Actor Kim Soo-hyun will directly address the situation 21 days after the controversy regarding his alleged relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron, who was a minor.
Kim Soo-hyun's agency, Gold Medalist, announced on the 30th, "We apologize for causing concern due to recent events. We have arranged a meeting to speak directly with reporters," and will hold a press conference on the afternoon of the 31st at the Stanford Hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul.
At the press conference, Kim Soo-hyun and his agency's legal representative, attorney Kim Jong-bok from LK Partners, will present their stance. However, there will be no separate Q&A session after the statement.
The controversies that Kim Soo-hyun needs to clarify include: ▲ Whether he dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, ▲ The reason for sending two notices to Kim Sae-ron, and ▲ Whether he pressured the late Sulli into a nude scene in the movie 'Real'.
The claims regarding the dating period between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron differ. The family of Kim Sae-ron claims they dated for six years from 2015 to 2021, stating that Kim Sae-ron, born in 2000, was 15 years old and Kim Soo-hyun, born in 1988, was 27 when they started dating. However, Kim Soo-hyun's side clarified that they dated from 2019 to 2020, after Kim Sae-ron became an adult.
Initially, when the dating rumors first surfaced last year, Kim Soo-hyun's side denied them, calling them "false facts." However, as evidence emerged, they changed their stance to say, "They dated for two years after Kim Sae-ron became an adult." Recently, as the family has continued to release evidence and allegations, public opinion seems to be leaning towards the idea that they were dating when Kim Sae-ron was a minor.
Kim Sae-ron was required to pay 700 million won as a penalty related to the Netflix drama 'Hunting Dogs' after a drunk driving incident. Gold Medalist, which had paid this amount on her behalf, sent a notice to Kim Sae-ron in March of last year.
Kim Sae-ron texted Kim Soo-hyun, pleading to pay back gradually, but received no response, leading the agency to send a second notice. The agency explained that this was a precautionary measure due to concerns about potential embezzlement by an agency executive, but the family claimed that Kim Sae-ron became extremely anxious after receiving the notice.
Recently, Sulli's brother A raised suspicions regarding the movie 'Real'. He stated, "I learned from the testimonies of staff and actors at Sulli's funeral in 2019. I heard that the bed scene between Sulli and Kim Soo-hyun was not originally specified in the script, and I would like to hear Kim Soo-hyun's stance on this," urging for a response.
Additionally, A questioned why, despite having a body double for Sulli's nude scene during the filming of 'Real', they pressured Sulli into the bed scene and nude scene, and whether it was true that they told Sulli the body double was unable to come due to illness.
As Kim Soo-hyun speaks out for the first time amid the controversy, attention is focused on how he will address these allegations.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
