Actor Kim Soo-hyun reiterated that he did not date the late Kim Sae-ron during her minor years, while emphasizing that he has no connection to her death.
On the afternoon of the 31st, Kim Soo-hyun held an emergency press conference at the Stanford Hotel in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, marking his first official appearance since the controversy. He was accompanied by his legal representative from LK Partners.
"In fact, I was scared every day," Kim Soo-hyun tearfully expressed. "Because I am the star Kim Soo-hyun, I was afraid of what would happen if everything I chose to protect myself turned against me. I was scared of everything. If I could go back to that time, I would make the same choice again," revealing the fact that he had no choice but to deny his relationship with Kim Sae-ron as the star Kim Soo-hyun.
Kim Soo-hyun stated, "Even at this moment, I have many worries. And I feel anxious. I wonder what the outcome of what I am saying now will be. But because I am that kind of person, I thought I had to speak up." He added, "I shouldn't have received threats every day about what photos I would post tomorrow or what I would reveal. I wouldn't have been humiliated by the leaks of my private life. But I couldn't do that. I couldn't accept being forced to acknowledge lies as truths while being threatened."
"I will talk about the part you are most curious about," Kim Soo-hyun declared. "I did not date the deceased when she was a minor. It is also not true that she made a tragic choice because of my appearance or because my agency pressured her regarding her debts," he emphasized.
Kim Soo-hyun explained, "Aside from the fact that we are both actors, the deceased and I were ordinary lovers like anyone else. We met with good feelings and eventually broke up over time. After that, we rarely contacted each other," adding, "Like most couples, it was a cautious matter to keep in touch after breaking up. Both of us were actors known to many people, and when the deceased was with the same agency as me, I had some understanding of how she was doing, which made it even more cautious."
Kim Soo-hyun, who shed tears again, said, "So even when the deceased had a drunk driving accident, it was not easy to contact her. I heard from a YouTube channel representing the deceased's family that the last agency representative said she was struggling because of me during the drunk driving incident." He continued, "But at that time, I believe she was dating someone else. In that situation, it was cautious to contact her. We were already living our own lives, and I didn't know what to say."
He added, "My words may sound like excuses. I sometimes want to stay silent regardless of what people say. I have always received more love than I deserve, but I also receive many misunderstandings. Things that are not true circulate as if they are true. I thought that was something I had to bear. However, the deceased's family claims that I drove her to death because I was her ex-boyfriend. They are also forcing me to confess to things I did not do. They say I toyed with her since she was a minor, that I pressured her with money until she died. So they say I am a murderer," and he could not hold back his tears again.
Afterward, Kim Soo-hyun played a recording that refuted the family's position, stating, "The family claimed that the agency pressured the deceased regarding her debts by sending a second notice. However, in a phone call with the agency representative a year ago, they said something completely different." He added, "I will acknowledge any wrongdoing I have done. I believe it is natural to take responsibility if there is something I need to be accountable for. But I cannot say I did something I did not do. The voice evidence the family claims to have is something that was newly recorded after the incident was exposed."
Regarding the KakaoTalk messages presented by the family, he stated, "There are many incorrect facts that make it hard to say the deceased wrote them. The photo claimed to be from 2016 was actually from 2019. The deceased could not have made a mistake about the age difference between us. Also, they cannot be wrong about the name of the agency and the contract period they were with for four years. The deceased only worked as an affiliated actor at our company. There is no record of her working in rookie casting or visual directing."
Currently, the family of Kim Sae-ron claims that she dated Kim Soo-hyun from the age of 15 for six years and that she suffered from the pressure of her former agency to repay the 700 million won penalty that arose after the drunk driving incident.
On the other hand, when Kim Sae-ron posted a photo of herself with Kim Soo-hyun in April last year, denying their relationship, Kim Soo-hyun changed his stance to acknowledge the relationship after the family released photos proving it, while maintaining that they only dated for a year after she became an adult and that they never dated during her minor years.
Additionally, the family of the late Sulli has also raised issues regarding exposure scenes from the past film "Real," demanding an explanation from Kim Soo-hyun.
[Geum Bit-na, MK Sports Reporter]
