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On April 13, 2025, Sports Chosun reported that EDAM Entertainment, the agency representing WOODZ, issued a brief statement regarding singer allegedly dating the late Kim Sae-ron back in 2019. This claim was first made by YouTuber Lee Jin-Ho on April 11.
After actor Kim Soo-hyun's past connections with the late actress Kim Sae-ron turned controversial, new rumors emerged regarding singer WOODZ (Cho Seung-youn). Sports Chosun reported that an anonymous industry insider claimed that the late actress dated WOODZ from early 2021 to May 2022.
This claim clashes with the allegation made by YouTuber Lee Jin-ho, as the dates don't match. However, the actress's family refuted the claims.
The speculation about WOODZ began after YouTuber Lee Jin-ho released a video claiming that Kim Sae-ron was seen kissing another man. He claimed that the video was blurry and hence the faces could not be seen clearly, but he stressed that it was the late Kim Sae-ron and some other guy who was not Kim Soo-hyun in a video that was filmed back in 2019.
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Following this, several netizens suspected the man in the video may have been WOODZ since the actress had once sent a coffee truck to the singer's filming set to show her support.
Due to this, EDAM Entertainment released an official statement on the situation.
EDAM Entertainment stated:
"It is the artist's private life, so we cannot confirm it," (as translated by Google Translate).
Latest developments in the ongoing Kim Soo-hyun and late Kim Sae-ron dating controversy
Times Now News reported new allegations made about the former actress Kim Sae-ron having a romantic relationship with the singer WOODZ (Cho Seung-youn) in 2021.
The ongoing allegations against Kim Soo-hyun highlight that he dated the late actress from November 2015 to July 2021.
This contradicts previous claims by Kim Soo-hyun's agency, Gold Medalist, which stated that their relationship began in the summer of 2019 and ended in the fall of 2020.
All these allegations surfaced on March 10, 2025, almost a month after the actress took her own life at her Seoul apartment on February 16. Authorities confirmed that it was a case of s*icide with no farewell note found at the scene.
Since March 2025, the Bloodhounds actress's family and the investigative media YouTube channel, Garosero Research Institute, have demanded that Kim Soo-hyun and his agency acknowledge the relationship and publicly apologize to the late actress.
However, on March 31, Kim Soo-hyun held a live press conference where reporters were not allowed to ask him any questions. He denied all allegations and stated that he dated the actress from mid-2019 to late 2022 when she was an adult.
The 37-year-old actor added that they hid their relationship because they were both renowned actors, and it could have invited a public backlash.
At the end of his press conference, Kim Soo-hyun's legal representation law firm announced that they are suing the late actress's family for defamation with a 12 billion KRW (around $8.2 million) in damages and penalty fee.
Meanwhile, the ambiguous response from EDAM Entertainment led to mixed reactions among fans and the media. Some netizens expressed frustration over the lack of clarity, while others called for respect for the privacy of the individuals involved.
Furthermore, YouTuber Lee Jin-ho was also sued by the late actress's family for releasing defamatory videos following her 2022 DUI incident.
The family claimed that those videos put a lot of stress on the actress, which led to her untimely death in February 2025.
Despite that, the YouTuber consistently has been making allegations against the late Kim Sae-ron.
It is important to note that the family has not demanded any monetary compensation. However, the Bloodhounds actress's mother mentioned seven demands on March 15, 2025.
This included Kim Soo-hyun's public acknowledgement of his dating history with Kim Sae-ron from 2015 to 2022. She asked that the actor admit that Kim Sae-ron was 15 and he was 27 when they started dating.
The mother also demanded that his agency Gold Medalist apologize to the late actress for sending her a legal notice to repay 700 million KRW, even when she was unemployed and could not afford to pay it.
This 700 million KRW is the amount that Gold Medalist paid in 2022 to cover the late actress's DUI damages. She was signed under the agency as one of its artists.
Kim Sae-ron's mother also demanded that the agency acknowledge publicly that the actress worked for free when the company was established by Kim Soo-hyun in 2019.
The bereaved family claimed that the Bloodhounds actress mentored new recruits, scouted for new talents to sign at the agency, and more, without getting compensated for it.
Kim Soo-hyun faced massive public backlash due to the allegations and the released photos and videos of him with the Bloodhounds actress from the past.
He lost his brand deals with PRADA, DINTO, Cuckoo, Jo Malone London, and more. Several other brands like Eider, Jeju Air, and Esteé Lauder distanced themselves from the actor as well.
Simultaneously, Disney+ indefinitely postponed the production of its upcoming Korean series, Knock Off. If the K-drama gets cancelled then Kim Soo-hyun would reportedly have to pay Disney+ $123 million in penalty fee.
