While police continue to investigate both the lawsuits filed by actor Kim Soo Hyun and the late Kim Sae Ron, a separate whistleblower report involving Kim Sae Ron’s bereaved family has also recently been assigned to Gangnam Police Station.
At a regular press briefing on the morning of May 19, Park Hyun Soo, acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, “The case involving a violation of the Child Welfare Act, filed by the late Kim Sae Ron’s side, is currently being investigated by the Women and Juvenile Crime Division of Gangnam Police Station. Meanwhile, the case filed by Kim Soo Hyun’s side, alleging manipulation of AI-generated content, is being handled by the Criminal Investigation Division of the same station.”
According to police, Kim Soo Hyun’s legal team is currently coordinating a schedule for the plaintiff’s appearance, while the accused parties have not yet been questioned.
Police added, “A total of seven cases have been filed by Kim Soo Hyun’s side and three cases by Kim Sae Ron’s side.”
In the meantime, Kim Soo Hyun is reportedly being dropped not only by domestic advertisers but also by international partners.
According to Taiwan’s Sanli News Network (SETN) on May 17, the Taiwanese headquarters of 7-Eleven announced the complete cancellation of their collaboration with Kim Soo Hyun, claiming losses in the tens of billions of KRW.
7-Eleven stated, “All production and marketing of related products have been halted. On top of reputational damage, the losses from discarded products and canceled advertising amount to a total of 130 million TWD (about 6 billion KRW, or approximately 4.3 million USD),” adding that they are actively reviewing a damages claim against Kim Soo Hyun.
Previously, Kim Soo Hyun has come under suspicion over allegations of having dated Kim Sae Ron when she was still a minor. Following her death, her family claimed through the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute (Hoverlab) that the two had dated during her underage years.
Kim Soo Hyun’s side strongly denied this, stating that they dated for about a year after she became an adult. They have since filed a lawsuit against both Kim Sae Ron’s family and Kim Se Ui, the operator of the YouTube channel, for violations of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, defamation, and damages.
The amount claimed in the lawsuit filed with the court was 11 billion KRW (approximately 8 million USD).
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