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YouTuber Lee Jin-ho has addressed allegations made by the family of the late Kim Sae-ron regarding his coverage of her relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun. On March 28, Lee released a video on his YouTube channel, 'Entertainment President Lee Jin-ho' (@Behind_Master), responding to claims that he had misrepresented the situation.
In his statement, Lee refuted accusations that he labeled the relationship between Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun as false.
"The family of the deceased must already have the script for my broadcast. At no point did I say that it was a fabricated drama or that the relationship between the two is false after Kim Sae-ron posted the photo of her and Kim Soo-hyun with their faces close. If there is evidence of such a claim, they should present it as proof," he said.
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This followed after Kim Sae-ron's family, in the press conference held on March 27, 2025, announced plans to take legal action against Lee on charges of stalking. In response to this charge, Lee Jin-ho further said,
"Interestingly, they are suing me for stalking, not for spreading false information. This actually proves that the recorded calls I released—between the late Kim Sae-ron and her ex-boyfriend, as well as with other related parties—were true."
Lee Jin-ho defends himself amid legal battle with Kim Sae-ron’s family, denies allegations of defamation and stalking
In the video, Lee Jin-ho also questioned why he was being implicated in the matter, emphasizing that he had no ties to Kim Soo-hyun or his agency, Gold Medalist. He said:
"What connection do I have with Kim Soo-hyun that they are dragging me into this? I have never once contacted or met anyone from Gold Medalist. I have no ties with former Gold Medalist employees either. Yet, Garo Sero Institute claims I was instructed by Gold Medalist to attack Kim Sae-ron, which is completely false.”
Lee also highlighted an alleged inconsistency in the family's approach, questioning why they had only focused on Kim Soo-hyun while neglecting allegations of domestic violence involving Kim Sae-ron’s reported husband.
"While they aggressively go after Kim Soo-hyun, they remain silent about the husband, who publicly admitted their marriage but didn’t even attend her funeral as her legal spouse. There is evidence of abusive messages and injuries, yet they make no accusations against him," he remarked.
Regarding repeated inquiries from netizens about why he had not covered Kim Soo-hyun’s case, Lee explained that his focus was on clearing his own name and addressing the false claims made against him by Garo Sero Institute. He concluded by stating,
"This is a clear case of defamation. I will take legal action to ensure that the results are clearly revealed."
The dispute continues to unfold, with both sides standing firm on their stances. Lee Jin-ho maintains that his reporting was based on facts and that he has been unfairly targeted in the controversy surrounding Kim Sae-ron’s family and their claims against Kim Soo-hyun.
For those unfamiliar, the late actress’s family escalated their legal battle against YouTuber Lee Jin-ho by announcing plans to pursue additional charges of stalking during a press conference held on March 27, 2025. According to South Korean media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper, Boo Ji-seok, the legal representative of the bereaved, addressed the matter in the conference.
According to him, the family was compelled to reveal that Kim Soo-hyun had been in a relationship with Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor in order to proceed with legal action. They accused Lee Jin-ho of ridiculing and defaming the late actress, asserting that his actions played a significant role in driving her to take her own life.
Furthermore, as per Maeil Business Newspaper, they claimed that Lee Jin-ho, along with others, had continuously exposed Kim Sae-ron’s private life and propagated falsehoods about her. This followed the family's initial lawsuit on March 17, in which they accused Lee of defamation for spreading misinformation about the late actress’s personal life.
On the press conference held on March 17, Boo emphasized that Lee Jin-ho had repeatedly disseminated false claims about Kim Sae-ron, particularly concerning her relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun. Boo Ji-seok claimed that the misinformation spread by the YouTuber played a role in pushing the actress to take her life on February 16, which is also Kim Soo-hyun’s birthday.
The family accused Lee Jin-ho of portraying her alleged past relationship with the actor as a staged event, insisting that such claims were entirely untrue. The lawsuit follows a prolonged period of conflict between the family and the YouTuber, who has been reporting on the matter since 2022.
On the same day the lawsuit was filed, Lee Jin-ho released a video defending his reports on Kim Sae-ron. He maintained that his coverage was based on facts and expressed his intention to continue uncovering the truth despite the legal proceedings.
He also voiced his frustration, arguing that his attempts to clarify the situation had been disregarded in favor of what he described as one-sided accusations.
The controversy involving Kim Soo-hyun and the family of the late Kim Sae-ron began on March 10 when her aunt appeared on the YouTube channel Garo Sero Research Institute. In the broadcast, she claimed that Kim Soo-hyun and Sae-ron had been in a relationship.
According to her, their alleged romance began when Sae-ron was 15 and Soo-hyun was 27. Amid the ongoing controversy, Disney+ has delayed the release of Kim Soo-hyun’s drama Knock-Off, which was set to premiere in April 2025.
