'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On March 16, 2025, The Fact reported that the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron has decided to take legal proceedings against YouTuber Lee Jin-ho.
Attorney Bu Ji-seok, representing the bereaved family, announced that the family would file a formal complaint against Lee Jin-ho with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on March 17.
The family claimed that Lee Jin-ho went way too far into Kim Sae-ron's private life, making it both intruding and defamatory, which allegedly led to her mental stress ahead of her s*icide. On February 16, 2025, the actress was found dead in her Seoul apartment, aged 24.
Trending
Kbizoom reported that Lee Jin-ho uploaded four videos from 2022 to 2024, allegedly consisting of defamatory content against the late actress. The first video was reportedly posted sometime in 2022 after the actress's DUI incident in May.
After the Bloodhounds actress's death in February 2025, Lee Jin-ho reportedly made the four videos private and unavailable for viewers.
"I have enough evidence to counter": Lee Jin-ho states that his videos on Kim Sae-ron were not defamatory
Meanwhile, attorney Bu Ji-seok stated that the actress's family believed that the video intensified the public backlash toward the actress following her DUI case in May 2022. In March 2024, Kim Sae-ron posted an intimate photo of Kim Soo-hyun on Instagram.
Kim Soo-hyun's agency, Gold Medalist, denied all dating allegations back then. Following this, Lee Jin-ho reportedly posted another video where he debunked Kim Sae-ron's statement that she was dating Kim Soo-hyun since 2015.
On March 16, 2025, attorney Bu Ji-seok highlighted that incident and said:
“It is true that Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun were in a relationship. The issue being debated is whether they started dating in 2015, when Kim Sae-ron was still a minor. Lee dismissed this as a ‘fabrication,’ which is a clear falsehood.”
Now, after the actress committed s*icide on February 16, 2025, Lee Jin-ho posted a new video on YouTube three days later. On February 19, 2025, he uploaded a video titled 'Clarifying My Position on Kim Sae Ron' on his YouTube channel, Entertainment President Lee Jin Ho.
He faced public backlash for saying defamatory things about the actress in his videos. Hence, in response to the backlash, Lee Jin-ho released a statement defending his actions.
Lee stated:
"I have enough evidence to counter these accusations. I only uploaded content after verifying it with her acquaintances and agency representatives. Her agency was actively involved in these discussions, and I incorporated their input into my videos."
Lee Jin-ho said that the motto of his videos was to urge the public to give the actress a second chance as she also needed to earn.
"For two years, we shared the sentiment that while Kim Sae Ron had made mistakes, she still needed a means to support herself. She should be given a chance to continue some form of work."
Kim Soo-hyun faces allegations of dating late Kim Sae-ron, bereaved family demands public apology
The dispute between Kim Sae-ron's family and YouTuber Lee Jin-ho further escalated due to allegations made against actor Kim Soo-hyun. On March 13, 2025, The Straits Times reported that Kim Sae-ron's family and Garosero accused Kim Soo-hyun of dating Kim Sae-ron. Allegedly, he was 27 and she was 15.
Garosero (@Hoverlab) released several photos of Kim Soo-hyun given to them by Sae-ron's family, including a photo that appears to show Kim Soo-hyun kissing Sae-ron on the cheek. More pictures, such as a screenshot of a text message where the late actress begged Kim Soo-hyun to save her from Gold Medalist's lawsuit.
Additonally, Garosero also released new pictures that allegedly show a half-naked man cooking at the late actress's apartment. The face of the man wasn't visible in the picture as he had his back towards the camera hence, it couldn't be determined if it was really the Queen of Tears actor.
For the unversed, Gold Medalist reportedly asked the Bloodhounds actress to pay back 700 million KRW (around $482,396) by December 2023. This amount was previously paid by the agency to cover the damages that occurred due to the actress's DUI case in 2022.
News18 reported that the late actress begged Kim Soo-hyun, who founded Gold Medalist in 2019, to give her time to pay them back. However, the Queen of Tears actor didn't answer her calls or text messages and reportedly ghosted her.
In response, Kim Soo-hyun's agency, Gold Medalist, stated on March 10, denying the allegations and threatened legal action against those perpetuating these claims.
However, on March 14, Gold Medalist changed their initial statement. The agency stated that Kim Soo-hyun and the Bloodhounds actress dated from mid-2019 to late 2020. They stressed that at the time, Sae-ron was 19 to 20 years old, and Kim Soo-hyun was 31 to 32.
The agency denied any statement regarding a relationship when Kim Sae-ron was a minor. They also refused claims that Kim Soo-hyun forced her to pay the 700 million KRW debt back to the company.
On March 14, 2025, The Korea Times reported that over 50,000 Koreans signed an online petition urging the National Assembly to legislate laws that prevent and punish YouTubers who recklessly invade the privacy of celebrities.
Furthermore, PRADA and Dinto terminated their brand contracts with Kim Soo-hyun.
