Kim Soo-hyun Releases 12-Page Letter to Refute Six Major Rumors: ‘Red Puffer Jacket Man? Not Me'

Actor Kim Soo-hyun has once again issued a clarification in response to claims made by the YouTube channel GaSeYeon (Garosero Research Institute) regarding the late Kim Sae-ron.

On March 18, his agency Gold Medalist published a detailed 12-page official statement, directly countering GaSeYeon's allegations.

The statement addressed several controversies, including issues related to Kim Sae-ron's compensation claims, alleged coercion to repay debts, prohibition of contact with fellow agency actors, and suspicions that Kim Soo-hyun was the man in the red puffer jacket shown on a Kim Sae-ron fan account.

Below is the full official statement from Gold Medalist:

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Hello, this is Gold Medalist.

We are releasing this statement in response to the press conference held by the late Kim Sae-ron's family and their representative attorney from Buyu Law Firm, as well as claims made on the GaSeYeon YouTube channel on March 17.

We will first address the second legal notice.

At the press conference, the family stated that the second legal notice sent by us on March 25, 2024, included the following: "If similar photos are uploaded to SNS in the future, if contact is made with any of the agency's actors, or if the drama Queen of Tears suffers damages, the full amount will be compensated." Therefore, we are attaching the original second legal notice to this statement.

As you can verify, nowhere in the notice did we demand compensation for damages caused by photos or contact with agency actors. It is legally impossible to claim damages for such reasons.

We sent the second notice simply to provide clearer information to Kim Sae-ron. As stated previously, we declared that the debt was "unrecoverable," processed it as a bad debt, and issued the notice to eliminate any potential liability for our executives related to breach of duty. This was the first notice sent on March 15, 2024.

However, as known, Kim Sae-ron texted Kim Soo-hyun in response and later posted a photo of them together on March 24. The second notice sent on March 25 aimed to address her concerns, explaining why the debt notice was issued and expressing willingness to discuss flexible repayment terms. As stated clearly in the attached notice, we informed Kim Sae-ron: "Because if the company does not demand repayment of the debt, our executives could be accused of breach of fiduciary duty." We further clarified: "We are willing to discuss flexible options regarding the repayment terms and schedule."

[Photo Caption (1)] Excerpt from Gold Medalist's legal notice.

The family claimed at the press conference that the second notice pressured Kim Sae-ron to repay her debt within a limited timeframe. However, as explained, the notice explicitly conveyed our willingness to discuss repayment options and simply asked her to inform our legal representative of a feasible repayment schedule. There was no coercion. The reason we included this request was to legally document that we made efforts to recover the debt, while avoiding statements like "you don't have to repay," as that would have constituted debt forgiveness, potentially triggering gift tax issues for Kim Sae-ron.

In fact, on March 26, the day after the second notice, our legal team contacted Kim Sae-ron's management company to explain the purpose of the notice. Kim Sae-ron responded, stating: "I appreciate the company's sincerity and am willing to discuss and coordinate a repayment plan for the damages I am responsible for."

[Photo Caption (2)] Excerpt from Kim Sae-ron's legal notice response.

As previously mentioned, our financial relationship with Kim Sae-ron ended at that point. We did not pursue any further repayment or negotiations. We processed the entire debt as a bad debt in our April 1, 2024, audit report. This shows that we never intended to pressure Kim Sae-ron to repay the debt, and neither she nor her family attempted to repay it afterward.

Additionally, the debt issue was entirely within our agency's jurisdiction. Kim Soo-hyun was not authorized to speak on this matter. Therefore, we officially requested in the notice that Kim Sae-ron refrain from contacting Kim Soo-hyun regarding the debt. We explained that the repayment discussions should be conducted exclusively with our legal representatives, not individual actors or employees.

There was absolutely no mention of demanding damages if she contacted other actors. Nonetheless, GaSeYeon distorted this in their March 17 report, claiming, "They threatened her not to contact anyone, including Kim Soo-hyun." This is false. Kim Sae-ron remained free to communicate with agency actors, and no such restrictions were placed.

At the time Kim Sae-ron uploaded the photo on March 24, Kim Soo-hyun's drama Queen of Tears was airing. Her post triggered over 50 news articles between 2:14 AM (when she uploaded the photo) and 11 AM (when we released our statement). We felt obligated to clarify that such actions could affect all parties involved in the production. There was never any intent to threaten or demand compensation.

Regarding YouTuber Lee Jin-ho:

Kim Sae-ron's contract with Gold Medalist expired in November 2022. She was managed by a different agency afterward. The manager GaSeYeon associated with YouTuber Lee Jin-ho is not a Gold Medalist employee but belongs to her new agency. Despite this, GaSeYeon distorted facts by implying a connection to Gold Medalist.

Regarding False Claims About Actress Seo Ye-ji:

On March 17, GaSeYeon claimed, based on an anonymous tip, that we colluded with media outlets to smear Seo Ye-ji. This baseless claim was so absurd that even Seo Ye-ji's former manager, who has since left the company, contacted us in disbelief. We request that such unfounded rumors cease immediately.

To the Family: Please Stop Spreading False Information.

The family has repeatedly made false claims about Gold Medalist and Kim Soo-hyun. For example, they claimed we did not attend Kim Sae-ron's funeral. In fact, we visited on February 17 and February 19, personally offering condolences, wreaths, and funeral expenses.

[Photo Caption (3)] Condolence wreath sent by Gold Medalist to Kim Sae-ron's funeral.

GaSeYeon described their source who leaked Kim Soo-hyun's private photos as Kim Sae-ron's aunt. However, media reports clarified that this person is not her aunt. In today's press conference, the family vaguely referred to the source as "more like a real aunt to Sae-ron than her own mother's sister," without clarifying if she is an actual relative. Industry insiders have told us that the person may, in fact, be the mother of another actor.

While we recognize that the credibility of the tip doesn't depend solely on the source's identity, the family's ambiguity stands in stark contrast to their comments criticizing the unauthorized release of Sae-ron's private information.

GaSeYeon also cited a photo from a Kim Sae-ron fan account posted in June 2017, alleging it was Kim Soo-hyun. It is not. The jacket worn is not the same brand Kim Soo-hyun advertised.

[Photo Caption] The person in the photo on Kim Sae-ron's fan account is not Kim Soo-hyun.

The family then claimed, based on this photo, that Kim Soo-hyun secretly visited Kim Sae-ron's family home during her teenage years. Kim Soo-hyun has never been to the location GaSeYeon mentioned. The fan account's blurry photo does not justify fabricating false narratives. We urge everyone to stop twisting irrelevant posts or vague images to create unfounded accusations.

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