Umamin na ang South Korean superstar na si Kim Soo Hyun, 37, na nagkaroon nga sila noon ng relasyon ng namayapang aktres na si Kim Sae Ron.
Ngunit iginiit ng kampo ng aktor na hindi na menor de edad si Kim Sae Ron nang maging sila ni Kim Soo Hyun.
Nitong umaga ng Biyernes, March 14, 2025, naglabas ng opisyal na pahayag ang talent management na kinabibilangan at itinatag ni Kim Soo Hyun, ang Gold Medalist, upang isa-isang sagutin ang mga inilabas na alegasyon ng Garosero Research Institute.
Ang Garosero Research Institute ay isang independent media platform sa South Korea na nakilala sa pagiging "whistleblower," na kadalasan ay nagbubulgar ng mga pinakatatagong eskandalo sa mundo ng entertainment, politics, at business.
Sila ang unang naglabas ng balita, noong March 10, tungkol sa relasyon nina Kim Soo Hyun at Kim Sae Ron na labis na ikinagulat ng publiko.
Read: South Korean actress Kim Sae Ron passes away at 24
Kabilang sa alegasyon ng Garosero Research Institute ay menor de edad pa lang si Kim Sae Ron nang magkaroon sila ng relasyon ni Kim Soo Hyun.
Labinlimang (15) taong gulang lang daw noon si Kim Sae Ron, habang si Kim Soo Hyun naman ay dalawampu't pito (27).
Tumagal daw ng halos anim na taon ang relasyon ng dalawa.
Ayon sa Garosero Research Institute, nagsimula umano ang relasyon ng dalawa noong huling bahagi 2015, at nagwakas noong unang bahagi ng 2022.
Lumalabas na walang maayos na pag-uusap sina Kim Soo Hyun at Kim Sae Ron nang sila ay maghiwalay.
Isa ito sa itinuturong dahilan ng isang kaanak ni Kim Sae Ron kung bakit daw piniling wakasan ng aktres ang kanyang buhay noong February 16, sa mismong araw ng 37th birthday ni Kim Soo Hyun.
Read: Kim Soo Hyun denies dating claims with late Kim Sae Ron anew
KIM SOO HYUN'S MANAGEMENT CONFIRMS ACTOR DATED KIM SAE RON IN THE PAST
Sa inilabas na bagong pahayag ng Gold Medalist, kinumpirma nilang totoong nagkaroon ng relasyon sina Kim Soo Hyun at Kim Sae Ron.
Ito ay sa kabila ng makailang ulit nilang pagtanggi noon na walang namamagitan sa dalawang K-drama stars.
Read: Kim Soo Hyun's agency issues statement on Kim Sae Ron dating rumors
Pero paglilinaw ng Gold Medalist, nasa hustong gulang na si Kim Sae Ron nang maging nobyo nito si Kim Soo Hyun.
Taliwas ito sa alegasyon ng Garosero Research Institute na menor de edad pa lang si Kim Sae Ron nang magkaroon siya ng relasyon sa aktor.
Tumagal lamang daw ng isang taon ang relasyon ng dalawa — mula summer (June to August) ng 2019 hanggang autumn (September to November) ng 2020.
Mababasa sa pahayag ng Gold Medalist (base sa English translation ng Allkpop): "Kim Soo Hyun began dating Kim Sae Ron in summer of 2019, after she became of legal age, and their relationship continued until autumn of 2020.
"It is not true that Kim Soo Hyun dated Kim Sae Ron while she was a minor."
Isa-isa ring ipinaliwanag ng Gold Medalist ang laman ng naging post ng Garosero Research Institute noong March 12, tungkol sa nakalap nilang karagdagang ebidensiya bilang patunay na nagkaroon ng relasyon ang dalawa.
Kabilang dito ang mga larawan mula sa military enlistment ni Kim Soo Hyun (October 2017 hanggang July 2019), intimate photos nina Kim Soo Hyun at Kim Sae Ron, at handwritten letters nila para sa isa't isa.
Ayon sa Gold Medalist, walang katotohanan ang mga petsang sinabi ng Garosero Reseach Institute dahil ang totoo raw ay nangyari ang lahat nang ito noong 2019 hanggang 2020.
Saad ng Gold Medalist: "The photo revealed by Kim Sae Ron on March 24, 2024, and the photo revealed by Garosero Research Institute on March 11, 2025, were both taken on a day in winter of 2020, when the two were still dating.
"The clothing worn by Kim Sae Ron was an item released by a certain clothing brand in June of 2019. Therefore, Garosero Research Institute's claim that the photo was taken in 2016, when Kim Sae Ron was a minor, cannot be true.
"Another photo revealed by Garosero Research Institute on March 12, 2025 was taken on December 24, 2019.
"We can prove this through the photo's metadata, as we possess the original. The photo revealed once again on March 13 was taken on the same day.
"All of the photos revealed by Garosero Research Institute were taken after Kim Sae Ron became an adult. Despite Garosero Research Institute's claims that there are multiple photos of the two taken in 2016, when Kim Sae Ron was a minor, such photos do not exist because they were not dating in 2016.
"The letter that Kim Soo Hyun addressed to Kim Sae Ron during his mandatory service was a private letter sent to a close acquaintance. As the letter has shown, Kim Soo Hyun was adjusting to life in the military while sharing his day to day activities with his close acquaintance.
"However, in order to fabricate the story that Kim Soo Hyun dated Kim Sae Ron since 2015, Garosero Research Institute falsely claimed that photos taken after Kim Sae Ron had become an adult were taken while she was still a minor.
"The YouTube channel also purposely revealed a postcard sent by Kim Soo Hyun while he was still dating Kim Sae Ron along with the letter he sent during his military service to make it seem as if the letter was also a love letter, when this was not the case."
Read: Kim Soo Hyun faces backlash for dating rumors with Kim Sae Ron
Dagdag pa nila, "Furthermore, the nickname Saero Nero is a nickname that Kim Sae Ron has used publicly since 2016, not a nickname used only by Kim Soo Hyun."
Kim Sae ron’s financial struggles before her death
Nilinaw rin ng Gold Medalist ang tungkol sa usaping utang at pera ni Kim Sae Ron sa kanilang kumpanya bago ito sumakabilang buhay.
Maliban sa mga larawan at handwritten letters, isiniwalat din ng Garosero Research Institute ang screenshots ng mga ipinadala umanong mensahe ni Kim Sae Ron kay Kim Soo Hyun.
Kaugnay ito ng loan ni Kim Sae Ron sa Gold Medalist, kung saan dati ring contract star ang aktres.
Sa mga mensaheng ito ay nakikiusap ang aktres sa aktor na bigyan siya ng sapat na panahon upang mabayaran ang kanyang pagkakautang na nagkakahalaga ng mahigit 686 million won (27.1 million pesos) matapos padalhan ng notice na nagsasabing siya raw ay kakasuhan kung hindi makakabayad.
Ang nasabing utang ay nagsimula nang arestuhin ang aktres dahil sa driving under the influence (DUI) noong 2022.
Ngunit hindi umano sumagot si Kim Soo Hyun sa mensahe at pakiusap na ito ni Kim Sae Ron.
Sagot dito ng Gold Medalist: "According to Garosero Research Institute, Kim Soo Hyun is the devil responsible for Kim Sae Ron's death.
"The YouTube channel claimed that Gold Medalist pressured Kim Sae Ron to pay off the debt incurred after her DUI accident, and that when Kim Sae Ron sought Kim Soo Hyun's help, Kim Soo Hyun ignored her requests.
"These claims led to the speculations that Kim Sae Ron had no choice but to end her own life.
"All of this is false. In fact, Gold Medalist paid off the remaining debt that Kim Sae Ron could not handle in its full amount.
"After her DUI accident, Gold Medalist worked with Kim Sae Ron to resolve all fees and damages, including the damages incurred by the businesses who were affected by the accident.
"The total damages amounted to approximately 1.114 billion KRW (~ $765,000 USD). Gold Medalist did all we could to reduce the amount that Kim Sae Ron had to pay off herself.
"Through the efforts of Gold Medalist and Kim Sae Ron, the damages were reduced to 700 billion KRW (~ $481,000 USD). The repair and sale of Kim Sae Ron's vehicle was among the efforts to reduce the total amount in damages.
"This was done by Gold Medalist under Kim Sae Ron's consent. Contrary to the claims by Garosero Research Institute, Gold Medalist did not steal Kim Sae Ron's vehicle to pay off her debt.
"Despite Kim Sae Ron's efforts, she could not continue her work after the accident and was incapable of paying off the remaining debt. Determining that Kim Sae Ron could not pay off her debt, Gold Medalist indemnified her debt amount in December of 2023.
"This information can be verified by Gold Medalists's tax statement submitted on April 1, 2024, which lists Kim Sae Ron's debt as irrecoverable debt.
"Naturally, Gold Medalist and Kim Sae Ron underwent the proper legal procedures required for these debt payments. This was to prevent any illegalities associated with the lending of money to an individual for business purposes without any interest or security.
"In early 2024, Gold Medalist had to decide how to handle Kim Sae Ron's debt. According to accounting experts, if Gold Medalist simply paid off the actress's debt in her place without holding the actress legally responsible, it could result in repercussions associated with illegal business practices.
"Therefore, Gold Medalist had to prove that Kim Sae Ron was 'incapable' of paying her debt at the time, while also proving that the company had taken measures to secure negotiable bonds with Kim Sae Ron."
Ang notice na natanggap daw noon ni Kim Sae Ron ay parte ng legal process, hindi raw ito nangangahulugan na siya'y tinatakot para ipakulong ng talent management.
Dagdag pa ng Gold Medalist, hindi pa raw nila alam noon na nagkaroon ng relasyon ang dalawa nang magpadala ng text messages ang aktres kay Kim Soo Hyun.
"The legal notice sent to Kim Sae Ron during this time was a legal process necessary in order to prove that Kim Sae Ron was not being freed of her debt at no cost, and that Gold Medalist was not illegally resolving the debt in her place.
"The text message sent by Kim Sae Ron on March 19, 2024 also involved the verification of this legal notice. In other words, Kim Soo Hyun has never once lent Kim Sae Ron money nor has he ever attempted to retrieve any lent money from her.
"When Kim Sae Ron contacted Kim Soo Hyun for assistance regarding her debt, Gold Medalist was unaware of their relationship. They had already broken up by that time.
"Therefore, Gold Medalist advised that Kim Soo Hyun refrain from responding without the assistance of a legal expert.
"Gold Medalist intended to resolve the matter with Kim Sae Ron by enlisting the assistance of experts.
"Afterward, on March 26, 2024, Kim Sae Ron confirmed through her legal representative that she acknowledged the debt owed to Gold Medalist and that she was willing to negotiate her method of repayment with Gold Medalist.
"As a result, Gold Medalist was able to resolve Kim Sae Ron's debt legally, and we not demanded any amount of repayment from Kim Sae Ron since then."
KIM SOO HYUN'S HEALTH FOLLOWING HIS CONTROVERSY
Umaasa ang kampo ni Kim Soo Hyun na ang pagsasalita nila ngayon ay maging hudyat ng katapusan ng lahat ng diumano'y "countless lies and fabricated stories" tungkol sa aktor at alaala nito kay Kim Sae Ron.
Ang kaliwa't kanang batikos at hindi raw makatotohanang akusasyon kay Kim Soo Hyun ay nakakaapekto sa trabaho, kalusugan, at seguridad ng aktor.
Read: Seo Ye Ji denies dating rumors with Kim Soo Hyun
Bagamat sinabi ng Gold Medalist nitong March 13 na sa susunod na linggo pa sila maglalabas ng pahayag, napaaga ito dahil kasalukuyan na raw nakararanas ng "severe emotional distress" si Kim Soo Hyun dahil sa mga nangyayari.
Nangangamba na rin daw ang aktor sa kanyang seguridad dahil halos araw-araw ay iba't ibang tao ang nag-aabang sa kanya.
Saad ng Gold Medalist: "Previously, Gold Medalist stated that a statement based on factual evidence will be released by next week.
"However, Kim Soo Hyun began showing symptoms of severe emotional distress early this morning.
"Since the accusations raised by Garoseo Research Institute, claiming that Kim Soo Hyun was responsible for the death of the late actress, the actor has had to endure extreme chaos.
"After 's report on March 12, an individual wielding a camera began camping out in the parking lot across the street from the company building.
"By lunchtime on March 13, numerous reporters wielding cameras had begun hanging around the building, pressuring Kim Soo Hyun.
"As a result, Gold Medalist has decided to release a statement addressing the key points of this recent issue."
Samantala, habang isinusulat ang artikulong ito ay wala pang inilalabas na reaksiyon ang kampo ni Kim Sae Ron tungkol sa naging pahayag ni Kim Soo Hyun.