Coward Kim Soohyun, Tearful Press Conference… What’s the Truth Behind the Relationship with a Minor?

At 4:30 p.m. on March 31, actor Kim Soohyun held a press conference. He addressed the incident directly, but ultimately did not take any questions from the press. Speaking at the Stanford Hotel in Mapogu, Seoul, he tearfully stated, “I never dated the deceased when she was a minor, nor did I pressure her with money.” He added, “I cannot accept the bereaved family’s threats, their attempts to force me to admit to false claims, or the attacks calling me a ‘murderer.’”

So, is the relationship with a minor true?
He denied the allegations surrounding this controversy. Kim stated that he had dated the deceased about five years ago, which was a year long relationship that ended four years before Queen of Tears aired. While he admitted to the relationship, he firmly maintained that it did not occur when Kim Saeron was a minor, nor did it last six years as claim by the bereaved family.

He also denied that the KakaoTalk screenshots presented by Garo Sero Institute (Gaseyeon) as evidence were from him. Kim argued, “The person speaking to the deceased in the 2016 and 2018 KakaoTalk conversations are two different individuals,” adding, “To prove this, I submitted the 2016 and 2018 conversations provided by the bereaved family, along with my own recent KakaoTalk messages with acquaintances from this year, to a forensic verification agency for analysis.”

According to Kim, the agency concluded that the individuals from the 2016 and 2018 messages were not the same person. He went on to say that every time his agency responded to the evidence from the bereaved family, new audio recordings would suddenly be released. He claimed that photos and videos with misleading timestamps, as well as edited rather than original KakaoTalk images, were being used as evidence. He alleged that false testimonies and fabricated evidence were being circulated under the pretext of his past relationship with the deceased.

But why didn’t he take questions from the press?
If Kim Soohyun were truly innocent, he would have taken the opportunity during the Q&A session to express his frustration and clear his name. Instead, he held a solo 40 minute press conference where he only delivered his own statement before leaving. He said, “I will have all the evidence presented by the bereaved family thoroughly investigated through the proper legal authorities.”

In response, eight of Kim Saeron’s friends announced they would prepare a statement. They claimed they had known about the relationship between the two since she was still a minor. Meanwhile, the bereaved family’s legal representative commented, “If Kim Soohyun had simply admitted that he had feelings for her when she was a minor, but that their official relationship began after she became an adult, that would’ve been acceptable. We don’t understand why he insists on denying it entirely.”

There is always only one truth.
Even from the perspective of an uninvolved third party, any attempt at speculation will remain inconclusive until the truth is revealed. Only Kim Soohyun and Kim Saeron truly know what happened. When a person realizes something is wrong, they should know not to cross that line. We hope this incident will be resolved as soon as possible, so that the late Kim Saeron’s honor is no longer tarnished.

US ASIA JOURNAL K-UNIV REPORTER

LIYEON KIM