YouTuber A, who was sued for defamation by the family of the late Kim Sae-ron, claimed that the deceased was married in the United States during her lifetime and that she had an inheritance. While the family has decided to conduct digital forensics on the deceased's mobile phone to secure evidence supporting allegations of minor dating, some critics have pointed out that this shifts the focus and tarnishes the late individual's reputation.

On the 19th, YouTuber A released a video on his channel titled 'Shock exclusive: The truth the late Kim Sae-ron's family has hidden,' claiming that the late Kim Sae-ron was married to an ordinary person working for a major corporation in the United States and that she had an inheritance.

The late Kim Sae-ron posted wedding photo concept pictures on her personal social media account with the phrase 'Marry' in January. At that time, the late Kim Sae-ron clarified in an interview with a media outlet, saying, 'These are snap photos taken with friends,' and 'The marriage rumors are not true.'

A stated that upon confirmation of the facts, it was indeed true that the late Kim Sae-ron was married. He disclosed a recording containing phone call details between a woman presumed to be the late Kim Sae-ron and C, a manager from a new agency (not affiliated with a gold medalist).

The phone call occurred at 8:55 a.m. on January 8 (7:55 p.m. New York time). The woman B, presumed to be the late Kim Sae-ron, said, 'That was not posted by me, but by my boyfriend,' and C responded, saying, 'Reporters call and ask, 'Are you marrying your boyfriend?' but I said he is not my boyfriend. I clearly saw him on Christmas and had lunch with him, but that's not him. Logically speaking, they may break up and meet again, but how can you post a photo with someone you are not supposed to be married to, someone you haven't seen since Christmas? It seems like a concept photo from what I see.' When asked, 'Did you have a wedding?' she replied, 'It’s correct that we already did. We had it abroad.'

When asked how she met her boyfriend, B said, 'He is just an ordinary person working for a major company in New York. We met through mutual acquaintances, but over time. He usually is fine, but sometimes he's anxious. I have now left KakaoTalk. My boyfriend manages all my KakaoTalk and Instagram accounts. I can’t do anything, and I can only text and use Telegram a little bit. He often fights with me, saying, 'I don’t understand why you keep hiding that you're married,' or 'I wish you had let it be known,' and that’s how he posted it.'

In particular, B said she tried to break up with her boyfriend well, but she became pregnant and deleted it. As the conversation concluded, C remarked, 'I will deny it, so I’ll tell my friends that we just went out and did a photoshoot like that,' to which B replied, 'I think it was a snap shoot.'

YouTuber A noted, 'Currently, the family members are making significant allegations about Kim Su-hyun, the boyfriend from four years ago. However, the late Kim Sae-ron was actually married and living a married life with another man. The family members are sending materials from the deceased’s mobile phone to Gaseyeon for continued public disclosure. This means they already knew about the late Kim Sae-ron's marriage.' He also asserted, 'The late Kim Sae-ron attempted to make extreme choices multiple times early last year. Because of this situation, she was taken to the emergency room for urgent surgery, which cost over 20 million won. Yet, not a single one of her family members paid for her hospital bills.'

After the video was released, netizens reacted with comments like 'Tarnishing the deceased’s reputation,' 'Shifting the focus,' 'Crossing the line,' and 'Why expose the late individual’s private matters?'

The family, which had previously expressed their views through the Garosero Research Institute, has not yet given a definitive stance regarding YouTuber A's video release. They have mentioned plans to conduct digital forensics on the deceased's mobile phone to find evidence proving Kim Su-hyun's relationship.

Meanwhile, the late Kim Sae-ron passed away on the 16th of last month. Both Gaseyeon and the family claim that Kim Sae-ron dated Kim Su-hyun from 2015, when she was a minor, until 2021, and that despite suffering financial hardship after an alcohol-related traffic accident in 2022 that led to a work suspension, they pressured her to repay 700 million won she borrowed to cover the accident.

In response, Kim Su-hyun's side stated that he never dated Kim Sae-ron during her minor years and claimed he had written off the entire debt to her as a bad debt, and they had never requested repayment since then.

[Photo] SNS, OSEN DB

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