Late Korean actress Kim Sae-ron not a minor in relationship - Kim Soo-hyun’s agency

Editor’s note: The story mentions self-inflicted death. Reader discretion is advised.

Metro Manila, Philippines - South Korean superstar Kim Soo-hyun and late actress Kim Sae-ron were once in a relationship, but this did not happen while she was a minor, the actor's agency said on Friday, March 14.

In a statement published in Korean entertainment website Soompi, Soo-hyun’s agency Gold Medalist addressed the rumored relationship between the two artists, which stemmed from a YouTube channel called HoverLab Inc.

The agency said Soo-hyun and Sae-ron dated from the summer of 2019 after the actress became a legal adult until the fall of 2020.

“All the photos presented by HoverLab as evidence that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron since her minor years were taken when she was an adult. The repeated claim by HoverLab that there are photos taken in 2016 is unfounded, as the two were not in a relationship at that time,” it said in a statement.

“The extremely private lives of the two have been forcibly exposed by others, causing immense pain not only to Kim Soo-hyun but also to those around both individuals,” the agency added.

Gold Medalist also said “the letters Kim Soo-hyun sent to Kim Sae-ron during his military service were among the letters sent to close acquaintances,” responding to claims that the actor supposedly sent love letters to the actress when he was in the military in 2018.

HoverLab previously claimed that Soo-hyun and Sae-ron dated for six years, which allegedly began when the actress was 15 years old. The two have a 13-year age gap.

Gold Medalist earlier said it will release a substantiated position on the issue next week, and will take legal action against the channel. But it said it released a new statement after its talent supposedly exhibited signs of “severe psychological instability.”

“Following HoverLab’s report, Kim Soo-hyun has been experiencing extreme confusion due to claims that the cause of the sudden death of the deceased is attributed to him,” it said.

Authorities ruled that Sae-ron died in February from a self-inflicted death.