Kim Soo Hyun Admits Having Dated Kim Sae Ron

Embroiled in an escalating controversy over the death of Korea’s once-beloved actress Kim Sae Ron, who was found dead in her home on February 16, Queen of Tears and My Love From the Star actor Kim Soo Hyun is now under intense media spotlight.

Scandal Explained

Exposing photos of Kim Soo Hyun kissing Kim Sae Ron on the cheek, Korean YouTube channel HoverLab has alleged that the two have dated from six years from 2015 when she was still a legal minor. In response, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency Goldmedalist U-turned from its earlier stance of denial, claiming on March 14 that the actor had dated her but only after she was already a legal adult, and that the two’s relationship lasted from summer of 2019 till autumn of 2020 – a point which netizens have cast under doubt.

Korean local press has rounded up three suspicions in Kim Soo Hyun’s side of the story as told by his agency, criticizing the actor for seemingly evading his culpability over her death, choosing to take the easier way out by quietly leaving the country after issuing the statement through his agency.

Inconsistencies in Kim Soo Hyun’s Allegations:

#1. Self-contradicting
Goldmedallist’s statement claimed that the two had dated from summer of 2019 to autumn of 2020 (when Kim Sae-Ron was 19), thus refuting underage dating claims. However, it later claimed that HoverLab’s photo of the two had been taken in winter of 2020, which contradicted its earlier claims about the couple having broken up in autumn that same year.

#2. “Burpees Suck” Tee Dated to 2014

The statement also claimed that a later-deleted IG story posted by Kim Sae-Ron close to the crack of dawn on March 24, 2024 had been taken in winter of 2020, on the same day as another photo later exposed by HoverLab on March 11, 2025. Goldmedallist insisted that the two celebrities were dating then and that Kim Sae Ron’s “Burpees Suck” T-shirt was a certain brand’s design from June of 2019, refuting HoverLab’s claim that the photo had been taken in 2016 when Kim Sae-Ron was still a minor. However, the T-shirt design was later traced back to a brand’s 2014 release, thus proving the agency’s story less credible.

#3. A Truth-telling Mole

Reports also pointed out that Kim Soo Hyun had removed a face mole after he enlisted in national service in the year 2017; that his mole was still apparent in the IG story posted by Kim Sae-Ron is evidence that it could not have been taken in 2020 as Goldmedallist had claimed.

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