Full Translation Of Statement By Kim Soo Hyun’s Agency In Response To Kim Sae Ron’s Family’s Press Conference

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 March 18, KST, actor Kim Soo Hyun‘s agency, Gold Medalist, issued a lengthy statement refuting the claims made by the late actress Kim Sae Ron‘s family during a press conference on March 17, KST.

The following is the translation of the complete statement:

“Hello, this is Gold Medalist. We want to state our position regarding the claims made by the late Kim Sae Ron’s bereaved family at the press conference held with Garosero Research Institute on March 17.

Our position regarding the second certified letter that was sent

The bereaved family claimed that the second certified letter that was sent on March 25, 2024, stated that ‘if she posts similar photos to the one posted on March 24, or contacts any of the agency’s actors, she will have to compensate any damages suffered by the drama ‘Queen of Tears.’’ The original certified mail is attached to this statement.

As seen from the certified letter, we have never demanded compensation from Kim Sae Ron for any damages to the drama. It is also not possible to claim compensation for posting photos online or contacting other actors at the agency.

We sent the second certified letter to provide more information about the first certified letter. As stated previously, we sent the letter to inform her that the debt she owed had not been collected yet and to eliminate the possibility of our executives’ dereliction of duty. This is from the first certified letter sent on March 15, 2024.

However, on March 24, Kim Sae Ron texted Kim Soo Hyun about this and posted a photo of them on her social media account. The second certified letter was intended to explain why we urged her to repay her debt and reveal our intention to negotiate with her regarding her debt payment. As seen in the second certified letter, we stated, ‘If the company does not request payment of our loan debt, our client company could be charged with breach of trust,’ and that our intention was to ‘proactively discuss the method for debt repayment.’

The bereaved family claimed that the second letter was just a way to buy more time so that she could repay her debt. However, as stated above, the second letter was only intended to discuss with her the timing of repayment. It does not contain any demands to urge her to repay her debt. The reason why it says to ‘inform your legal representatives of a possible debt repayment schedule’ is to prove that the debt repayment was requested but was not collected, as it cannot include that the debt does not have to be repaid. If we had stated that she does not have to repay the debt, we would be exempting her from her debt, which could have caused tax issues.

On March 26, 2024, our legal representative contacted Kim Sae Ron’s agency and explained the purpose of the letter. Kim Sae Ron then stated her position regarding the second letter.

‘I would like to express my gratitude for the sincerity you have shown me. I will, of course, take responsibility for the damages suffered and would like to discuss the future payment plan to show my determination to take responsibility for the damages I must bear.’

As stated previously, the creditor-debtor relationship with the agency and Kim Sae Ron has been settled. We would like to state again that we recorded the entire amount of debt owed as bad debt(after receiving the audit report on April 1, 2024) without any urging or negotiation regarding payment.

With this, you can see we had no intention to pressure her to repay the debt from the beginning, and the deceased and the bereaved family have never attempted to repay the debt since then.

Also, the agency’s creditor-debtor relationship with Kim Sae Ron is under our jurisdiction. Kim Soo Hyun has no authority to inform his position on the matter. Because of this, we had to refrain her from contacting Kim Soo Hyun regarding debt in the certified letter.”

We explained to Kim Sae Ron that the debt repayment is not the responsibility of the agency’s employees or actors but of the client company, thus requesting that she not contact any of the agency’s actors regarding this matter.

There is no content that states that she needs to pay damages if she contacts actors from the agency. However, Garosero distorted the meaning in the report, stating that we threatened her if she contacted not only Kim Soo Hyun but also anyone from the agency. However, we did not make such demands, and she freely contacted the actors afterwards.

When Kim Sae Ron posted the photo on social media on March 24, it was during the airing of ‘Queen of Tears’. At least 50 articles poured out from 2:14 AM to 11 AM, when our company revealed our official position. We informed Kim Sae Ron that impulsive actions could affect all parties involved, including the drama production company, actors, broadcasting station, and more. We never pressured her to pay for damages.

Our position on YouTuber Lee Jin Ho

Kim Sae Ron’s contract with Gold Medalist expired in November 2022. Afterward, she was working with a different entertainment company. The manager whom Garo Sero Research Institute claimed to be connected to YouTuber Lee Jin Ho is actually affiliated with that other company and is not an employee of GOLD MEDALIST. Despite this, Garo Sero Research Institute is distorting the facts by making carefully worded statements at press conferences—such as “We are at the stage of identifying the manager from Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, whom Lee Jin Ho called a close friend“—which are designed to avoid legal responsibility while misleading the public.

On false facts related to actress Seo Ye Ji

In its March 17 report, Garo Sero Research Institute (Gaseyeon) claimed, based on an anonymous source, that our company colluded with media outlets to defame Seo Ye Ji. This claim is entirely false and is based solely on an anonymous tip. Even the manager who was responsible for Seo Ye Ji at the time — now resigned — was so baffled by this claim that they reached out to us. We strongly urge you to stop disseminating baseless and irresponsible false information without any evidence or accountability.

The bereaved family is requested to stop spreading false information

The bereaved family has been making many false claims about our agency and Kim Soo Hyun. For example, they have claimed that no visit was made on our side to the deceased’s funeral. However, we left a condolence wreath, we visited the funeral twice on February 17 and February 19, and we also met with the bereaved family in person to offer our condolences and left condolence money.

Garo Sero Institute referred to the whistleblower who leaked Kim Soo Hyun’s private life as “Kim Sae Ron’s aunt.” However, other media reports have stated that the whistleblower is not actually her [biological] aunt. During the press conference, the bereaved family stated, “The deceased’s mother does not have a married sister [aka an aunt]. Instead, the aunt who was recently interviewed is someone like a mother to Sae Ron, even more than her real mother.” They described her as “closer than a real aunt.” In the media, when someone is called an “aunt,” it generally refers to the mother’s sister. Whether the whistleblower is an actual relative or simply a close acquaintance will significantly impact public trust in the information shared through the media. However, during the press conference, the bereaved family was unclear about whether the whistleblower is truly a relative or just someone close to the family. Recently, several industry insiders have informed us that the whistleblower in question is actually the mother of a different actor.

The most important aspect of a whistleblower’s report is whether the information is true, not the identity of the whistleblower. We are fully aware of this. However, we are bringing up the whistleblower’s identity because the bereaved family stated in their press conference that “targeting a family member is a big mistake.” Yet they also shared private photos of Kim Soo Hyun without his consent. These photos, which were previously revealed in a broadcast featuring Kim Sae Ron, were taken in a home she moved into after becoming an adult. They have no connection to the [minor] timeline of the alleged relationship that the bereaved family claims. Despite this, the bereaved family justified their actions under the guise of “targeting a family member is a serious mistake” and unlawfully disclosed Kim Soo Hyun’s private life. Garo Sero Institute further fueled the situation by repeatedly teasing the release of new photos and exaggerating the context of them with their provocative language. The bereaved family has cited the media coverage of the deceased’s private life as one of the reasons behind her passing. If that is the case, we must ask, what exactly are the bereaved family and Garo Sero Institute doing to Kim Soo Hyun now then?

Garo Sero Institute once again claimed on YouTube that Kim Soo Hyun dated Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor, using a photo posted on June 23, 2017, by a fan SNS account for Kim Sae Ron as evidence. However, the person in the photo is not Kim Soo Hyun, but someone else. They argued that the outfit worn by the person in the photo resembles a product Kim Soo Hyun modeled for. However, the jacket in the photo and the one Kim Soo Hyun advertised are from different brands.

Even though the photo posted became a hot topic, we did not feel the need to respond to groundless suspicions coming from an image where the person’s face isn’t even recognizable. However, the bereaved family is now using this faceless photo as their evidence to claim that Kim Soo Hyun frequently visited the apartment where Kim Sae Ron lived with her family when she was a minor and that they secretly met when her family was not home. Kim Soo Hyun has never been to the apartment that Garo Sero Institute visited, pointing at a specific elevator and saying, “This is the one.” The only people who went there were Garo Sero Institute, not Kim Soo Hyun.

The bereaved family unlawfully disclosed Kim Soo Hyun’s private life simply because the term “closer than a biological aunt” was mentioned. They also had never previously claimed that Kim Soo Hyun frequently visited Kim Sae Ron’s family home when she was a minor or that they secretly met up there. But as soon as that photo gained attention, they suddenly began making these allegations. We urge you to stop creating baseless allegations, using a single unrelated photo or an arbitrary online post to distort the truth and manipulate the narrative.”

— Gold Medalist

Stay tuned for further updates.