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(From left) South Korean actors Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron. Photos from actors' Instagram accounts
South Korean police have concluded that allegations actor Kim Soo-hyun dated the late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor were false, local media reported Thursday.
The accusations made by a YouTube channel against Soo-hyun, star of the 2024 TV drama "Queen of Tears," were based on AI-manipulated material, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported, citing an arrest warrant application for the channel's head.
The materials reportedly included fabricated screenshots from messaging app KakaoTalk and an audio file manipulated using AI, which police said the channel head knowingly used to make false claims against Soo-hyun, who has largely stepped out of the public eye following the controversy.
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The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has filed the arrest warrant against the channel's head, Kim Se-eui, with a warrant review hearing scheduled for May 26 at a court in the South Korean capital, according to the JoongAng Daily.
Sae-ron's relatives, through the YouTube channel, also claimed that Soo-hyun dated Sae-ron when she was underage.
Soo-hyun has personally denied the allegations, saying he had dated Sae-ron but not when she was underaged. Both actors were once in the same management company.
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Apart from "Queen of Tears," his last series that aired before the controversy erupted, Soo-hyun is also known for starring in hit dramas such as "Dream High," "Moon Embracing the Sun," "My Love from the Star," "The Producers" and "It's Okay to Not Be Okay."
Sae-ron, meanwhile, was once a promising child actor best known for the 2010 film "The Man from Nowhere." She became largely inactive in the entertainment industry following a drunk driving incident in 2022.
The actress was found dead at her home in February 2025 at the age of 24.
Korean actress Kim Sae-ron found dead: reports
FROM THE ARCHIVES