Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Kim Se-eui, head of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute (Gaseyeon), who is suspected of spreading false information about actor Kim Soo-hyun.
On the 20th, according to legal sources, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requested an arrest warrant for Kim. Earlier, on the 14th, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant on charges including violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (filming and distribution using cameras, etc.) and defamation.
Kim is suspected of spreading false information via YouTube broadcasts and other channels that pressure to repay debt from Kim Soo-hyun's side was behind actor Kim Sae-ron's death. Kim also faces charges of defaming Kim Soo-hyun by using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create and distribute an audio file that manipulated Kim Sae-ron's voice.
A pre-arrest suspect interrogation (substantive warrant review) for Kim will be held at 10:30 a.m. on the 26th at the Seoul Central District Court. In May last year, Kim held a press conference with Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family and released a transcript purporting that "Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron since she was a minor."
In response, Kim Soo-hyun's side filed a complaint against Kim on charges including defamation, calling it an "AI-manipulated transcript." Police commissioned an analysis of the audio file from the National Forensic Service, and the National Forensic Service was reported to have reached a "no determination possible" conclusion in November last year on whether it was AI-manipulated.