Actor Kim Soo-hyun (37) denied the 'suspicions of underage relationships' with the late Kim Sae-ron (25), as a petition emerged in the National Assembly calling for the age for statutory rape of minors to be raised from under 16 to under 19.
On the 31st of last month, a petitioner posted on the National Assembly electronic petition website titled 'Petition on the bill to raise the age of statutory rape of minors and strengthen penalties, known as the 'Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Law.' In this post, the petitioner stated, 'Please raise the current age range of the statutory rape of minors, which only protects children aged 13 to under 16, to 13 to under 19 and strengthen the penalties.'
The petitioner noted, 'Under current law, the crime of statutory rape of minors only protects children aged 13 to under 16,' and added, 'The Republic of Korea's laws define minors as under 18, yet due to the current age limit for statutory rape, pedophiles can evade the law.'
The petitioner proposed raising the age for statutory rape to 13 to under 19 and strengthening the penalties to change the punishment for rape to a minimum of 5 years imprisonment.
However, on that day, Kim Soo-hyun acknowledged the fact of his relationship with Kim Sae-ron during a press conference, but argued that it was not true that they dated when she was a minor. Kim Soo-hyun stated, 'The late Kim and I dated for about a year four years before the airing of 'Queen of Tears' (in 2020). We denied the dating allegations at that time,' and emphasized, 'We did not have a relationship while she was a minor.'
Kim Soo-hyun's side filed a lawsuit against the bereaved family. Attorney Kim Jong-bok from LK Partners said, 'We submitted a lawsuit for damages totaling 12 billion won against the bereaved family and an unidentified person who claims to be an acquaintance, as well as the operator of the Garosero Research Institute.'