On the morning of September 13th, Dispatch caused a stir by publishing an exclusive article claiming that Kim Soo Hyun was slandered by the family of the late actress Kim Sae Ron and the Garo Sero Institute through the fabrication of shocking and intimate text messages to falsely accuse him. According to the report, Kim Soo Hyun was involved in a serious controversy related to intimate text messages on KakaoTalk, allegedly recording a conversation between Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron in 2016. One particularly noteworthy message was: “When can I hug you to sleep?”, sparking numerous speculations about the relationship between the two actors, leading to rumors that Kim Soo Hyun had a relationship with Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor.

Despite repeatedly denying the allegations and presenting evidence to prove his innocence, the actor from “My Love from the Star” still faced a wave of criticism and sarcasm from the public. Under increasing public pressure, Kim Soo Hyun reportedly requested authorities to investigate and verify the authenticity of the circulating evidence. The case subsequently attracted further attention when information related to the verification process of the electronic data was released.

According to the information provided, the digital forensic examination process focuses on various electronic devices previously used by Kim Sae Ron, including iPhone 7, iPhone 8, iPhone SE, and iPhone 13 mini models, along with data stored on the N Cloud service. The goal is to determine the origin, integrity, and true identity of the controversial text messages.

According to Dispatch’s investigation, the KakaoTalk messages from 2016 that were used as evidence to accuse the actor of dating a minor actually belonged to another artist, referred to as A. Notably, the sender’s identity in the original data was altered, making Kim Soo Hyun the target of controversial accusations. This conclusion was reached by the police after comparing nearly 200 screenshots of Kim Sae Ron’s KakaoTalk messages.

Regarding the legal dating period, during 2017-2018, Kim Sae Ron and Kim Soo Hyun only communicated by phone three times. The intimate photos used as “evidence” to accuse the actor of dating a minor were actually taken in 2019-2020. At that time, Kim Sae Ron was already a university student, consistent with Kim Soo Hyun’s claim that they only dated when she was an adult. Data extracted from the devices examined also found no evidence confirming that the two actors began dating in 2016.

Kim Sae Ron’s family allegedly intentionally cropped out artist A’s name from the original image. Meanwhile, Kim Se Ui, the head of the Garo Sero Institute YouTube channel, instructed staff to edit the original conversation, changing the sender’s name from “Unidentified” to “Kim Soo Hyun,” in order to falsely accuse the actor. The editing staff confessed to the police about this instruction.

According to Dispatch, Kim Se Ui and the Garo Sero Institute profited from fake news. While Kim Soo Hyun became the victim of public backlash, the channel live-streamed defamatory content more than 25 times, illegally profiting a total of 169.4 million won (3.273 billion VND), including 115 million won (2.222 billion VND) in advertising revenue and 54.4 million won (1.051 billion VND) in sponsorships.

Dispatch’s post once again proves Kim Soo Hyun’s integrity, that he was a victim of malicious defamation and slander aimed at ruining his reputation. Previously, on July 29th, the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul decided not to transfer the case to the prosecutors due to lack of evidence and forwarded the file for review. Since the prosecutors did not request further investigation or reinvestigation, the police’s decision was considered complete, officially closing the investigation approximately 1 year and 4 months after the complaint was filed.

After being cleared of wrongdoing, Kim Soo Hyun quickly returned to the entertainment industry, his first activity being a photoshoot for the Philippine fashion brand BENCH. On August 23rd, Kim Soo Hyun traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia, to attend the live broadcast of Mahakarya RCTI 37, celebrating the 37th anniversary of RCTI television station. The actor will continue to participate in year-end awards ceremonies such as The Fact Music Awards and the Asia Artist Awards. On September 11th, he officially won his lawsuit against Mido, the watch brand that terminated their agreement and filed a lawsuit against Kim Soo Hyun demanding the return of 570 million won (approximately 10.7 billion VND) in performance fees after the actor was involved in a personal scandal.

Source: Dispatch