Accusations raised by a YouTube channel against actor Kim Soo-hyun that he dated late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor were based on manipulated evidence, including altered KakaoTalk messages and an AI-generated voice recording, according to police documents reviewed by local media Thursday.
JoongAng Ilbo cited police documents from Seoul Gangnam Police Station’s investigation into Kim Se-ui, head of the YouTube channel HoverLab, also known as Garo Sero Institute. In the documents, investigators concluded that the suspect knowingly spread false information about Kim Soo-hyun for financial motives, including YouTube revenue.
Police, seeking the suspect's arrest, wrote that the suspect “was well aware that actor Kim Soo-hyun had not dated the deceased while she was a minor,” but distributed false claims with the intent to defame him.
Investigators also concluded that purported KakaoTalk conversations released by the channel in March last year as evidence of a relationship between the two actors had been manipulated.
Police said Kim Se-ui received 11 screenshots of conversations from the bereaved family of Kim Sae-ron and altered seven parts of the images, including changing the conversation partner’s name to “Kim Soo-hyun.”
The edited materials were then publicly released to make them appear to be genuine exchanges between the actors despite uncertainty over the original identity of the conversation partner.
An audio recording allegedly featuring Kim Sae-ron,...
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