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Composite images of Korean stars Kim Soo-hyun (left) and Kim Sae-ron (right)
Kim Sae-ron, Kim Soo-hyun via Instagram
MANILA, Philippines — The agency of Kim Soo-hyun released a new statement addressing allegations that the Korean actor dated the late Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor.
Such talks were brought up by a video uploaded on the YouTube channel of HoverLab Inc., claiming Soo-Hyun and Sae-ron started going out while the latter was still a teenager and the relationship lasted six years.
Soo-hyun’s agency Gold Medalist immediately issued a statement refuting the claims as "clearly false and baseless," as well as calling malicious the claims that Soo-hyun harassed Sae-ron and the agency improperly handled the actress' 2022 driving under the influence issue while she was signed under them.
Previously the agency denied dating rumors between the two actors in March last year after photos of them surfaced on social media.
Sae-ron passed away last February 16. She was 24 years old. Multiple news reports said authorities ruled her death as suicide.
Gold Medalist then released a new detailed statement ahead of time after Soo-hyun began exhibiting signs of severe psychological instability.
The agency confirmed Soo-hyun and Sae-ron indeed dated in the past but only after the latter was a legal adult. It also denied allegations pressuring Sae-ron to repay 700 million won (P27.5 million), with images attached as proof.
Since the HoverLab video, Gold Medalist said Soo-hyun's been experiencing "extreme confusion" because of claims that Sae-ron's death was because of him.
Additionally, people with cameras have been loitering near the company's vicinity which only added to Soo-hyun's psychological pressure, hence the immediate release of a new statement.
Gold Medalist said Soo-hyun and Sae-ron dated from the summer of 2019 — a year after Sae-ron turned 18 years old — until the fall of 2020, adding that photos posted shared by Sae-ron on Instagram last year and fon the HoverLab video were from private moments during the winter of 2020.
To prove she wasn't a minor at the time, Gold Medalist pointed out Sae-ron was wearing in the photos an outfit released by a brand in June 2019, disproving HoverLab's claim the photos were from 2016, and even secured the metadata for a photo taken on Christmas Eve 2020.
"All the photos presented by HoverLab as evidence that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron since her minor years were taken when she was an adult," the agency said. "The repeated claim by HoverLab that there are 'photos taken in 2016' is unfounded, as the two were not in a relationship at that time."
The agency further explained that HoverLab further distorted photos of Soo-hyun sending Sae-ron letters during his military service in 2017, despite he did the same for other close friends as those serving often do.
Gold Medalist acknowledged that the relationship was a private matter despite Soo-hyun being a public figure, the circulation of false information prompted response.
In fact the agency cited a media outlet's report that HoverLab's informant was not a family member of Sae-ron but rather an acquaintance of the later actress' mother.
Gold Medalist also reiterated that it helped Sae-ron pay off her debt from her driving under the influence issue, and because she found it difficult to repay the agency, it wrote off Sae-ron's debt as a loss in December 2023 to comply with legal procedures.
"We had to prove that Kim Sae-ron was in a state of 'unrecoverable' debt, meaning she was unable to repay the amount at that time. Thus, it was necessary to confirm that we made efforts to secure our claims against Kim Sae-ron," said the agency which was why it said the actress a formal notice.
Soo-hyun was also informed about the notice by the agency after Sae-ron, who had left Gold Medalist and was no longer dating the actor, messaged him despite both actors not fully understanding yet the proper procedure.
"Kim Soo-hyun has been dragged into being the scapegoat for the tragedy faced by the deceased," said Gold Medalist. "Context is removed, and a single distorted piece of evidence turns someone into a criminal, and because they are a criminal, everything becomes a target for condemnation."
The agency ended by while confirming the leaked photos were real, HoverLab distorted information which led to attacks and distress for their talent.
RELATED: Kim Soo Hyun's agency denies dating rumors anew with late Kim Sae Ron
