Actor Kim Soo-hyun. [Herald Muse]
Actor Kim Soo-hyun. [Herald Muse]

Actor Kim Soo-hyun, 38, is set to be cleared of allegations that he groomed the late Kim Sae-ron during her time as a minor, with the case heading toward a no-charge conclusion.

According to legal sources, the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors Office returned the case file to Seoul Seongdong Police Station on Thursday without requesting any supplementary investigation. The case involved allegations that Kim violated the Child Welfare Act and filed a false complaint.

Seongdong Police Station had already decided on July 29 not to refer the case to prosecutors, concluding there was insufficient evidence to substantiate the charges against Kim. After prosecutors reviewed the file and returned it without ordering a reinvestigation, the police's decision not to refer the case was formally confirmed.

The controversy erupted in May last year when the family of the late Kim Sae-ron and Kim Se-eui, head of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, filed a complaint against Kim Soo-hyun on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act and filing a false report.

The family and Kim Se-eui alleged that Kim Soo-hyun had dated the late actress from when she was a minor and subjected her to sexual and emotional abuse, commonly referred to as grooming. Kim Se-eui also filed a counter-complaint against Kim Soo-hyun for defamation after Kim Soo-hyun sued him on the same charge.

The investigation found that the key evidence underpinning the allegations had been fabricated. Police concluded that audio recordings of the late actress that Kim Se-eui's side released at a press conference and on broadcasts were forged using generative AI, and that screenshots of KakaoTalk conversations purportedly exchanged with Kim Soo-hyun were maliciously manipulated from chats with another person.

Ko Sang-rok, the attorney representing Kim Soo-hyun, said police had conducted a thorough investigation covering the full scope of the allegations, including the period through 12th grade — generally considered the final year of legal minority. "After comprehensively reviewing the submitted materials, statements and the factual circumstances between the two at the time, police determined there were no grounds whatsoever to find a violation of the Child Welfare Act," Ko said.

Meanwhile, Kim Se-eui, who faces charges including defamation through the spread of false information, was arrested under a warrant issued in May and indicted in June. Prosecutors charged him with defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, as well as violations of the Stalking Punishment Act and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, along with attempted coercion and intimidation. His trial schedule is currently being arranged after the defense applied for a citizen participation trial.


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