Actor Kim Soo-hyun and the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae-rok are locked in a court battle over allegations of "grooming" a minor, and Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative has drawn a firm line on those allegations.
The conflict surrounding Kim Soo-hyun and the late Kim Sae-ron began when the bereaved family claimed the deceased was in a six-year romantic relationship with Kim Soo-hyun starting in 2015, when she was 15. The family presented messages exchanged in 2016 and 2018 as evidence and argued that Kim Soo-hyun imposed the frames "pedophile" and "grooming a minor."
In response, Kim Soo-hyun held a press conference and denied that he dated her when she was a minor, saying the 2016 and 2018 KakaoTalk messages were not exchanged by him. Kim Soo-hyun's side drew a line by saying his relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron began in the summer of 2019 after she became an adult, and they also disclosed that Kim Soo-hyun dated actor A, a former idol, for three years from 2016 to 2019. That suggests he could not have met the late Kim Sae-ron at the same time the bereaved family claims, strengthening Kim Soo-hyun's claim.
Kim Soo-hyun's side has now filed defamation and damages suits against the bereaved family and YouTubers, intensifying the legal dispute, while the late Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family has countersued Kim Soo-hyun on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act and false accusation, continuing the battle over the truth.
On the 30th, Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative, Go Sang-rok of law firm Phil, added his support to Kim Soo-hyun's claims.
Go Sang-rok said, "After reviewing Kim Soo-hyun's military service records, we found numerous letters sent to a romantic partner," and claimed that Kim Soo-hyun wrote diary-style letters every day after his 2018 assignment to his unit and shared them with his partner during each leave. Those records amounted to about 150 entries through spring 2019.
Go said, "Expressions such as 'I love you' and 'I miss you' appear in the letters to his partner." Indeed, on April 6, 2018, Kim Soo-hyun expressed affection to his partner, writing, "I really want to write your name. I love you," and on June 9 of the same year he wrote, "I love you, as always. Today too, as always!" In July he wrote, "This time next year I will travel with her. I'll do everything together." That passage also shows he imagined a concrete future with his partner after his discharge.
Kim Soo-hyun sent about 150 diary-style letters to his partner. So how many letters did he send to the late Kim Sae-ron during the same period? Go said, "There was only one letter sent to the late Kim Sae-ron during the same period, and it shows a marked difference in tone from the letters sent to his partner."
According to Go Sang-rok, the letter Kim Soo-hyun sent to the late Kim Sae-ron contained ordinary content conveying small impressions from military life and his resolve as an actor to a colleague, and did not express romantic interest. Go said, "We confirmed that on the same day he sent that letter, Kim Soo-hyun also separately wrote a diary expressing longing for his actual partner."
Go said, "All the materials support that the relationship between Kim Soo-hyun and the late Kim Soo-hyun began in the summer of 2019 and ended the following year. The postcard from Nov. 2019 was also sent to the now-adult deceased and contained ordinary phrases exchanged between partners who had just begun dating."
Kim Soo-hyun firmly denies the grooming allegations involving a minor. Through this claim, can he find the truth and clear his name? Conversely, it will be notable whether the late Kim Sae-ron's side will present new evidence to refute Kim Soo-hyun's claims and approach the truth they say exists.
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