[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

The mother of the late actor Kim Sae-ron and the legal representative of her bereaved family have both been referred to prosecutors as suspects in the case surrounding allegations that actor Kim Soo-hyun had a relationship with Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor. It marks the first time since the allegations emerged in March last year that criminal investigations have extended beyond Kim Se-eui, head of the YouTube channel Gasero Yeonguso, to the bereaved family's side.

Kim Soo-hyun's agency, Gold Medalist, said Monday that criminal charges had been recognized against accomplices who participated alongside Kim Se-eui in a series of offenses including the spread of false information, following Kim Se-eui's arrest and indictment on related charges.

The agency said the accomplices referred this time include the late actor's mother and a person who impersonated her aunt, while the late actor's father was not referred. According to an investigation result notice the agency released alongside its statement, the Seoul Gangnam Police Station referred the two individuals to prosecutors on Tuesday on charges of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, distribution of illegally filmed material under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, and attempted coercion.

Police also separately investigated individuals who had not been named in the original complaint. According to the agency, attorney Boo Ji-seok, who represented the bereaved family, and Kwon Young-chan, operator of the YouTube channel "Kwon Young-chan TV," were also referred. Boo faces defamation charges under both the Criminal Act and the information and communications network law, while Kwon faces charges of distributing illegally filmed material. The agency said the two led two press conferences using fabricated KakaoTalk messages and AI-manipulated audio recordings.

The dispute began March 10 last year, less than a month after Kim Sae-ron's death. Gasero Yeonguso aired an interview with the bereaved family claiming Kim Soo-hyun had dated Kim Sae-ron from Nov. 19, 2015, when she was 15, through July 7, 2021. Four days later, Kim Soo-hyun's side acknowledged the two had dated from the summer of 2019, when Kim Sae-ron came of age, through the fall of 2020, but denied allegations of a relationship during her minor years and of pressure to repay debts.

The bereaved family held back-to-back press conferences — on March 17 outside the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and on March 27 in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Attorney Boo, Kwon and Kim Se-eui all appeared at the March 17 event. At the March 27 conference, Boo presented messenger chat logs as evidence, claiming the late actor had dated Kim Soo-hyun for six years beginning when she was a minor. The family later released an audio recording purportedly of a conversation between the late actor and a "New Jersey tipster," and in May last year filed a complaint against Kim Soo-hyun for violations of the Child Welfare Act.

The Seoul Seongdong Police Station declined to refer the family's complaint against Kim Soo-hyun to prosecutors, citing insufficient evidence — a decision that became public in July. Police found that the recording may have been fabricated and that forensic analysis of the late actor's mobile phone yielded insufficient objective evidence to support the allegations.

Kim Se-eui was indicted in custody on June 23 last year on charges of defamation under the information and communications network law, distribution of illegally filmed material, violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, attempted coercion and intimidation. The indictment alleged he spread false information 25 times on his YouTube channel. A Gasero Yeonguso employee told police during the investigation that Kim Se-eui had instructed staff to change the name of an unidentified KakaoTalk contact listed as "Unknown" to "Kim Soo-hyun." In September, ahead of the launch of the new prosecution office, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office moved to preserve land owned by Kim Se-eui, treating approximately 169.4 million won ($128,000) he earned through donations and advertising as criminal proceeds.

Separately from this case, Kwon had already been referred by the Seoul Seocho Police Station on some defamation charges under the information and communications network law following a complaint filed by Kim Soo-hyun fans. Kwon has maintained that he was not specifically referring to Kim Soo-hyun and the late actor, but was merely explaining general grooming tactics.

The central disputes are being contested in Kim Se-eui's trial. The agency's statement characterized the audio recording as AI voice manipulation "confirmed by investigative authorities." Kim Se-eui's defense countered at the second pretrial hearing, held Wednesday before the 26th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, that the National Forensic Service had only responded that it was difficult to determine whether the recording was a "deep voice" — an AI-synthesized voice — based on the materials provided. The defense also argued that the late actor's mother had stated she was certain the voice in the recording was her daughter's.

The distribution of illegally filmed material charge is also contested. In March last year, Gasero Yeonguso released a photo of Kim Soo-hyun doing dishes without pants at the late actor's home, prompting the agency to file a complaint against the bereaved family and Gasero Yeonguso. Kim Se-eui's defense has argued the photo was "an ordinary picture taken by the late actor at her own residence" and does not constitute material that causes sexual humiliation.

The individual the agency referred to as "the person who impersonated the aunt" is someone who was introduced as Kim Sae-ron's aunt on a Gasero Yeonguso broadcast last year. The late actor's mother explained in March last year that the person was actually the mother of another child actor Kim Sae-ron had met while working as a child actor around age six, describing her as "just like a real aunt."

The trial of Kim Se-eui is also intertwined with those now referred. At the Wednesday pretrial hearing, prosecutors said they intended to call five witnesses and mentioned Gold Medalist's representative, Director Lee Ro-be (Lee Sa-rang), adding that they would also consider calling attorney Boo and Kwon as witnesses. The court rejected Kim Se-eui's request for a citizen participation trial. When Kim Se-eui applied for bail, prosecutors asked the court to include a ban on YouTube broadcasts as a bail condition, arguing that his release could cause further harm.

Kim Soo-hyun, who had halted public activities since the allegations surfaced, resumed his official schedule in July with an overseas advertising shoot — his first public engagement in one year and four months. In a statement last November, the late actor's mother said, "Whether the evidence has been fabricated and whose account is correct will soon be revealed through the results of the investigative authorities' probe."


shee@heraldcorp.com