The bereaved family of the late Kim Sae-ron released forensic images they claim are KakaoTalk messages exchanged between the deceased and actor Kim Soo-hyun, and once again stated their position regarding dating during her minor years.
On the 4th, attorney Bu Ji-seok of Law Firm Buyou, the legal representative for Kim Sae-ron's family, announced a lengthy statement, saying, "On Nov. 26, Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family, through a press release, asked actor Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative, attorney Ko Sang-rok, not to frame the matter as fabrication and at the same time to wait for the results of the investigative agency's probe. Attorney Ko Sang-rok also said he would wait for the investigation results."
Attorney Bu Ji-seok said, "However, attorney Ko Sang-rok continued to post writings about the case on social media such as his YouTube channel, and even went so far as to give an interview to a certain media outlet on Nov. 27 (article published Dec. 3), again framing it as fabrication. Therefore, the bereaved family reluctantly announces its official position and, to prevent further controversy, is releasing the KakaoTalk conversation forensic data extracted from the investigation submitted to the investigative agency between Kim Sae-ron and actor Kim Soo-hyun."
The bereaved family released the KakaoTalk records and emphasized, "Again, to be clear, the bereaved family submitted all electronic devices, including Kim Sae-ron's cellphone, to the investigative agency and cooperated faithfully with the investigation."
The bereaved family said, "Attorney Ko Sang-rok, the legal representative of actor Kim Soo-hyun, in an interview with a certain media outlet, claimed that the April 2, 2018 KakaoTalk capture photo was not of actor Kim Soo-hyun and was fabricated by inserting conversation content with another person; at the same time he defined phrases such as 'I want to see you right now' in that KakaoTalk capture photo as couple talk and is asserting that the conversation partner in that KakaoTalk capture photo is not actor Kim Soo-hyun."
However, the bereaved family said, "Attorney Ko Sang-rok demanded the original of the April 2, 2018 KakaoTalk capture photo, and the bereaved family released the original through a Nov. 26, 2025 press release. Had he checked it, he could have easily confirmed that the KakaoTalk was a photo captured on April 12, 2018 and that it was data extracted from a forensic examination, yet he failed to check it by mistake and again is framing the bereaved family with a fabrication allegation."
According to the KakaoTalk captures released by the bereaved family, the person saved as 'Bulgeung' sent messages such as "Ahu ㅜ I want to see Saerome quickly ㅜ," "We decided to meet on Thursday, right? the script and all! I want to see you right now ㅜ," and the person presumed to be Kim Sae-ron replied, "The script was canceled so only I get to see it ?m," "When does your treatment end today?" In response, 'Bulgeung' said, "U��ppapppap�� so it turned out that way ㅎㅅㅎ," "Today~ I'll go to the hospital later, then have dinner and work out, so around 9 p.m.?"
The bereaved family said, "To prove that the KakaoTalk capture photo is a KakaoTalk conversation between Kim Sae-ron and actor Kim Soo-hyun, we are releasing part of the KakaoTalk conversation extracted from the forensic examination. According to this material, the conversation occurred on April 9, 2018, and it appears that Kim Sae-ron captured the above conversation on April 12, 2018."
In the portion of the 'KakaoTalk conversation between Kim Sae-ron and actor Kim Soo-hyun on April 9, 2018, extracted from the forensic examination' released by the bereaved family, a person presumed to be Kim Soo-hyun sent Kim Sae-ron a message saying, "I want to see you right now." The bereaved family argued, "According to attorney Ko Sang-rok, who in an interview defined such a phrase as 'I want to see you right now' as indicative of a couple and therefore asserted that they were dating, one could easily conclude that Kim Sae-ron dated Kim Soo-hyun while a minor."
The bereaved family also said they were releasing some of the conversation extracted by forensic means to clearly show that Kim Sae-ron dated actor Kim Soo-hyun when she was a minor, releasing materials that exchanged expressions of love.
The bereaved family said, "Again, the evidence disclosed through this press release was extracted from the forensic examination of Kim Sae-ron's phone, has already been submitted to the investigative agency, and we emphasize once more that there is no tampering. We urge attorney Ko Sang-rok, the legal representative of actor Kim Soo-hyun, to stop making meaningless fabrication claims and to wait for the investigation results," concluding the statement.
Meanwhile, regarding this matter, attorney Ko Sang-rok, legal representative of Kim Soo-hyun, countered, saying, "They are repeatedly presenting materials already disclosed in March without answering the key questions," and added, "The core materials the bereaved family presented via Gaseyeon claiming that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated the deceased while she was a minor are a June 2016 chat (When can I hold you and fall asleep) and an April 13, 2018 message (If you are not going to try, I won't see you). The bereaved family is no longer asserting that these materials are conversations with actor Kim Soo-hyun. They know that the deceased was dating other men who were the counterparts in those chats at the time."
Attorney Ko said, "In responding to recent investigative agency requests, we have understood that the bereaved family also knows and acknowledges that actor Kim Soo-hyun had a romantic partner during his military service," and said, "The deceased also had romantic partners in 2017 and 2018. In the entertainment industry, even if relationships are not public, dating rumors spread quickly, so actor Kim Sae-ron's having a romantic partner at the time would have been known to actor Kim Soo-hyun."
Attorney Ko also said, "Nevertheless, the bereaved family is forcing an argument that certain affectionate expressions in some chats from the deceased's senior year of high school, which they already acknowledged in March as having been sent, prove dating," and explained, "Because of his personality and his position receiving much attention and love from many people, the actor often expresses interest, affection and care to nearby staff, colleagues and senior and junior entertainers."
He added, "Because these are the actor's private life materials and could harm others, we are not considering public release now, but we submitted and explained related materials to the investigative agency. No staff, colleagues or senior and junior entertainers misunderstood this as a romantic relationship. The deceased did not misunderstand it either. If she had, then during the March 2024 BITSAK incident, the chat materials from his military service would have been cited as evidence of a romantic relationship."
Attorney Ko also said, "Still, the bereaved family prepared a fake threatening statement that the deceased could never have sent and falsely claimed that a photo of faces touching taken in Feb. 2020 was taken in 2016 as the sole evidence of underage dating and cited it. The bereaved family repeatedly cycles through a few chat conversations that the deceased would never have regarded as romantic, and insists those are evidence."
Finally, Attorney Ko said, "Did the bereaved family, knowing in 2018 that the deceased had other romantic partners, collude with Gaseyeon and cause this affair by bringing only a few affectionate chats? Are they endlessly digging up the deceased's past to protect her honor?" and added, "Stop now and answer the five key questions."
Kim Soo-hyun's side has acknowledged that he had dated Kim Sae-ron but firmly drew the line that they did not date when she was a minor. Kim Soo-hyun held a press conference and rebutted, saying, "Dating while she was a minor is not true," and asserted that the KakaoTalk messages from 2016 and 2018 were not exchanged by him.
Kim Soo-hyun's side has launched full legal action by suing the bereaved family and YouTubers for defamation and damages, and the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae-ron has countersued Kim Soo-hyun for violating the Child Welfare Act and for false accusation, continuing the battle over the truth, while attorney Ko Sang-rok has continuously raised the offensive, asserting Kim Soo-hyun's innocence day after day.
[Photo] OSEN DB, provided by Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family
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