them, and as a result, the truth is distorted, causing many people to suffer.”
They continued, “I believe that the public's gaze and criticism regarding the series of events concerning Kim Soo-hyun should be accepted. However, it is unacceptable for Kim Soo-hyun, simply because he is a celebrity, to unconditionally accept numerous false facts and personal attacks.” They raised their voice, asking, “Should we accept that the extremely private matters of two adults are disclosed without consent, and should we have to endure all these events due to the disclosure of private life without consent?”
Previously, the family of the late Kim Sae-ron claimed through the YouTube channel ‘Gaseyeon’ that Kim Sae-ron had been in a relationship with Kim Soo-hyun for over six years since she was 15. They caused a stir by revealing a photo of Kim Soo-hyun kissing Kim Sae-ron on the cheek and text messages in which Kim Sae-ron sought help from Kim Soo-hyun after receiving the content certification.
Kim Soo-hyun's agency Gold Medalist stated, “This is a clear falsehood,” and announced, “We will consider the strongest legal response we can take against the dissemination of false information by ‘Gaseyeon.’”
However, as the controversy continued, Kim Soo-hyun's agency stated on the 13th, “We will clarify the facts and respond to baseless rumors based on clear evidence next week,” and “We apologize for causing prolonged fatigue. We ask for your understanding as this is to avoid continued reporting.”
<Below is the full statement from Kim Soo-hyun's agency>
Hello, this is Gold Medalist.
We are distributing Kim Soo-hyun's statement regarding the recent reports from the Garoseoro Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as Gaseyeon).
Gold Medalist had planned to distribute a statement next week based on verifiable evidence to refute Gaseyeon's reports.
However, early this morning, Kim Soo-hyun showed signs of severe psychological instability, and we have taken measures to ensure that he can achieve absolute stability. Kim Soo-hyun has been experiencing extreme confusion due to claims that the cause of the late Kim's sudden death lies with him following Gaseyeon's report. Additionally, on the night of the 12th, after Gaseyeon's broadcast ended, a vehicle with a person holding a camera was stationed across from the company’s main entrance and parking lot until dawn, and around lunchtime on the 13th, people with cameras were loitering around the building, indicating that psychological pressure on Kim Soo-hyun is ongoing.
Therefore, we urgently decided to distribute a statement clarifying the truth regarding the main issues, and we ask for your understanding as this is prioritized over our original plan, even if there are shortcomings in this statement.
Thank you.
[We explain the relationship between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron]
Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron were in a relationship from the summer of 2019, after Kim Sae-ron became an adult, until the fall of 2020. It is not true that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron during her minor years. The photos Kim Sae-ron posted on her Instagram story in the early morning of March 24, 2024, and the photos released during the Gaseyeon broadcast on March 11, 2025, were all private moments of the two during their relationship in the winter of 2020. The clothes Kim Sae-ron wore at that time were released by a brand in June 2019, making Gaseyeon's claim that the photo was taken in 2016, when Kim Sae-ron was a minor, impossible.
Additionally, another photo released by Gaseyeon on March 12, 2025, was taken on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2019, and we have secured the metadata for that photo (at the bottom of the paragraph). The photo released on March 13 can also be confirmed to have been taken on the same day, as evidenced by the same outfit. All the photos Gaseyeon presented as evidence that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron since her minor years were taken during Kim Sae-ron's adult years. The repeatedly claimed “2016 photos” by Gaseyeon cannot exist because the two were not in a relationship at that time.
The letter Kim Soo-hyun sent to Kim Sae-ron during his military service was one of the letters sent to close acquaintances. As can be seen from the content, Kim Soo-hyun was adapting to military life and often wrote in detail about his daily life in the military to his acquaintances. The expression ‘I miss you’ was a light expression made by a soldier to close acquaintances. However, Gaseyeon claimed that the two had been dating since 2015, distorting photos taken after Kim Sae-ron became an adult as if they were from her minor years, and arranged postcards sent after their relationship alongside letters sent during military service to make ordinary letters appear as love letters. The nickname Kim Sae-ron publicly used on SNS since 2016 was distorted to seem like a term of endearment used only between the two.
There has been much criticism regarding Kim Soo-hyun concerning their relationship. Even if the relationship between the two adults is a private matter, it is natural for Kim Soo-hyun, who is loved by many, to be evaluated by the public, and if that evaluation is sharp criticism, it should be taken seriously and painfully. However, due to Gaseyeon's report, countless false information and false facts are spreading as if they are the truth even at this moment. The informant who appeared on Gaseyeon claimed to be a family member of Kim Sae-ron. However, according to a report from a media outlet, they are said to be an acquaintance of Kim Sae-ron's mother. Distorted information through an informant whose identity is not even accurate is producing rumors without even verifying with the parties involved. The extremely personal lives of the two are being forcibly disclosed by others, and as a result, not only Kim Soo-hyun but also the late Kim's private life is spreading with numerous rumors and misconceptions, causing immense pain to both Kim Soo-hyun and those around them. After the private lives of the two were disclosed through Gaseyeon, the public's various perspectives on Kim Soo-hyun's choices are unavoidable. However, the past of the two adults meeting and parting is being distorted by others, spreading countless lies even at this moment. It is incredibly painful for one person to endure such things due to their private life. Additionally, it is an act of digging into the private life of the deceased and damaging their honor.
[The claim that Kim Soo-hyun ignored Kim Sae-ron's economic issues is not true]
Due to Gaseyeon's report, Kim Soo-hyun has become the devil who drove Kim Sae-ron to her death. Gaseyeon claims that Gold Medalist pressured Kim Sae-ron to repay debts incurred due to the late Kim's drunk driving accident, and that Kim Sae-ron sought help regarding this, but Kim Soo-hyun ignored her. This led to the speculation that Kim Sae-ron had no choice but to make an extreme choice. However, this is not true. At that time, Gold Medalist repaid the entire remaining debt that Kim Sae-ron could not handle.
Gold Medalist worked with Kim Sae-ron to resolve various penalties related to her acting activities and compensation for merchants affected by the drunk driving incident after the incident. The penalty amount due to the incident was approximately 1.114 billion won. During the process of determining the compensation amount, we worked to minimize Kim Sae-ron's burden. Through various efforts by Kim Sae-ron to repay her debts, the remaining compensation amount was reduced to about 700 million won. The process of reducing the amount included repairing and selling Kim Sae-ron's vehicle, which was severely damaged due to the drunk driving incident. This was done at Kim Sae-ron's request, where Gold Medalist repaired and sold the non-operational accident vehicle, compensating for part of the damage. The claim made by the informant who appeared on Gaseyeon that we seized Kim Sae-ron's vehicle was a distortion of this matter.
<Penalty Amount Due to Drunk Driving Incident>
Category Amount Incurred
Kez (Advertisement) 390,000,000 won
Hunting Dogs (Drama) 700,000,000 won
Damaged Store 24,361,852 won
Total 1,114,361,825 won
However, despite many efforts, Kim Sae-ron faced difficulties in her activities after the drunk driving incident and found it realistically difficult to repay the remaining amount. As a result, we judged that Kim Sae-ron was no longer able to repay her debts. Accordingly, Kim Sae-ron's debt was processed as a loss by us in December 2023. Our audit report dated April 1, 2024, confirms that we processed the entire claim against Kim Sae-ron as a bad debt.
In this process, we had to comply with the legal procedures between us and Kim Sae-ron. If we arbitrarily made Kim Sae-ron bear the penalties she was supposed to bear, it could lead to the executives who made that decision being liable for breach of trust, and there was a concern that the costs would not be recognized as a loss for the company. If we lent money to Kim Sae-ron without interest or collateral without any procedures or evidence, it could be seen that our executives provided illegal benefits to a specific person.
Additionally, in early 2024, during the process of receiving an accounting audit, we had to decide how to handle the claims against Kim Sae-ron. According to the advice from the law firm and accounting firm conducting the audit at that time, if we processed the amount as a bad debt without any debt collection actions against Kim Sae-ron, it would be seen as us unilaterally forgiving Kim Sae-ron's debt, resulting in a loss for us, which could also raise concerns about breach of trust by our executives.
Therefore, we had to prove that Kim Sae-ron was in a ‘non-recoverable’ state where she could not repay her debts at that time. Thus, it had to be confirmed that we made efforts to secure our claims against Kim Sae-ron.
This was the reason we sent a content certification to Kim Sae-ron. To proceed with the bad debt provision for Kim Sae-ron, we needed to send a content certification to prove that we did not arbitrarily waive our claims against her. There was also a realistic concern that Kim Sae-ron might have to pay gift tax corresponding to the benefits she would gain from the debt forgiveness. The text message Kim Sae-ron sent to Kim Soo-hyun regarding her debt on March 19, 2024, was written in this context. We had to go through the process of bad debt provision for Kim Sae-ron through the content certification.
<Concerns of the Accounting Firm Regarding ‘Article 36 of the Inheritance Tax Act’>
Therefore, Kim Sae-ron's debt issue was entirely a matter between Gold Medalist and Kim Sae-ron. The assertion that Kim Soo-hyun lent money to Kim Sae-ron personally or suddenly demanded repayment is a misconception. Kim Soo-hyun has never lent money to Kim Sae-ron, nor has he ever urged repayment, nor was he in a position to do so.
At the time
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