Kim Sae-ron’s 1.2 Billion KRW Debt Shocks Netizens: “Feel Sorry for the Friends Who Lent Her Money”
According to reports on May 23, Kim Sae-ron had borrowed 100 million KRW each from two well-known idol group members and one singer friend. She also owed 700 million KRW to her former agency Gold Medalist, bringing her total known debt to over 1.2 billion KRW (approx. $900,000 USD).
The public reaction online was swift and varied, with many expressing sympathy for the friends who had lent her money out of goodwill. “The ones who never got paid back are the ones to pity most” and “Imagine lending a huge amount and not getting it back kind people always end up suffering in this world.”
Some questioned how Kim Sae-ron, who began working as a child actor, could end up in such severe financial straits. “How does a woman in her twenties rack up billions in debt?” and “She started earning young, so where did all the money go? What were her family doing?”
Others expressed discomfort with the continued exposure of her private matters, asking for restraint. “Please stop can’t someone put an end to this?”
Kim Sae-ron reportedly began facing serious financial difficulties after her May 2022 DUI incident, which led to her being dropped from dramas and advertisements. Despite working part-time at a café to make ends meet, it appears the debt far exceeded what she could repay.
Five months before her death, she had shared a private post on SNS that read, “If I die, please screenshot and post this,” in which she voiced the mental toll of financial stress and expressed despair.
Speculation continues around the cause of her death, and a legal dispute between her family and actor Kim Soo-hyun‘s side is still ongoing, further complicating public sentiment.
