This article is part of our coverage of Kim Soo Hyun And Kim Sae Ron’s Relationship. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.
On the 21st, according to JoongAng Ilbo, the application for the arrest warrant submitted by the Seoul Gangnam Police Station stated that Garosero Institute‘s Kim Se Ui spread false information about actor Kim Soo Hyun for financial gain, including YouTube earnings.
Arrest Warrant Sought In Relation To Kim Sae Ron And Kim Soo Hyun’s Controversy
The police noted in the warrant application that the suspect was well aware that Kim Soo Hyun had not dated the late actress Kim Sae Ron since her minor years but distributed falsehoods with the intent to defame him.
The media report said that messenger conversations Kim Se Ui presented last March as evidence of dating were all found to be fabricated by the police. After receiving 11 screenshots of messages allegedly exchanged between the late actress and an unknown person in 2016 from the bereaved family last year, Kim altered seven parts, including changing the interlocutor’s name to Kim Soo Hyun. The police pointed out that the suspect posted manipulated materials to make it appear as though the two had actually conversed, despite knowing the other party’s identity was unconfirmed. Moreover, the police believe the voice files of the late actress released by Kim’s side in May last year were also manipulated using AI technology.
It is understood that the bereaved family’s legal representative has also been registered with investigative authorities along with Kim Se Ui. The police judged that the family’s lawyer supplied incriminating materials to Kim and not only spread false information but also systematically expanded and reproduced it in an organized and premeditated manner. Regarding this, Kim Soo Hyun’s legal representative, lawyer Ko Sang Rok, stated on his social media on the 20th that Kim Soo Hyun’s side did not file a complaint against the family’s lawyer and that the investigative agencies appear to have identified the lawyer as an accomplice and changed them into a suspect, which is an extremely rare case for a suspect’s lawyer to be recognized as an accomplice and then converted to a suspect.
The police stated in the warrant application that this case led to the collapse of actor Kim Soo Hyun’s social foundation and his entire economic activities, undermining his professional livelihood. They added that, as Kim is currently receiving psychiatric treatment, if the suspect continues to spread false information, it could cause serious, irreparable harm.
On the other hand, Kim Se Ui claimed that the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant was a plot to hinder his reporting activities. During a live broadcast the previous day, Kim said he originally planned to further investigate a sexual crime case involving a prominent politician in Hanoi, Vietnam, and asserted that the sudden request for an arrest warrant was intended to obstruct his reporting work.