Kim Soo Hyun’s Agency Issues New Statement Denying The Following: Forcing Kim Sae Ron To Pay Debt, Sabotaging Seo Ye Ji, The Alleged 2015 Couple Photo Posted By A Sasaeng
Actor Kim Soo Hyun’s side has refuted the claims made by the late Kim Sae Ron’s family.
On the afternoon of the 18th of March, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, Gold Medalist, released an official statement regarding the claims made during the press conference held by Kim Sae Ron’s family alongside the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as Gaseyeon) on the 17th.
First, the agency addressed the proof of content/letter (legal notice) sent to Kim Sae Ron, stating, “As can be confirmed from the full text of the document, we never demanded compensation from Kim Sae Ron for damages to projects. It is also impossible to demand compensation simply for posting photos on social media or contacting actors from the agency.”
The agency further explained, “We worked with Kim Sae Ron to resolve the compensation for damages caused by her drunk driving incident, and through various efforts, we reduced the remaining amount to approximately 700 million won. However, as Kim Sae Ron faced difficulties in continuing her activities, we determined that she could no longer repay the debt and wrote it off in December 2023.” They emphasized that their audit report from April 1, 2024, confirms that the debt was written off as of December 31, 2023.
Regarding the second legal notice, the agency stated, “It was merely a procedural notification, conveying our willingness to discuss repayment methods and schedules.” On the issue of “banning contact with agency actors,” they clarified, “It was meant to advise communication through the assigned lawyer rather than with individuals without legal authority.” They also noted that Kim Sae Ron had freely communicated with agency actors.
The agency denied any affiliation with YouTube personality Lee Jin Ho of the channel “Entertainment President.” They said, “Gold Medalist has no affiliation with YouTuber Lee Jin Ho. The “former manager of Kim Sae Ron” that Gaseyeon claims was involved was not affiliated with Gold Medalist but was instead an employee of a different company that had worked with Kim Sae Ron.”
Regarding the alleged comment made by a former employee regarding Seo Ye ji, They wrote, “Claims that Gold Medalist smeared Seo Ye Ji’s reputation are completely false. Even Seo Ye Ji’s former manager (who has since left the company) found the rumors absurd and contacted us about them. We request an immediate halt to the spreading of false information based on anonymous reports.”
In their lengthy statement, they asked Kim Sae Ron’s family to stop spreading false information and said they visited her funeral and paid condolence money too, “Gold Medalist requests the bereaved family to stop spreading false information about the company and Kim Soo Hyun. The bereaved family has claimed that Gold Medalist and Kim Soo Hyun did not attend the funeral. However, Gold Medalist confirms that representatives from the company visited the funeral on February 17 and February 19, 2025. They met with the bereaved family, expressed their condolences, and left a sympathy wreath and condolence money at the funeral.”
They also touched on the informant, whether it was her biological aunt or a really close woman who had been with her, they wrote, “Gaseyeon referred to the informant who leaked Kim Soo Hyun’s private life as “Kim Sae Ron’s aunt.” However, news articles have clarified that the informant is not actually her aunt. During today’s press conference, the bereaved family explained the informant by saying, “(The deceased’s) mother does not have a married aunt. The informant who recently gave an interview is more like a real mother to Sae Ron than her actual mother,” and they described her as “more of a real mother than her real aunt.” It is common sense that when someone refers to themselves as an “aunt” in the media, they mean the mother’s biological sister.
Whether the informant is a true relative or a close acquaintance could affect the public’s trust in the media, but the bereaved family vaguely expressed in the press conference whether the informant was a real relative or an acquaintance who seemed like a relative. Recently, several industry insiders have told us that the informant is the mother of a certain actress.
The most important aspect of a tip is whether the information is true, not who the tipster is. We are clearly aware of this as well. However, mentioning the tipster’s personal details is relevant because the bereaved family, in their press conference, stated that “touching family is a huge mistake” in regard to the unauthorized leak of Kim Soo Hyun’s private photos.“
Lastly, the agency criticized the ongoing claims made by Kim Sae Ron’s family and Garosero. In their statement, they addressed the newly published photo of the former couple. A similar photo with similar attire was posted in 2017 by a Kim Sae Ron fan account; thus, many netizens claimed it was a photo of the couple. Then, this same photo was revealed to have been posted by a sasaeng in 2015 on Weibo, adding to the immense backlash.
To that, they denied it was Kim Soo Hyun, they said, “They continue to assert false information through press conferences and reports.The person in the photo is not Kim Soo Hyun, but another individual. Gaseyeon argued that the outfit in the photo was similar to a product Kim Soo Hyun had once advertised. However, the outfit in the photo is from a different brand than the one Kim Soo Hyun had advertised. We attended the late Kim Sae Ron’s funeral, and the person in the photo posted on a fan’s SNS account is not Kim Soo Hyun but someone else.” They urged an end to attempts to tarnish Kim Soo Hyun’s reputation using unrelated photos and online posts.
What do you think of their response?
