Actor Kim Soo-hyun has filed a damages lawsuit against the bereaved family of the late Kim Soo-hyun and the YouTube channel "Garosero Research Institute," with the amount in question confirmed to be 12 billion won.
On March 31, Kim Soo-hyun held an emergency press conference at a hotel in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. The press conference, which took place 21 days after allegations surfaced that he had been in a relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron since she was a minor, featured Kim Soo-hyun speaking directly.
At the conference, Kim Soo-hyun said, "I did not have a relationship with the deceased when she was a minor. It is also not true that the deceased made a tragic choice because of my rejection or that my agency pressured her debt."
He went on to point out a KakaoTalk message allegedly written by the late Kim Sae-ron, saying, "There are too many incorrect facts in this KakaoTalk to be considered written by the deceased. The date being 2016 is wrong; it is a photo from 2019. Moreover, the age difference with me cannot be mistaken. Additionally, the name and duration of the agency I was with for four years cannot be wrong either. The deceased only acted as a company-affiliated actor in our agency and had no involvement in casting or visual directing."
Kim Soo-hyun emphasized, "The bereaved family recently revealed the KakaoTalk conversations I supposedly shared with the deceased during their press conference. Furthermore, that YouTube channel is framing me as a pedophile and engaging in minor grooming using statements from the 2016 KakaoTalk as evidence."
Additionally, Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative noted, "Our law firm has just filed a complaint with the Gangnam Police Station against the bereaved family, an unidentified individual who refers to themselves as the aunt, and the operators of Gaseyeon for defamation due to the dissemination of false information using information and communications networks, including the emotional reports referred to by actor Kim Soo-hyun. We have also filed for damages of 12 billion won for property damage and mental suffering against actor Kim Soo-hyun and his agency."
Regarding this, it was reported that the amount filed in court was 11 billion won, but Kim Soo-hyun's side told OSEN, "The amount in the lawsuit is not 11 billion won but 12 billion won. This total is for property damage and mental suffering combined. There has been no change."
Meanwhile, the damages claim lawsuit filed by Kim Soo-hyun is reported to have been assigned to Director General Jeong Ha-jeong of the 14th Civil Division of the Seoul Central District Court, with no initial hearing date set yet.
[OSEN]