On October 4, attorney Go Sang Rok of Law Firm Pil released a third statement on behalf of Kim Soo Hyun, disputing KakaoTalk messages cited in allegations that the actor dated a minor and rebutting a draft statement attributed to the late Kim Sae Ron.
The lawyer said photos presented as evidence of physical intimacy were verified on the actor’s iPad alongside adjacent images that showed date continuity, allowing investigators to narrow the shooting window to between February 18 and February 23, 2020. He added that the iPad itself was submitted “as is” to authorities, arguing the pictures were taken when Kim Sae Ron was an adult.
Regarding the draft statement the late actress reportedly prepared and referenced in chats, Go Sang Rok asserted it was a false document apparently prepared with outside help and never meant for publication, citing a message Kim Sae Ron sent a reporter—“Is it true the article won’t run and this is settled I’m anxious”—as evidence of her intention not to release it.
The statement further argued the draft contained “clear errors,” pointing to the pair’s 12-year age gap as an objective constant. It noted the draft line “I was 16 the other person was 30” is self-contradictory: if Kim Sae Ron was 16, Kim Soo Hyun would have been 28; if he was 30, she would have been 18. The lawyer characterized the document as “a prepared propaganda” designed to create the image of “a man in his 30s psychologically dominating and sexually exploiting a child under 16 who, under current law and social norms, is deemed to lack sexual self-determination.”
Kim Sae Ron died on February 16 at age 24. Her family has claimed she dated Kim Soo Hyun for six years beginning in middle school. Kim Soo Hyun’s side acknowledges a relationship but maintains it lasted from the summer of 2019 to the following spring. They have filed criminal complaints, including for defamation, and a damages suit seeking about USD 8.9 million (KRW 12 billion).
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