First of all, I apologize. It seems that too many people are suffering because of me. I also feel sorry that the deceased cannot rest in peace. I think of myself as a coward. I have always been preoccupied with protecting what I have. I couldn't even trust the kindness that came to me, always afraid of what I might lose or what harm might come to me, and I was busy running away and denying it. That's why it took me a long time to stand here today. I often thought about how it would have been better if I had just told everything from the beginning. If I had done that, perhaps my fans who love me and the company staff who have worked hard for this press conference wouldn't be suffering so much. Every time my and the deceased's private lives were exposed, I thought we should just tell everything, directly speak out, and end this maddening situation. But each time, I hesitated. I wondered what impact my decision would have on those around me. Would it possibly lead to something wrong for me and everyone else?
When the "Queen of Tears" was airing, it was the same when the deceased posted a photo taken with me. The deceased and I dated for about a year, four years ago. However, at that time, I denied the fact of our relationship. I think it is natural for you to criticize my choice. I understand if you cannot believe what I am saying about my relationship with the deceased. However, since I have this one opportunity to speak here, I would be truly grateful if you could just listen to my story once.
I became an actor and received an overwhelming amount of love. Originally, I was someone who didn't have much, but I became someone who had too much to protect. Even while "Queen of Tears" was airing, there were so many things I had to protect as the lead actor. I often wondered what would happen if I acknowledged my relationship with someone I dated years ago. What about the actors I was performing with, the staff who spent nights on set, the production company that was putting everything into this project, and my colleagues at the company? What would happen to all of them? Every time the choices of human Kim Soo-hyun and star Kim Soo-hyun diverged, I always seemed to choose the path of star Kim Soo-hyun. So, in fact, I was afraid every day. I was afraid of what would happen if everything I chose to protect as star Kim Soo-hyun turned against me. But even if I could go back to the time when "Queen of Tears" was airing, I would make the same choice again. I have no choice.
Can I make that decision just to ease my own heart? No matter how much I think about it, I don't think I can do that. I believe that is the responsibility that someone who has chosen the life of Kim Soo-hyun must bear. If you criticize this choice as cowardly or selfish, I will accept it. And I apologize to everyone who has cared for me. Even at this moment, I have many worries. And I am anxious. I wonder what kind of consequences my words will bring. But because I am that kind of person, I ultimately thought I had to speak out.
There were also people who advised me in this way. Let's take it easy; if you want to manage the risk, show a moderate acceptance first. Then people will lose interest, and later you can prepare for a comeback. If I had listened to that, perhaps my and the deceased's private lives would not have been exposed to this extent. I wouldn't have had to receive threats every day about what photos would be posted tomorrow or what would be revealed, and I wouldn't have been humiliated by leaked photos of my private life.
But I couldn't do that. I could not accept being forced to acknowledge lies as truth while being threatened. I will address the part that you are most curious about. I did not date the deceased when she was a minor. It is also not true that the deceased made a tragic choice because of my appearance or because my agency pressured her regarding her debts.
Aside from the fact that we are both actors, the deceased and I were ordinary lovers like anyone else. We met with good feelings for each other and eventually broke up over time. After that, we rarely contacted each other. Like most couples, it was a delicate matter to keep in touch after breaking up. We were both actors whose faces were known to many, and when the deceased was in the same agency as me, I had some understanding of how she was doing, which made it even more complicated. So, when the deceased experienced a drunk driving incident, I found it difficult to reach out to her. I heard from a YouTube channel representing the deceased's family that the last agency representative said the deceased was struggling because of me during the drunk driving incident. However, at that time, I believe the deceased was dating someone else. Therefore, it was very delicate for me to reach out in that situation. We were already living our own lives, and I didn't know what to say.
My words may sound like excuses. I sometimes wanted to remain silent regardless of what people said. I have always received more love than I deserve, but I have also faced many misunderstandings. Falsehoods circulate as if they are true. I thought that was something I had to bear as well. However, the deceased's family claims that I drove the deceased to her death simply because I was her ex-boyfriend. They are also forcing me to confess to things I did not do. They say I manipulated the deceased since she was a minor, that I pressured her with money to the point of death, and therefore I am a murderer.
Please listen to this voice. After the family exposed my relationship with the deceased, a YouTube channel conveying the family's position released testimony from the last agency representative of the deceased. After the exposure, they claimed that our agency pressured the deceased regarding her debts by sending a second notice. However, in a phone call with my agency representative a year ago, they said something completely different. Please listen to it.
I learned from this controversy that the truth about the second notice is as follows. However, I do not understand why the representative of the deceased's agency is saying something different from the phone call a year ago. I will acknowledge any wrongdoing. I believe it is natural to take responsibility for what I should be responsible for. However, I cannot say that I did something I did not do.
The KakaoTalk messages that the family initially released are the same. There are too many inaccuracies in these messages to say that the deceased wrote them. The photo claimed to be from 2016 is actually from 2019. Also, the deceased could not have made a mistake regarding the age difference between us. Furthermore, the name of the agency we were both with for four years and the contract period cannot be wrong. The deceased only worked as a signed actor at our company. There is no fact that she was involved in casting or visual directing.
Recently, the family held a press conference and released KakaoTalk conversations that they claimed I had with the deceased. In that YouTube channel, they are framing me as a pedophile and grooming a minor based on statements from KakaoTalk from 2016. However, the individuals conversing in the KakaoTalk from 2016 and 2018 are different people. To prove this fact, I submitted the KakaoTalk messages from 2016 and 2018, as well as those I exchanged with acquaintances this year, to a verification agency for scientific analysis. The result concluded that the individuals in the 2016 and 2018 messages are not the same person. The most painful part since the family's exposure began has been this. Whenever my agency and I release our stance on the family's evidence, suddenly new recorded testimonies are revealed. Photos and videos that cleverly change the timeline of events, as well as edited images of KakaoTalk that are not original, are presented as evidence. False testimonies and fake evidence continue to be used against me, claiming that I dated the deceased.
I will accept any criticism regarding the choices I made. However, that does not mean that all falsehoods become truths. Just as I have gone through verification procedures regarding the KakaoTalk messages, I will also go through thorough verification procedures for all the evidence presented by the family through investigative agencies. If the evidence the family has is truly the truth, I request that they submit all materials to the investigative agencies and undergo legal verification. At this moment, I still have people who are looking only at me and whom I must take responsibility for. I see those people suffering and collapsing every day. I am afraid of what will be exposed and distorted today to portray me as a murderer.
After this press conference ends, I do not know what fake evidence and false testimonies will be used to defame me and torment those around me. However, if I succumb to coercion and declare lies as truth, I will betray not only the trust and love of everyone who has supported me as Kim Soo-hyun but also the trust of all those who have believed in me. I would leave them with a lifelong pain, saying that they liked a human trash and were deceived by Kim Soo-hyun. No matter how much I live wearing a mask as a celebrity, I cannot do that. What I have done is what I have done. I can accept any criticism for that. But what I have not done is what I have not done. For the sake of all those who still believe in me, I want to clarify that much. I will not ask you to believe me. I will prove it. Thank you.
