Actor Kim Soo-hyun's side firmly rebutted the Garosero Research Institute (abbreviated as Gaseyeon), which held a press conference to 'reveal serious crimes' related to the late Kim Sae-ron, claiming that the recorded file in question is 'a voice forged through AI.' Furthermore, they expressed their intention to pursue additional legal action against Gaseyeon, which made the claim.
On the 7th, representative Kim Se-eui of Gaseyeon held a press conference somewhere in Gangnam, Seoul, after receiving consent from the bereaved family of the late Kim Sae-ron and lawyer Bu Ji-seok, the legal representative of the bereaved family from Law Firm Buyou.
Before the press conference began, support trucks sent by Kim Soo-hyun's fans were arriving one by one in front of the press conference venue. More than four trucks arrived at the press conference venue, and the fans appealed, 'Don't be swayed by the instigation, please see the truth.'
While the support from Kim Soo-hyun's fans continued, Gaseyeon stated, 'On Friday, Jan. 10, a month before the death of Kim Sae-ron, in a coffee shop in New Jersey, the informant revealed the nature of their relationship with Kim Soo-hyun,' announcing the recorded conversation between the late Kim Sae-ron and the informant. Gaseyeon also stated that they had confirmed with the bereaved family that the recording was indeed the voice of Kim Sae-ron.
The woman presumed to be Kim Sae-ron in the recording said, 'I really believe and tell you. Please keep this a secret. I dated my brother Soo-hyun. You might think I'm crazy, but we started dating in middle school and broke up shortly after entering college. We dated from the beginning and broke up when we got to college.'
'My brother Soo-hyun and gold medalists are really scary and capable of anything, so you really must keep this a secret. I've felt used since middle school, and I know how I was treated since I was a middle schooler,' she said. 'My first time with that guy was during winter vacation in the 2nd grade of middle school. Looking back now, I feel like I was taken advantage of. Not many people know about this, and their reactions are all the same. Everyone calls me a crazy person, asking why I'm just standing by.'
In response, lawyer Bu Ji-seok stated that the bereaved family filed a complaint against Kim Soo-hyun for violating the Child Welfare Act and false accusation, saying, 'The bereaved family confirmed that Kim Soo-hyun had engaged in lewd acts with the late Kim Sae-ron, who was a minor in the 2nd grade of middle school, and therefore pursued charges for violation of the Child Welfare Act.'
The issue did not end there. Representative Kim Se-eui mentioned regarding the recorded conversation, 'A person connected to the gold medalists said they would give 4 billion won. They said they would pay 4 billion won if I handed over the recording. Moreover, YouTuber Lee Jin-ho offered 1 billion won to hand over the recording,' and claimed he was assaulted after refusing to comply, creating shock.
However, opinions emerged immediately asserting that the recording had been manipulated. Following Gaseyeon's press conference, YouTuber Lee Jin-ho held a rebuttal press conference in the adjacent meeting room. Lee Jin-ho alleged that Gaseyeon was staging a national fraud scheme, disputing that the recording was manipulated and presenting evidence piece by piece.
Lee Jin-ho stated, 'At the center of this incident is a person known as a scammer from New Jersey. Someone who extorts money through voice phishing,' asserting that the identity of the 'informant' mentioned by Gaseyeon is a scammer.
Lee Jin-ho noted that 'on April 5, they wanted to contact me regarding the incident involving Kim Soo-hyun.' The call was made, and summarizing the scammer’s claims, this person met Kim Sae-ron at a Korean bar in New Jersey last November, exchanged contact information, and received a request from Kim Sae-ron in January to 'borrow $4,500' before meeting her, recording a conversation instead of writing a promissory note, stating that 'Kim Sae-ron met Kim Soo-hyun after turning adults,' stating 'Kim Soo-hyun is a good guy.'
Lee Jin-ho claimed that allegations of manipulation arose from the previous press conference, stating, 'When requested to reveal the original materials, they were unable to provide any response. This is not the end. The New Jersey scammer, claiming to have been assaulted by Kim Soo-hyun's side, sent photos claiming to have been assaulted; however, the photos he sent were easily found through a Google search. They were photos from four or ten years ago.'
Lee Jin-ho also claimed that, along with the recording material of the New Jersey scammer, he disclosed KakaoTalk conversations between Kim Se-eui and the individual, as well as a voice evaluation report, asserting that the recording was manipulated. According to the conclusion of the voice evaluation report, the expert stated, 'As a result of analyzing the recording file's forgery, there exists a complete silence interval, and numerous vertical cut patterns were observed on the spectrogram, revealing a significant imbalance in frequency band energy distribution between the two speakers, as well as traces of artificial voice modulation similar to voice waves. Considering all factors comprehensively, it is highly likely that the file was reconstructed through editing,' determining that the voice is manipulated.
After all press conferences concluded, Lee Jin-ho responded to Gaseyeon's claim that 'they offered 1 billion won to hand over the recording,' saying, 'I haven't listened to the recording file. However, the claim that they offered 1 billion won for the recording is absurd. If I had 1 billion won, I would have left Korea without getting involved in this matter.'
During the press conference, journalist Kang Gyeong-yun also appeared, stating, 'I want to clarify the facts regarding Gaseyeon's claims.' He pointed out that claims of having threatened the informant in New Jersey were 'clearly false and a black comedy,' citing his immigration records showing no entries indicating he visited the informant's home from January 1 to May 5 of this year.
While Lee Jin-ho's press conference was underway, Kim Soo-hyun's side also released a rebuttal statement to Gaseyeon's claims. Kim Soo-hyun's side asserted that the voice was a completely forged file, claiming that the recording was created with AI and other technologies.
Kim Soo-hyun's side stated, 'The informant mentioned by Gaseyeon demanded money from a gold medalist and sent a part of the recording file containing the voice of the late Kim Sae-ron. The recording file has been manipulated with Kim Sae-ron's voice, and the gold medalist did not accept any of the informant's demands,' rebutting all claims regarding the recording and the 4 billion won offer made by Gaseyeon.
In particular, the agency emphasized that the photo Gaseyeon claimed was 'assault evidence' was 'an utterly unacceptable false claim, one that is hard to accept logically,' adding, 'Moreover, the so-called 'assault photo' released by Gaseyeon can be immediately verified through internet searches; Gaseyeon and the individual delivering the recording are insisting that photos downloaded from the internet are 'assault photos.'
In response, the agency stated, 'Gaseyeon's press conference is yet another manipulation aimed at committing cyber terrorism against actor Kim Soo-hyun, amidst their cornered situation regarding defamation of character through false claims, stalking, cyber sex crimes, and evidence manipulation,' and emphasized that 'this press conference proves that many of the claims made by Gaseyeon until now are false and manipulated,' announcing plans to file lawsuits for violations of the Stalking Punishment Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation).
As Lee Jin-ho and Kim Soo-hyun's sides continued to rebut each other, Gaseyeon also countered with another rebuttal through a live broadcast. Reacting to the AI manipulation claims, representative Kim Se-eui said, 'This is a ridiculous story,' and regarding the controversial 'assault photo,' stated, 'The informant now says not to use voice modulation. From now on, all videos will be presented in the informant's actual voice. The informant got upset since people kept saying they’re a scammer or that it’s a Google photo. A person who was hospitalized ran to their home. I will reveal a video taken at 4 a.m. with a mobile phone.'
In the video, informant A said, 'My left hand can't be used. If I try to take a picture of the right shoulder, my hand trembles a bit. Please understand, I tried to take pictures and send them, but I was worried about saying something nonsensical.' A further indicated, 'My left hand has a nerve issue and my fingers are stuck; I can't remove it by myself. I need to show the operated area, but I can't take it off due to infection. Even after doing this, if you say something, what am I supposed to do?' showing wounds on their arm and hand that seemed to have antiseptic applied.
As the claims, rebuttals, and counter-rebuttals continued, the public confusion is also prolonged.
[Photo] OSEN DB
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