Embattled actor Kim Soo-hyun’s agency, Gold Medalist, has filed a criminal complaint against the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron and the operator of the YouTube channel HoverLab (Garosero Research Institute).
Kim Soo-hyun is being accused of dating Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor while his agency is being criticized for allegedly pressuring her to pay her debt, representing damages the company paid to the production company of the Netflix series “Bloodhounds” after the actress got involved in a drunk driving incident in May 2022.
Gold Medalist denied the allegations, saying Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron from 2019 to 2020 when she was an adult. It also said it did not pressure Kim Sae-ron to pay the debt.
Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron (Screenshot from HoverLab videos on YouTube)
The actor is suffering from the fallout of the controversy as brands terminated endorsement contracts.
On March 20, LKB & Partners, a law firm representing Gold Medalist that is also part of the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, filed the complaint against Kim Sae-ron’s family and Kim Se-ui, operator of HoverLab.
The criminal complaint stemmed from a photo of Kim Soo-hyun without pants reportedly taken at Kim Sae-ron’s apartment.
“Gold Medalist, the agency in charge of actor Kim Soo-hyun’s management, has filed a complaint against Kim Se-ui, the operator of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, who posted a photo of actor Kim Soo-hyun with his pants off on a live broadcast of his YouTube channel, and an unnamed person claiming to be the late actress Kim Sae-ron’s aunt, who provided Kim Se-ui with the photo and caused Kim Se-ui to post it, for violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (Distribution of Filming Using a Camera, etc.),” Gold Medalist said in a statement distributed to Korean media.
The agency said, “As mentioned in the previous statement, Gold Medalist is deeply saddened by the news of the death of the late actress Kim Sae-ron, who was once a member of Gold Medalist, and is mourning the deceased.”
It said that the photo in question was taken when Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron were dating.
“However, the photo of actor Kim Soo-hyun posted by Ga Se-yeon on her YouTube channel was taken when actor Kim Soo-hyun and the late actress Kim Sae-ron, who was an adult, were dating, and it is a photo of a body that could cause sexual shame to actor Kim Soo-hyun, and it should not be released to the public, and there is no reason for it to be released,” the agency said.
It pointed out that “posting this on a YouTube channel is clearly a criminal act, and Garosero Research Institute is threatening actor Kim Soo-hyun by saying that it will continue to release the above photo in the future, so Gold Medalist has no choice but to take strong legal action against such actions. Distributing or publicly exhibiting/screening a photo of another person’s body that could cause sexual desire or shame against the will of the subject is a serious crime, and we hope that such actions will not be repeated.”
It accused Kim Sae-ron’s family of spreading lies.
“In addition, the false facts spread by the bereaved family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron and Ga Se-yeon on broadcasts are still spreading in real time on the Internet, continuing to spread groundless rumors,” it said.
The agency said, “Gold Medalist has been refraining from taking legal action against the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron out of condolences to the agency’s mourners following her sudden death. However, the act of distributing unauthorized photos of actor Kim Soo-hyun’s body is a serious act that cannot be overlooked, and there is concern that this will happen again in the future, so we have no choice but to file a complaint against the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron.”
“If the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron and Garosero Research Institute continue to spread false information in the future, Gold Medalist has no choice but to take full legal action for the sake of our agency and the actor’s reputation,” it said.
Under Article 14 (Taking Photographs or Videos by Using Cameras) of South Korea’s Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, “A person who takes photographs or videos of another person's body, which may cause any sexual stimulus or shame against the will of the person who was shot, by using a camera or other mechanism which has functions similar thereto, shall be punished by prison with labor for not more than seven years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won [about $34,000],” according to a copy posted on the Korean Law Information Center.
It also states that “a person who distributes, sells, leases, provides, or openly exhibits or shows (hereinafter referred to as ‘distribution, etc.’) a photograph taken under paragraph (1) or its duplicate (including a duplicate of its duplicate; hereafter in this paragraph, the same shall apply) or a person who makes the distribution, etc. of a photograph or video taken under paragraph (1) or its duplicate against the will of the person shot after the photograph or video taken under paragraph (1) was not against the will of the person shot (including a person who takes his or her body himself/herself) as at the time such photograph or video was taken, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than seven years or by a fine not exceeding 50 million won.”
“For the purpose of making profits by using an information and communications network (hereinafter referred to as ‘information and communications network’) referred to in Article 2 (1) 1 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, a person who commits a crime under paragraph (2) against the will of a person shot, shall be punished by imprison with labor for a limited term of at least three years,” according to the law.