YouTuber Kwon Young-chan Sued by Late Kim Sae-ron’s Former Manager for Defamation
On June 19, late Kim Sae-ron’s former manager, referred to as Mr. K, filed the complaint with the Seocho Police Station in Seoul, claiming that youtuber Kwon Young-chan continuously defamed him through multiple videos on his YouTube channel “Kwon Young-chan TV,” where he disclosed K’s real name and face.
Mr. K had served as Kim Sae-ron’s personal manager following her exclusive contract with Management Run in January 2023.
Following Kim Sae-ron’s tragic passing in February, Kwon Young-chan reportedly referred to K as “a man who sold a child,” “slave catcher,” and “the one who drove her to death.” He further accused K of “grooming Kim Sae-ron,” “failing to contact her family during self-harm,” “embezzling hospital bills,” and “visiting the hospital after her death.”
Mr. K stated, “Kim Sae-ron trusted me so much she called me ‘dad.’ I supported her financially during her hardships and did my best to help her career revival. Her passing was deeply shocking, and before I could even grieve properly, Kwon Young-chan made inhumane false claims that assassinated my character.”
In response, Kwon Young-chan claimed that he had already reported K on June 10 for violating medical and personal information laws, marking the start of their legal confrontation.
The hospital Kwon Young-chan mentioned also denied all allegations, calling them “entirely false.” They clarified that the emergency medical bills were appropriately paid using a corporate and company card and that there was no private relationship or illegal activity involved.
On June 22, journalist Kang Kyung-yoon released the KakaoTalk messages between Kim Sae-ron and her former manager.
One of the conversations includes messages exchanged after Kim Sae-ron’s suicide attempt in November 2024, showing how the manager took care of hospital matters on behalf of her family.
From the conversation, it appears that the former manager was more present and supportive than Kim Sae-ron’s own family.
However, the chats also revealed that Kim Sae-ron’s mother was managing her Instagram account, as she suddenly posted and then deleted a two-year-old photo.
As expected, the post was picked up by media and drew a wave of malicious comments.
The KakaoTalk messages were made public as a response to the three months of daily YouTube livestream harassment by Kwon Young-chan, who had accused the former manager of neglecting Kim Sae-ron, ruining her life and even embezzling hospital bills. It appears the manager filed a police complaint after enduring the harassment for months.
Regarding this, netizens commented, “I just feel so bad for Sae-ron”, “The more I learn about Sae-ron, the more heartbreaking it gets” and “It seems like Sae-ron really had no one around her to rely on.”