Late Kim Sae Ron’s Mother Releases Heartfelt Letter But Avoids Mentioning Kim Soo Hyun: False Articles and Malicious Comments Killed My Daughter
On March 14, through the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute, Kim Sae Ron’s mother directly expressed her stance. However, she avoided mentioning Kim Soo Hyun for his mental health.
Full Message from Kim Sae-ron’s Mother
”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.”
Rebuttal of False Claims and Media Misrepresentation
“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.”
The Tragedy of Misrepresentation and Malicious Attacks
“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.”
The Mental and Emotional Toll on Sae-ron
“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.”
The Family’s Plea for Help
“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.”
Summary of Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun’s Controversy
Previously, YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute claimed that Kim Sae Ron had been in a relationship with Kim Soo Hyun for six years, starting when she was 15. They alleged that the two had been together since Gold Medalist was established and that the agency expelled Kim Sae Ron following her DUI incident in May 2022.
Gold Medalist reportedly sent Kim Sae Ron a legal notice demanding a repayment of 700 million KRW (approximately 530,000 USD) for damages caused by her actions, but Kim Soo Hyun allegedly ignored her calls.
Garo Sero Research Institute also revealed text messages Kim Sae Ron had sent to Kim Soo Hyun in March 2024, after receiving the legal notice from Gold Medalist. In the messages, she pleaded:
“Oppa, it’s me, Sae Ron. I’m working hard to make a comeback and plan to pay back the damages little by little with each project I take on. It’s not that I don’t want to pay, it’s that I can’t right now. Do we really have to go to court? Please help me, I’m begging you. Just give me some time.”
However, Kim Soo Hyun reportedly did not respond to her messages.
On March 14, Gold Medalist released an official statement, clarifying that Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron had only dated from the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2020, after she had become an adult.
The agency also addressed the photos revealed by Garo Sero Research Institute, stating that the images were taken during their relationship in the winter of 2020. They pointed out that the clothes Kim Sae Ron wore in the pictures were from a brand collection released in June 2019, making Garo Sero Research Institute’s claim that the photos were from 2016 when Kim Sae Ron was still a minor impossible.
