South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun has been cleared of allegations that he violated the country's Child Welfare Act after police found insufficient evidence to support claims that he had been in a relationship with the late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was still a minor.
Sae-ron was found dead in her home in Seoul's Seongdong District in February 2025. Before her passing, the actress had largely stepped away from the entertainment industry following her drunk driving incident in May 2022.
According to several South Korean media outlets on July 29, the Seoul Seongdong Police Station has concluded its investigation and decided not to refer the case to prosecutors after determining there was not enough evidence to support the accusations.
Back in March 2025, Soo-hyun broke down in tears as he personally addressed the issue for the first time.
“I did not date her when she was a minor,” Soo-hyun said at the news conference at the time. “Apart from the fact that we were both actors, we were just an ordinary couple like anyone else. We had feelings for each other, and as time passed, we eventually parted ways. After that, we rarely kept in touch.”
The formal complaint against Soo-hyun was filed by Sae-ron's family in May 2025. They alleged that the actor had been romantically involved with her when she was still a minor, claiming the relationship began while she was in her second year of middle school. Based on those allegations, the family accused him of violating the Child Welfare Act, among other offenses.
During a press conference, Sae-ron's bereaved family also presented what they claimed was an audio recording of the late actress speaking with an acquaintance before her death. In the recording, she allegedly said that she had dated Soo-hyun "from middle school until entering college, and then we broke up."
The Queen of Tears actor's camp, however, repeatedly denied that the relationship started while Sae-ron was underage. Although his representatives acknowledged that the two had dated, they maintained that the relationship only began after she had reached adulthood.
His side also challenged the audio recording released by the family, arguing that the voice recording in which Sae-ron was discussing their relationship had been fabricated through artificial intelligence (AI).
After reviewing the evidence submitted during the investigation, police concluded that there was no legal basis to support the child abuse-related allegations against the actor.
A police official also explained that the audio recording could not be treated as reliable evidence because investigators believed it had been edited or manipulated.
"The case was closed due to insufficient evidence," the official said, as cited by The Korea Times.
With no evidence strong enough to substantiate the accusations, authorities decided to end the investigation without recommending prosecution.
Sae-ron's family has yet to release a statement on the decision, as of writing.
Meanwhile, Soo-hyun has started returning to public activities after taking a year-long break following the controversy.
Earlier this July, he resumed his entertainment career through his ongoing endorsement with a Philippine fashion brand, marking his first official public appearance since March 2025.