Kim Soo-Hyun Under Fire: What REALLY Happened? | S&T Chats

Oh my gosh, I am overwhelmed, I am shocked, oh my gosh, I'm in denial, oh gosh, and I'm in like disbelief like and I don't know what to believe. What happened? I feel like the world is collapsing you guys, seriously. Hello, welcome to S&T chats. Well today I think we're gonna talk about Korea's entertainment, the biggest scandal that's ever happened. Yeah, or at least one of the biggest. Yeah, Kim Soo Hoon. I think almost everybody knows him, maybe some don't, just a little brief introduction of him. He's the main lead in Love from the Star. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like that was the first one I saw and that drama just blew up. Yeah, it did, it did. And he's also from like Queen of Tears last year, like that was like top top viewing drama in history. It's about him and Kim Se Rang. She recently passed away and she died really young. In short words, they think Kim Soo Hoon drove Kim Se Rang to her death. So the cause of her death is suicide. Oh. Yes, it was found suicide, someone found her in her room. There's no suicide note? No, there's no suicide note, but after investigation and everything it was, they defined it as suicide. Oh. So what's very interesting is her death is on his birthday. Okay. Yes. So she timed it? I guess. So she died on February 16th, 2025. Okay. Kim Soo Hoon was born on February 16th, 1988. Yes. Okay, let me just give you a huge like a timeline of this whole thing, but this thing is still going on and it's just crazy. When I first saw it, I was just shocked. I am still shocked. I'm in denial. I don't know what to believe. Like I'm a fan of him, his drama. I don't know what to say. Okay, so this is what happened. On Monday, March 10th, a video on YouTube channel, the Grassroots Research Institute, Korean YouTube channel, showed Kim Se Ryeon's aunt. She came out with a lot of allegations about Kim Soo Hoon. So one thing, first thing she said was that she claimed the actor was in a six-year relationship with Kim Se Ryeon, and she was reportedly only 15 at the time they started. She's a minor. Right, right. Still a minor. Yeah. So Kim Se Ryeon got into a DUI case in 2022. She drove drunken and bumped into something. Yeah, that I heard. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Apparently, there was someone else in the car with her? Yes, there was. It's also an actor. Yeah. And she accused Kim Se Ryeon's agency, Gold Medalist, causing financial struggles on Kim Se Ryeon, leading to her tragic death. And then a photo of Kim Se Ryeon and Kim Se Ryeon kissing and being close together became viral. That's when the whole thing became super viral. Okay. Because it kind of confirmed they were in a relationship, right? So Gold Medalist was found in 2019 by a co-founder with Kim Se Ryeon and his cousin. Oh. Co-founder. Okay. Yes. And he started his own agency, and Kim Se Ryeon used to be part of that agency as well. Okay. He, he owned the agency, and he's also a part of the agency. That kind of makes sense, right? Okay. So after all, like, the aunt, like, all the allegations that she came out with, Gold Medalist came out with a statement and said, denied everything. Okay. So they said, nothing is true, they're based on no facts, blah, blah, blah. But what about the picture, though? Okay, so the picture, yeah, it's going viral, right? But they're saying this, and they're like, okay, give us a week, and we'll come out with a statement of everything. So when Kim Se Ryeon founded his company in 2019, Gold Medalist, Kim Se Ryeon decided to join him. Because the aunt said they were in a relationship, so it was obvious that she was going to join him. And that he kind of said, oh, I'll take you, and I'll protect you. Because they were in a relationship, she worked for free a lot of times during the agency, like offering free acting classes, and she didn't get paid for a lot of those jobs. Oh, what the heck? Yeah, this is all said by the aunt. And then, after the drunk driving accident, Kim Se Ryeon was fined a huge amount. And it was about 700 million won. That's about $480,000. Oh, dang. Yes. And so Gold Medalist offered to pay this fine for her. And the company didn't ask for Kim Se Ryeon for any refund or anything. Okay. And during that time, the aunt and the mom was really happy for Kim Se Ryeon, and thankful, and gratitude to Kim Se Ryeon for helping her out. But then after her accident, I think the Korea social media, like the entertainment, is just so much bully as well. So she got a lot of bully. And then she eventually left the company. Oh. Yeah, she left the company. And she kind of even left like, you know, just went quiet. But then in 2024, one day, Kim Se Ryeon, all of a sudden got a text message from Gold Medalist saying, you have to pay us back the fine that we paid for you. No. Yes. This is all what the aunt saying. This is all on side of the story. Okay. And then... But there should be proof that they're asking for the money back though. There's no proof. I don't... On her cell phone maybe? There wasn't any text message screenshot of it. I'm not really sure. But then the aunt did share a screenshot of Kim Se Ryeon supposedly reaching out to Kim Se Ryeon saying, oh, oppa, like, can you, you know, I got this message. Are you suing me? Are you asking me money back? Like, okay, I'll pay it. But can you give me time? Please Oh, my God. Yeah. And then when the really famous last year, the Korean K-drama, Queen of Tears, that blew the whole like, internet aired, like Kim Se Hoon, she posted a photo of her and Kim Se Hoon like on Instagram, hoping to get his attention. But she posted like really quick and deleted immediately. And I remember that time that year, that thing did happen. But she like deleted it immediately. And then it just disappeared. She wanted to get his attention. Right. But however, because of that picture that she posted, like people took screenshots of it, of course. And then Kim Se Hoon and gold medalists obviously came out with issue an official statement and painted like Kim Se Hoon as a negative way. Yeah. Yeah. And then ignored her interaction of trying to You know, her aunts like she really can't pay the 700 million won even started working at cafes working at jobs. And then she was working at this cafe. The boss originally didn't know who she was. And then later, like some customer noticed that it was her. And then the boss was like, okay, I gotta fire you. Like she couldn't even work to pay. Why would the boss fire her though? I guess he was just it would cause too much trouble. I think she was really bullied by the Korean media in the entertainment industry. Because of this difficulty, you know, and all this she committed suicide. That's what her aunt is saying. I mean, it does sound like it would lead to depression, which would lead to suicide. And I think the guy Kim Se Hoon is kind of irresponsible. Okay, so this is Kim Se Hoon side of the story, or at least gold medalists side of the story, because Kim Se Hoon hasn't said anything. Well, his lawyer is probably telling him to don't say anything. Otherwise, you're gonna mess it up. So supposedly, like, when he got the message from Saeron, the girl, he asked them like, Oh, what should I like, did you guys send this like gold medalist said that Kim Se Hoon didn't know anything. He's the boss of the company, isn't he? He's at least a co founder. Yes. Okay. So that's my question, too. He is the co founder, but they do have directors. It's a huge company. But I mean, like, if you do, if you make an action that's gonna affect like your co founder, wouldn't you let your co founder know beforehand? Hey, we're gonna do this. Like you watch out for like all that media. They have an explanation of why they sent that text. So they did send a text asking her for money. Okay. But when Kim Se Hoon received Saeron's message, the agency told him to not respond. Okay, let them deal with it. That's why he didn't respond her back or and then she thought he was ignoring her. Okay, so why did gold medalist ask for money? Yes. Why? Because in beginning of 2024, during an accounting audit, the agency had to decide how to handle its claims against Kim Se Hoon. Legal accounting firms advised that if the agency wrote off the debt without any collection efforts, it could be seen as an unjustified exemption, potentially harming the company and leading to legal issues for executives. Therefore, it was necessary to demonstrate that she was in a state of unrecoverable financial distress. That's what they say. So basically, to write off that 700 million won, they're like, hey, we need the money back to show the country that we are getting we are trying to get the money back. But since the company isn't communicating with the girl, the girl basically got into depression, because she's worried about repaying the money. And she has reached out to the company multiple times about it. And nobody replied her. She never reached out to the company. She only reached out to Kim Se Hoon because she thinks that he is the company. Oh, okay. Yes. But we don't who reached out to her regarding the collection of the gold medalist. Oh, but she never replied to that. No. So gold medalist saying like Kim Se Hoon doesn't know anything about like legal wise. Yeah, she doesn't know. That's why she's like becoming like this. To establish this, the agency sent out a formal notice to her. This was not an attempt to pressure her for repayment, but a procedural step to confirm that the debt was officially being written off. Additionally, if her debt was forgiven, there was a risk that she would have to pay a gift tax on the amount waived. The message she sent to Kim Se Hoon on March 19, 2024, regarding her financial situation must be understood in this context. And you know, gold medalist just says that she left the agency and lacks significant knowledge, legal knowledge regarding her debt. Because it is even though the company paid for her, it is ultimately still her debt. There's also one thing that gold medalist said. So they said that from her perspective, it is likely that she believed she was completely freed from her financial obligations to gold medalist. Therefore, linking her passing, which occurred a year later to this financial matter is an extreme and unfolded speculation. Gold medalist made every effort to support her and even foregoing repayment while ensuring she would not incur additional tax liabilities. The agency also set the interest and late fees on the debt at zero percent. So basically, she's still paying gold medalist a certain amount. I don't know. This is like too legal for me. Yeah, I think gold medalist is just like saying a lot of legal jargon. Yes, they're very good. Yeah, they're very good. And I think that if Kim Se Hoon's family have enough proof, I think they can probably win this case. They're not suing him, but Kim Se Hoon is actually suing them. Because what for the aunts, you know, all these false false allegations. So for them being together. OK, yes. So first they denied everything she said. Right. But then later they came out with a post, a statement and confirmed that they did date it. Oh, so it's not it is true. So basically, there's two things that's happening. Right. First, the girl is said that they're dating the boy. The boy is like, no, I didn't date you. And then they later found out that, yes, they were dating. Yes. And then the second part is that the companies that you owe us money. And then the girl is like, oh, my God, I don't have money. And then she tried reaching out to the guy and then the guy is not saying anything. And then she got into depression and eventually she suicided. So this is their the gold medalist confirms Kim Se Hoon and Kim Se Hoon's relationship. So they say they dated at 16 years old. No, no, no, no, no. They dated from summer 2019 to autumn 2020. It was after Kim Se Hoon became an adult. It wasn't when she was 15. So it is not true that Kim Se Hoon dated Kim Se Hoon when she was a minor. This is the official statement that they came out to confirm that, yes, they were in a relationship, but no, not when she was in a minor. I mean, they could be dating and not be in a relationship when she was still a minor. And and then the photo, you know, that photo, Instagram photo that Kim Se Hoon posted of them together on March 24th. The gold medalist said that that photo was taken in the winter of 2020. So that photo cannot justify that he dated her when she was a minor. I feel like I feel like gold medalists lawyer are just like are just like grabbing on to the point that the picture was taken in 2020 and be like, see proof that they're not they're dating like when she's of legal age. Yeah. Yeah. But, you know, they do have a screenshot of a text message of her pleading, you know, and it's like she's like begging for her to let her live. Because she didn't have money to. Yeah, like that much money. Yeah. But I did see something like this one is really touching, though, about, you know, Won Bin, like in another actor that acted with Sae Rong when she I think they were in the movie The Unknown or something. He was like, do you need help with the debt issues? Numbers are not important. And then Kim Sae Rong was like, thank you, uncle. But this time I want to solve it myself. But he did anonymously transferred about 230 million Korean won to Kim Sae Rong's mother account with only three words to buy an ice cream. So yeah, this is what's been going on. And they're just it's just crazy. And then, you know, Kim Sae Hoon, he has 15 different sponsors, like sponsorships, and like huge ones, and they're all pulling out right now. He's even the face of Prada, I think, and they're pulling out as well. But you know, another side of this whole scandal. Yeah, right now, like I'm in denial, like I'm in disbelief, but like, is he this bad? Like, you know, but it does seem like what Dawn's saying is, you know, true and everything. Well, I mean, you see, like, I don't really watch like K-drama and K-reality stuff. But then like on Instagram and Facebook, you see like reels. And then like, I do see reels of Kim Soo Hyun, the guy. And then on the TV reality shows, he does like act like he's like, kind of slow, done with it. But then like, cute, you know, and really nice. It's like, is he acting? Like, is he really like that? Childhood isn't the best. He, his father was in an affair when he was younger. So he was, he grew up with his mom. So a single mom. Yeah, so it was pretty hard. Hardship as well. Yeah. You know, I just have to say, like, he's an actor. He's not like a face, like a pretty boy face. Like he really puts an effort to act. Like, when you watch his K-dramas, like, it really like touches you and like brings you in, you know. So there's other side of this, you know, and I saw this post and I just thought it was like, kind of like a kind of like, you know, question as well. So her family at that time didn't say anything when they started their relationship. They allowed a whole six years of them dating. The girl's family? Yes, the girl's family. So they knew? Yes. Well, yeah, the aunt said they knew. The aunt is saying that they dated from when she was 15 years old. Yeah, and they dated for six years. And then they broke up in 2021, right? Kim Soohyun, he doesn't completely run his company. Right. Like he has board of directors. He has managers, accountant, legal attorneys, etc. Yeah. Yeah. He didn't decide like personally on his own to ask that money back. And for those, you know, executives, it is part of their job legally and accountant to do those things. That is debt because it is business. I mean, if business is business, they shouldn't have paid off her DUI payment in the first place. I don't know. But then like, when she was struggling financially, where was her family at? And why is the aunt coming out with all this after her death? Yeah, to get money? Exactly. What but why didn't you come out with when she was like suffering? Yeah. Before she hit that point? Yeah. Like, why didn't you help her come out, speak out for her then? So basically, Kim Saerom, all her life, she's basically the one that's making the money. Yeah, she's a childlike star. Right. So she's the breadwinner of the family. Yeah. So that basically puts a lot of pressure on her what since she was young, which kind of does make sense that she would easily make rash decisions when she heard about returning this big lump of money. Yeah. But then I do think like, why the aunt? Why are you coming out with this right now? Like, why didn't you help her come out when she was alive? Right. And then she can also speak her part. Right. Like it just like you just want money right now. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's just saying that because there's so many incidents of Korean entertainment industry, so many young stars, because of these things get bullied by the media fans. In Korea, it's called they're called sasaeng fans. Yeah. And then it ultimately all leads them to kind of suicide. Yeah. Or some kind and it's like this. And it's just saying like, do we want another one? Like, okay, maybe he is wrong. Like he should, you know, do his due diligence. Yeah. But like, do we need a bully to this point? Because right now it's just it's crazy. Like, I've been seeing a lot of like Chinese like the weenie videos, like everyone's just saying that, oh, he dated a minor. And then he's asking for her to pay like this much money back. And he is a crazy like person. So basically, he's getting a lot of hate. A lot. He lost like a half a million fans within a few days. I mean, I feel like we can't like just decide what we want to decide based on the information that we have. We can talk about it, you know, like what we're doing. But we can't be like, oh, yeah, they're wrong. He's wrong. They're wrong. It's like, no, like, we don't have enough information to do that, you know. And plus, we're not in a position to do that. Exactly. And I think but I do have to say one thing. I think the aunt saying the statement that he drove her to her suicide is a little over over the Yeah, little bit over. Yeah. Because I don't think it was just him. Like he might have played like this a little bit, but she was constantly being bullied by the media. Like, since her driving incidents. Yeah, it's ultimately it's the Korean media. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I feel like it's not even just the media. It's also just fans. You know, I've actually seen another Korean entertainment related video on Instagram. And it basically said apparently like this one guy from iPhone and another girl called winter or something. They were like supposedly dating. And then the entertainment their agency was like, no, they're not dating. But even after the entertainment gave out statements, sassing fangs, this guy sassing fangs still went to the girls like idol meeting place and was like, like berating her. They were like, Oh, how could you do that? Like, how could you? He's my husband. And then it was so bad. Like basically see like, the fans are crazy. They're just like hoarding them. Yeah, it's like seriously, people are like, we get that they're idols. But then there's still people. Yeah, yeah, I think yeah, that's a really important like thing that you said like, they have feelings. Yeah, they're still humans. Yeah, they're still humans. Yeah. So yeah, the world is falling apart. I just felt like just so many bad news. And yeah, yeah, there's nothing good. Can you tell me a good news? Well, the good news is, let's not be cray cray. And let's think logically don't let our emotions like control our actions, you know, so even if you love somebody, if you even if you like that, I don't like, you know, be logical, don't, don't hate, you know, because, you know, karma, it's gonna bite you in the ass. Yeah, I think the internet is very powerful. It can be powerfully good, do really good, but it can be powerfully like evil as well. Yeah, like, especially like behind the keyboard and a screen. Nobody knows you and you just leave like a horrible comment. And you don't know how it affects that person. Yeah, whatever. Yeah. So just try to stay kind, be good. Yeah. Passion. Yeah. Be be true to yourself. Yeah. Treat others the way you want to be treated like that. That's the thing we learned when we were kindergarten. Yeah. I remember my teacher always say that treat others the way you want to be treated. Yeah, I feel like that's not being said anymore. Yeah, it's like people don't even care about that. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, that's a that's a really good old saying. Yeah, no, just let's just just start respecting each other first, you know, not just like face to face, but also online, you know, let's just start practicing. If you have nothing good to say, don't say it. Well, you didn't tell me a good news. But anyway, that's it for today. We'll see you next time. Remember to like and subscribe. We'll see you. Bye