Kim Soo-Hyun is South Korea’s highest-paid actor, who gets paid ₩312.5 million or $214,377 per episode for a TV drama, has been recently alleged to be a pedophile.
Who is Kim Soo-Hyun
Kim Soo-Hyun is a South Korean actor, born on February 16, 1988. He is widely known as the most talented and the most paid actor in all of South Korea. He first gained fame from his role in a K-drama called “Dream High” released in 2011 and “Moon Embracing the Sun” released in 2012. He took a break from acting in 2017 to serve in mandatory military service, he later returned to acting in 2019. His international breakthrough happened in 2020 with the Kdrama “It’s Okay To Be Not Okay” released on Netflix. He gained massive popularity from that role outside of just Asia. In “It’s Okay To Be Not Okay”, he showcased his impressive acting by portraying different emotions and playing such a complex role. His most recent role was in a Netflix K-drama called “Queen of Tears,” released in 2024. He gained a lot of praise for the role of Baek Hyun-woo, who was the husband of a rich heiress. The drama has elements of romance, family, and deep emotional depth. Kim Soo-Hyun has won multiple awards for his roles, including a prestigious Korean award Baeksang Arts Award.
Who is Kim Sae-Ron
Kim Sae-Ron is a South Korean actress, born on July 31, 2000. She gained recognition as a child actress and became known for her mature and powerful performances at such a young age, she was known as a “child prodigy”. Her first acting role was in the film Brand New Life, released in 2009, starring alongside a respected actor, Won Bin. In the film, she was a child who was kidnapped by criminals; the role was complex with a lot of different emotions, and this role gained her critical praise. At just 14 years old, she became the youngest actress to ever be nominated for Best Actress at Baeksang, a prestigious award show in South Korea. She solidified her reputation as Korea’s most talented young actress with roles in movies like The Neighbors, released in 2012, and A Girl at My Doo,r released in 2014. In addition to working in films, Kim Sae-Ron worked in several K-dramas like “High School Love On” (2014), “Mirror of the Witch” (2016), and “Leverage” (2019). She moved from doing roles of children to doing more mature roles as she grew older. She was involved in a DUI accident in 2022, and people online (netizens) directed hate towards her so much that she was forced to take a temporary hiatus from the entertainment industry. Her latest role was in a Netflix K-drama called “Bloodhounds,” which was released in 2023. Unfortunately, Kim Sae-Ron was found dead at her home in Seoul, South Korea, on February 16, 2025, at age 24. Her death was ruled a suicide.
Allegations
The controversy began on March 10, 2025, when a video posted by the YouTube channel Gareosero Research Institute (Hoverlab) claimed that the late Kim Sae-Ron had a secret relationship with Kim Soo-Hyun when she was only 15. The video featured Kim Sae-ron’s alleged aunt, who claimed that Kim Soo-Hyun was in a relationship with Kim Sae-Ron when she was 15 years old and he was 27.. Kim Soo-Hyun and Kim Sae-Ron crossed paths when Kim Sae-Ron left her old acting company, YG Entertainment, to work under Gold Medalist in 2019, which is the same company Kim Soo-Hyun is under. Gold Medalist company is owned by Kim Soo-Hyun’s cousin, Lee Sa Rang. Kim Sae-Ron played a big role in the company because she could provide acting classes and manage the new people who joined the company for free. Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-Ron were extremely close to each other during this time.
In May 2022, Kim Sae-Ron was driving under the influence in Seoul, Korea, where she collided with a guard rail and a transformer, resulting in 57 nearby stores having a power outage. To address the issue, the Gold Medalist released an apology statement on behalf of Kim Sae-Ron, stating how regretful he is of her actions. Kim Sae-Ron also took to Instagram to apologize. In the apology, she expressed her regret for the damage she caused to the people and those who had to fix the damage. She also confirmed that she was working with Gold Medalist to compensate for the damages. Kim says Ron faced a heavy financial burden after being fined ₩20 million or $13,868 for her DUI. She was also responsible for paying ₩700 million or $476,677 in court settlement expenses. According to Kim Sae-Ron’s lawyer, her parents used her earnings to fund their business and personal costs, which hindered her ability to settle her ₩700 million debt. Her career was also impacted by the accident, as she was forced to turn down big projects like “Trolley”, “Bloodhounds” (which was already shot, and her parts were cut out of the final product), and the film Us Every Day. She was also added to the list of Korean celebrities prohibited from appearing on South Korea’s broadcasters. Her company, Gold Medalist, refused to renew the contract with her when it ended in December 2022.
Since Kim Sae-Ron was struggling due to her debt, Gold Medalist helped her out by paying $483,000 in damages after the DUI, saying they would not request any money back from her. However, in 2024, they asked her to repay them the money, but she did not have the finances for it. She tried reaching out to Kim Soo-Hyun through text messages since they were close, but she was ignored.
To gain Kim Soo-Hyun’s attention, she posted a selfie with him on Instagram, suggesting their close relationship with each other. However, that did not help her as the actor and his agency denied their relationship.
Her aunt alleges that Kim Soo-Hyun and Gold Medalist contributed to Kim Sae-Ron’s financial struggles following the DUI case, which ultimately led her to commit suicide. Kim Sae-Ron was found dead at her home in the Seongdong District of Seoul, South Korea, on February 16, which is also Kim So Hyun’s birthday. Her death was ruled a suicide by police officials, as per reports.
Gold Medalist issued a statement denying all claims made by Hoverlab and Kim Sae-Ron’s aunt, they addressed the claims as “baseless” and “malicious.”However, Hoverlab refuses to back down and threatens to reveal more evidence against Kim Soo-Hyun and his relationship with Kim Sae-Ron when she was a minor.
On March 13, a text message exchange was released. In the messages, it is clear that Kim Sae-Ron was stressed about paying back the Gold Medalist, and was pleading for them to give her more time to gather the large amount of money she owed them, as well as messages pleading with Kim Soo-Hyun not to take legal action against her.
The controversy intensified when a selfie was leaked, in which Kim Soo-Hyun was kissing underage Kim Sae-Ron on the cheek. The leaked photo caused major public backlash for him, with many calling him a groomer and a pedophile, and the public started demanding a boycott of his work. People online found an old interview of him stating that when he was 41 years old, he wanted to marry a 21-year-old (clip of him stating it); this interview did not help his case.
Due to immense pressure and backlash from the public, Gold Medalist was forced to release a statement addressing the allegations. In their statement, they confirmed that they were, in fact, in a romantic relationship with each other, but they also clarified that it was the summer of 2019 when Kim Sae-Ron was legally an adult, and the relationship ended in the fall of 2020. They claimed the leaked photo was taken when they were together as two consenting adults. Regarding the repayment, Gold Medalist said it was a formal requirement for tax and accounting purposes and not an attempt to harm him.
On March 18, another piece of evidence was leaked that shocked many people online, it was a photo of Kim Soo-Hyun at Kim Sae-Ron’s house where he had no pants on.
His company denied the authenticity of the photo because they claimed that he had never been to her house before. In response to all these allegations, Gold Medalist has filed criminal charges against Hoverlab and Kim Sae-Ron’s Family.
As of March 20, Kim Soo-Hyun has lost over 600,000 Instagram followers and several major brand ambassadorships, including Prada Korea, Tous Les Jours, and Jeju Air. The public is planning to boycott his new project, Knock-Off.
Kim Sae-Ron’s mother has come forward to the public and stated her demands. Her demands include: Kim Soo-Hyun acknowledging that he dated her daughter when she was still a minor, a public apology from him and his agency, admitting to an apology for manipulating the media narrative against Kim Sae Ron over the past few years, and an apology for the repayment demand when they originally did not request any repayment.
This case is ongoing, with legal actions taking place and the public and media paying close attention to each little detail about the case and looking for any further developments.
