K-star Kim Soo-hyun faces backlash for allegedly dating late actress Kim Sae-ron

K-drama star Kim Soo-hyun will release a statement next week after he faced a wave of backlash for allegedly dating late South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron, who recently died at the age of 24.

A South Korean YouTube channel called Hoverlab released a video on March 10, alleging that the 37-year-old actor began dating Kim Sae-ron when she was 15, and they were in a relationship for six years.

Kim Sae-ron was found dead in her home in Seoul on Feb 16 due to suicide.

His agency Goldmedalist said it will “clarify the facts and respond to the baseless rumours” in a “clear and substantiated position”, said South Korean entertainment news site Soompi.

Goldmedalist – an agency established by Kim Soo-hyun’s cousin – had denied the allegations in an earlier statement on March 10, calling the claims “baseless” and “malicious”. It threatened legal action against Hoverlab.

Still, the controversy continues to grow as Hoverlab has put out more videos, which included material said to be provided by Kim Sae-ron’s family.

It released a previously unseen photograph of Kim Soo-hyun seemingly kissing Kim Sae-ron on the cheek. It also released a purported screenshot of a message said to be sent to Kim Soo-hyun from the late actress, in which she seemed to be begging the Queen Of Tears (2024) actor not to sue her for money owed, but he did not reply.

Netizens also pointed out that Kim Sae-ron died on Kim Soo-hyun’s birthday, and that Kim Soo-hyun did not attend her funeral.

Kim Sae-ron, who rose to fame as a child star in thriller film The Man From Nowhere (2010), was previously also managed by Goldmedalist.

She left the agency in 2022 following a drink-driving accident in May that year, in which she crashed into a transformer by the roadside and interrupted electricity coverage to nearby merchants.

The accident was a blow to her career and public image, and led to her retreating from the public eye.

South Korean news outlets said Kim Sae-ron owed Goldmedalist around 700 million won (S$642,000). The agency reportedly paid off her debts such as compensation fees related to her drink driving accident, which she struggled to pay back due to a lack of acting jobs.

She was further criticised when she posted, then swiftly deleted, a private photo of herself with Kim Soo-hyun – which showed the pair with their faces pressed against each other – in March 2024 amid the height of romance drama Queen Of Tears’ popularity.

At the time, Goldmedalist denied that the two were dating and said: “We have no idea what her intentions were (in uploading the photo).”

The actor’s latest Instagram post on Feb 12 has been flooded with over 193,000 comments, many from angry netizens. Some accused him of dating an underage girl, while others called for his boycott and cancellation.

Since the allegations, Kim Soo-hyun has lost more than 500,000 followers on Instagram, from over 21 million followers to 20.7 million followers. Brands such as bakery chain Tous les Jours, and athleisure brand K2 Korea, have also quietly pulled advertisements featuring him in the light of the scandal.

According to South Korean news outlet The Korea Herald, Hoverlab, which began as a far-right political commentary channel, has previously published content later ruled false or defamatory by the courts. In January, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered the channel to pay 45 million won in damages to the country’s former Justice Minister Cho Kuk and his family for defamation.