YouTuber Lee Jin-ho, who was sued for defamation by the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae-ron, is causing controversy by revealing that Kim Sae-ron had married and had an abortion while she was alive.
On the 19th, Lee Jin-ho claimed on his YouTube channel "Entertainment Behind President Lee Jin-ho" that when Kim Sae-ron posted a short message saying "Marry" along with a wedding photo on her Instagram in January, she was already married to her boyfriend in the United States.
In response to Kim Sae-ron's side stating, "It is a snap photo taken with a friend. The marriage rumors are not true," Lee Jin-ho asserted, "Upon fact-checking, it turns out she indeed got married."
As evidence, he released a recording of a phone call with a woman presumed to be Kim Sae-ron and manager A from January 8. In the recording, the woman presumed to be Kim Sae-ron said, "I did not post it; my boyfriend posted it."
When A asked, "Did you have a wedding? Was it in Korea or abroad?" the woman replied, "It is indeed correct that we got married. We did it overseas," and mentioned that her boyfriend's parents are also aware of the marriage.
The woman said, "I didn't intend to marry my boyfriend, but I was trying to break up well when I got pregnant. I deleted it. Because of that, I ended up getting married. I was somewhat coerced to do so."
She continued, "My brother (boyfriend) manages all the KakaoTalk accounts and Instagram accounts," and said, "I don't understand why you're trying to hide the fact that you're married. I wish you would have told me," while arguing about this, her boyfriend posted it. She added, "I told him to delete it immediately, and he did."
When A said, "You can't just cancel the wedding," the woman sighed and replied, "I didn't expect to marry someone like this."
The boyfriend explained that they met through an acquaintance and said, "He is just an ordinary person working at a large company in New York. He usually seems fine, but being far apart sometimes makes me anxious."
Lee Jin-ho claimed, "Currently, the family of (Kim Sae-ron) is raising significant issues regarding her boyfriend, actor Kim Soo-hyun, from four years ago. However, Kim Sae-ron herself was living a newlywed life with another Namsung."
He added, "The bereaved family is sending materials from the deceased's mobile phone to 'Gaseyeon' (YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute') to continue the disclosure. This also implies that they are aware of Kim Sae-ron's marriage."
Lee Jin-ho has posted several videos denying the past relationship between Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun since 2022, prompting the bereaved family of Kim Sae-ron to sue him for defamation due to spreading false information.
This recent video by Lee Jin-ho is interpreted as an attempt to clarify criticisms of his past videos. Lee Jin-ho expressed his "deep regret toward the deceased" and said, "In order to prevent further victims, I must unfortunately disclose the late person's recordings."
However, netizens have criticized Lee Jin-ho for mocking the deceased. They commented, "It’s clear he’s trying to frame her as a bad woman with terms like 'abortion' and 'marriage'" and reacted with comments like, "Even in death, she's being tormented."