South Korean authorities have arrested a YouTuber who allegedly made defamatory claims about actor Kim Soo-hyun, fuelling a scandal that halted the A-lister's career.
Police and prosecutors allege that Kim Se-ui, who runs the popular YouTuber channel Hover Lab, had manipulated evidence to falsely claim that Kim Soo-hyun had dated the late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor - allegations that Kim Soo-hyun denies.
The Seoul Central District Court granted an arrest warrant for the YouTuber on Tuesday, citing concerns that he might destroy evidence or flee.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kim Soo-hyun's agency said that the "truth has been proven".
"The investigation confirmed that all suspicions and evidence raised by Hover Lab against Kim Soo-hyun were unfounded," said the statement, which also thanked the supporters who had stood by the actor.
Speaking to reporters outside the court on Tuesday, ahead of the court's decision, YouTuber Kim Se-ui denied the charges and said the warrant "did not even properly organise the basic facts".
He said he would lodge complaints against the police and prosecutors who requested his arrest.
The allegations against Kim Soo-hyun surfaced last year, shortly after Kim Sae-ron killed herself at the age of 24.
Months after her death, the YouTuber channel Hover Lab, which has nearly a million subscribers, posted a voice recording in which the actress could be heard saying she had been dating Kim Soo-hyun since she was in middle school.
The...
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO SEOUL – The agency of South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun said on May 27 that “the truth is being confirmed through due legal process and a thorough investigation”, following the ...