Kim Soo-hyun's representatives have firmly denied claims of a past relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron during his military service, presenting a collection of handwritten letters to his actual girlfriend at the time as evidence.
Attorney Ko Sang-rok from the law firm Phil, representing Kim Soo-hyun, stated on the 30th, "The actor had a real girlfriend from 2016 until the spring of 2019."
He further explained that during his service in the frontline DMZ reconnaissance unit, Kim wrote diary-style letters to his girlfriend. Attorney Ko noted, "The diary, which began right after his unit assignment on January 2, 2018, evolved into letters sharing daily life and feelings with his girlfriend, totaling about 150 entries by the spring of 2019, just before his discharge."
Ko emphasized that instead of mailing these letters, Kim showed the originals to his girlfriend during his leave, who then wrote responses directly on them. The first letter revealed includes the line, "In the moon, the stars, the rain, the snow, in all the forests, in the wind, in every scene, in this cold, every hour, my day is you."
The letters also contain explicit expressions of affection, such as "What I did for you, what I could do, why I did it, why it was lacking, it always comes back to an irreparable sense of apology and gratitude," "I want to write your name so much, but I can't because I'm too much of a celebrity," "I love you," and "I should brag that you did all my military service."
Attorney Ko also shared an entry from June 9, 2018, stating, "A long week has passed, and it's a very capricious weekend," "Ah, I want to hear it, and when I hear it, I want to see and hug you, it's perfect for going crazy, indeed, it's military life," and "I love you today as well."
Kim Soo-hyun's side argues that the tone of these letters is distinctly different from the alleged messages to Kim Sae-ron. Ko stated, "Gaseyeon intentionally placed these letters alongside postcards from the alleged relationship period, selectively quoting and distorting them to make it seem like the actor expressed romantic interest in the deceased. However, in the full context, these letters merely convey the actor's daily emotions and resolutions during his military service."
He added, "Due to the actor's cautious nature, he used nicknames instead of the real name of his celebrity girlfriend in the letters," emphasizing that there was no special relationship.
Regarding the controversy over the timing of a photo, Ko clarified that the picture with Kim Sae-ron was taken in late February 2020, when she was a sophomore in college, not in 2016, pointing out an error in the initial statement draft that listed it as a 2016 photo. Ko explained, "The issue originated from a false statement draft found in a KakaoTalk conversation the deceased had with an acquaintance on March 25, 2024."
Kim Soo-hyun's team has already filed a criminal complaint and a 12 billion won (approximately $120 million) damages lawsuit against Gaseyeon and Kim Sae-ron's family.
Attorney Ko emphasized, "The essence of this matter is that Gaseyeon's core claim—that the actor maintained a romantic relationship with the deceased from her middle school years for six years, engaging in a perverse form of pedophilia—is entirely baseless and false."
He added, "Fake news is not content; it is a crime. It's time for society as a whole to confront and decisively control cyberbullying."
Meanwhile, Kim Soo-hyun enlisted in October 2017 and was discharged in July 2019, during which time he was confirmed to be dating another female celebrity.
Kim Soo-hyun's representatives, while avoiding naming the past girlfriend, reiterated, "All disclosed objective materials consistently support that the actor's relationship with the deceased began in the summer of 2019 and ended the following year."
Reporter Chaeryeong Lim, Ten Asia syjj426@tenasia.co.kr