On the morning of March 14, Kim Soo Hyun addressed the dating rumors with Kim Sae Ron, denying that their relationship began when she was underage and stating that they only started dating after she became an adult. However, Garo Sero Research Institute refuted his claims and continued to expose him in a livestream later that afternoon.
Garo Sero Institute Analyzes a Photo of Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron
The controversial photo was taken in Seoul Forest, in front of Galleria Foret, where Kim Soo Hyun resides. This is a high-end residential and commercial complex in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, known as one of the most expensive housing areas in the city, accessible only to those with substantial wealth.
Kim Soo Hyun purchased his first home there in October 2013 for over 4 billion KRW, a 217m2 penthouse. In May 2014, he acquired a second unit in the same complex for over 3 billion KRW, spanning 170m2. Despite Kim Sae Ron facing financial difficulties and receiving debt notices, he later bought a third property in the same area for 8.8 billion KRW.
Kim Sae Ron’s Mother Pleads: We Want to Restore Our Daughter’s Honor and Correct False Reports
During the livestream, Kim Sae Ron’s mother made a heartfelt statement:
“Hello. We are the bereaved family of the late actress Kim Sae Ron.
After much deliberation, we have decided to release this statement upon witnessing the distortion and misrepresentation of our family’s intentions. As we previously conveyed to Garo Sero Research Institute, our sole purpose is to restore the honor of a child whose life was shattered in an instant by numerous false reports.
Additionally, we aim to establish a legal foundation to hold malicious YouTubers and cyber scavengers accountable for their criminal actions, preventing such incidents from recurring in the future.
Sae Ron never lied to the media. She never pretended to be someone she wasn’t for financial gain, nor was she someone who only indulged in nightlife with friends. She never fabricated photos to create dating rumors.
However, Lee Jin Ho and cyber scavengers created false reports that destroyed the life of a promising young actress and her family. On top of that, Gold Medalist dismissed the photos Sae Ron posted, labeling her as a reckless girl whose intentions were unclear.
Now that Sae Ron is no longer with us, false claims have surfaced, including allegations that she was the sole breadwinner of her family and that her earnings were squandered by her relatives. Countless fabricated articles continue to spread, including the claim that she sought financial help from Kim Soo Hyun during difficult times but was ignored – something entirely untrue.
What the public sees now is the result of an incident that has been magnified and sensationalized over the past few days, based on a handful of photos provided to Garo Sero. If Sae Ron had been backed by a powerful agency or a large law firm, she could have responded and controlled the situation in some way. But at the time, she had no one but her family.
All the false reports and attacks were directed at a young woman barely past the age of 20. The irresponsible media mindlessly republished articles written by Lee Jin Ho and cyber scavengers, fueling a wave of malicious comments.
For three years, Sae Ron endured this alone-day and night-unable to sleep properly. It was nothing short of nationwide ostracization, triggered by Lee Jin Ho’s fabricated reports. No media outlet attempted to verify the truth or check the facts; instead, they merely amplified Lee Jin Ho’s claims, tarnishing and discarding Sae Ron without a second thought.
The ones who trampled on a fallen child, only to lift her up again and throw her down even harder, were Lee Jin Ho and the cyber scavengers. Journalists, too, played a role in this tragedy, writing articles without verifying the facts while earning salaries to sustain their own daily lives.
As a grieving family, we sought help from various media outlets to clear Sae Ron’s name, but none extended a hand. Some YouTubers even attempted to secretly film at the funeral. Can such actions be considered human?
Can you forgive such people?
If Professor Kwon Young Chan from the Korean Celebrities’ Suicide Prevention Association had not reached out to us, and if journalist Kim Se Ui from Garo Sero had not extended his support, our family would have been completely destroyed by Lee Jin Ho and the cyber scavengers.
Their actions constitute a clear crime.
While current legal frameworks may not classify their behavior as murder, it is undeniable that their spread of falsehoods and fabricated reports pushed a person to their death.
Our family will never see Sae Ron again.
There is only one thing we ask for: to fully restore the honor that Sae Ron had as an actress during her lifetime.
We hope that false reports will be corrected, and that legal and institutional measures will be put in place to ensure that the media fulfills its true responsibilities – so that such tragedies never happen again.”
Garo Sero Institute Accuses Kim Soo Hyun of Lying and Criticizes His Attitude
In his March 14 statement, Kim Soo Hyun claimed that he dated Kim Sae Ron from summer 2019 to fall 2020. However, Kim Sae Ron’s side asserted that their relationship lasted from 2015 to 2021. During the livestream, Garo Sero declared that Kim Soo Hyun was lying.
Netizens also uncovered evidence contradicting his statement. In a newly released photo, Kim Soo Hyun was seen wearing a black baseball cap, which he frequently wore between 2015 and 2017 but never again after that period. Additionally, Kim Sae Ron’s youthful appearance in the images further challenges the claim that they were taken between 2019 and 2020.
Moreover, Garo Sero Institute harshly criticized Kim Soo Hyun, calling him “shameless.” They stated that Kim Sae Ron never wanted to harm him, even until the very end, yet he insensitively flaunted his birthday gifts on the day of her passing. However, many netizens refuted this claim, pointing out that he had posted those images before her death.
Kim Sae Ron’s Mother Avoid Mentioning Kim Soo Hyun
Following Gold Medalist’s response, Garo Sero expressed outrage, accusing Kim Soo Hyun’s side of distorting the truth. Despite her fragile health, Kim Sae Ron’s mother decided to speak out, emphasizing that they would not allow the truth to be buried.
Heartbroken, she declared:
“Sae Ron never lied. Please punish these criminal acts.”
However, in an unexpected turn of events, she did not mention Kim Soo Hyun or release sensitive photos, such as images of Kim Soo Hyun shirtless while washing dishes. Her reason: she feared that, given his unstable mental state, he might take his own life just like her daughter.
Sources: Kbizoom