Actor Kim Soo-hyun is set to testify next week at the trial of the YouTuber charged with defaming him by spreading false claims that he dated the late actor Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor.
The Seoul Central District Court has summoned Kim Soo-hyun as a witness for a hearing on Wednesday in the case against Kim Se-ui, head of the YouTube channel Hoverlab, also known as Garosero Research Institute, according to legal sources on Friday.
Kim Se-ui faces charges including violations of the Act on the Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. Because the charges include a sex crime offense, the witness examination is expected to be closed to the public.
Kim Se-ui was indicted and detained in June on charges of spreading false claims through YouTube and other online channels that the actor had dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor and that pressure from Kim Soo-hyun's side to repay a debt she owed to Gold Medalist, her former agency co-owned by Kim Soo-hyun, drove her to her death. Kim Sae-ron, a former child star, was found dead at her home in February 2025 at the age of 24.
The YouTuber is also charged with defaming Kim Soo-hyun by circulating a recording of Kim Sae-ron’s voice that was manipulated with AI, posting private photos of the Kim Soo-hyun without permission and threatening to expose material about his private life.
The court issued an arrest...
Actor Kim Soo-hyun is set to testify next week at the trial of the YouTuber charged with defaming him by spreading false claims that he dated the late actor Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor. The ...