This South Korean Actress Who Killed Herself Was Revealed To Have Dated A Top Actor When She Was 15 And He Was 27
Kim Sae-ron’s family shared never-before-seen selfies of Kim Soo-hyun kissing her cheek and photos he sent her during his military service.
This South Korean actress who killed herself was revealed to have allegedly been in a relationship with one of the country's highest paid actors when she was 15 and it's causing a huge controversy.
24-year-old Kim Sae-ron was found dead in her home in Seoul on Sunday, Feb. 16, with police ruling her death as a suicide.
Kim had been one of South Korea’s most promising actresses, but she was forced to step away from acting after she was caught drunk driving in May 2022.
Almost a month after her death, a YouTube channel Garoseoro Research Institute, known for reporting entertainment scandals published an interview with Kim’s aunt on March 10.
She said that Sae-ron had been in a secret relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun, one of South Korea's highest paid actors, for six years, starting from when she was 15 and Soo-hyun was 27.
Sae-ron's aunt said family members found about the relationship when Sae-ron was in high school and strongly objected to it because of the big age difference.
Sae-ron's family then published a letter Soo-hyun had allegedly written to Sae-ron during his military service in 2018, when the actors were 30 and 18 respectively.
In it, he includes lines such as “It’s a good day to think of Saero Nero” and “What I can say most honestly is that I miss you”.
They also shared with the YouTube channel never-before-seen selfies of Soo-hyun kissing Sae-ron’s cheek and photos he sent her during his military service.
When Sae-ron became an adult, the two had also discussed marriage, but eventually broke up, according to her aunt.
Before her death, Sae-ron was struggling to repay a nearly 700 million Korean won (approximately US$482,000) in debt to her agency as a result of her DUI.
Her agency, which was co-founded by Soo-hyun's relative, had covered the damages, but in 2024, asked her to repay the full amount immediately, which led her to reachout to Soo-hyun for help.
A leaked screenshot allegedly showed Sae-ron begging Soo-hyun to give her more time, not to take the case to court and to let her live.
“Are you really suing me? You said you’d give me enough time, so I’ve been working hard to make a comeback. I was planning to pay it back little by little with every project. It’s not that I won’t pay — I just can’t come up with 700 million won all at once,” a screenshot of Kim Sae-ron texting Kim Soo-hyun read.
“Does it really have to go to court?” she wrote, “Please…just give me some time. I’m begging you. Let me live.”
Sae-ron’s aunt said because Soo-hyun had blocked Sae-ron, Sae-ron tried to pressure him into responding by posting an old photo of them together while he was promoting his latest drama “Queen of Tears”.
She was then labeled as an attention seeker by people online, and the photo also sparked dating rumors, which his agency immediately denied.
People have pointed out how Korean media was quick to call out Sae-ron for her drunk driving incident, while Soo-hyun, who is now facing allegations of pedophilia and grooming, has not faced nearly the same level of backlash from local media.
Sae-ron’s mother said she wanted to bring attention to the story to restore her daughter’s reputation, which were ruined by malicious articles.
Soo-hyun’s agency has denied the allegations he and Sae-ron dated and said it would take legal action.
On March 14, Soo-hyun’s agency said the two actors only dated one year after she became an adult.
If you need to speak to someone, you can find international suicide helplines at befrienders.org. Follow for more stories from around the world
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