Prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for Garosero Research Institute (Gaseyeon) head Kim Se-eui on suspicion of spreading false information about actor Kim Soo-hyun.
According to legal sources on the 20th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office sought an arrest warrant for Kim. Earlier, the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul on the 14th applied for an arrest warrant on charges including violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (filming and distribution using cameras, etc.) and defamation.
Kim is accused of spreading via YouTube and other broadcasts false information such as that pressure from Kim Soo-hyun's side to repay debt was behind actor Kim Sae-ron's death. Kim is also charged with producing and distributing an audio file in which Kim Sae-ron's voice was manipulated using generative artificial intelligence (AI), thereby defaming Kim Soo-hyun.
A pre-arrest suspect interrogation (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 suggesting 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 asked the National Forensic Service to analyze the audio file, and the National Forensic Service was reported to have reached a conclusion of "unable to determine" regarding AI manipulation in Nov. last year.