South Korean superstar Kim Soo Hyun tearfully denies controversial claims about relationship with late actress

Embattled South Korean superstar Kim Soo Hyun has personally addressed a growing scandal about the nature of his relationship with late actress Kim Sae-ron for the first time, in a closely watched saga that has roiled the country’s entertainment industry.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, a tearful Kim Soo Hyun, 37, said accusations made by a YouTube channel in March that he had entered into a relationship with his fellow performer when she was still a minor were untrue. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.

“I did not date her when she was a minor,” Kim said at the emotional news conference, where he declined to take questions. “Apart from the fact that we were both actors, we were just an ordinary couple like anyone else. We had feelings for each other, and as time passed, we eventually parted ways. After that, we rarely kept in touch.”

Kim Sae-ron was found dead at home in February at 24 years old, nearly two years after she retreated from public view following a drunk-driving conviction that prompted heavy public backlash and reputational damage.

The allegations made by the YouTube channel, known for covering political news, started an online firestorm against Kim Soo Hyun despite his denials. His talent agency previously said that while the two actors had been in a relationship, it took place when both were adults, according to the Chosun Ilbo, one of South Korea’s newspapers of record.

The fallout for the actor has been swift, with luxury fashion house Prada and popular Korean cosmetics brand Dinto both ending their collaborations with Kim Soo Hyun in the weeks after the scandal broke. A star at home and across Asia, Kim Soo Hyun is best known for the award-winning series “It’s Okay to Not be Okay” and “My Love from the Star.”

On Monday, he also apologized for staying quiet for the first few days after the allegations emerged last month, saying he was worried about the consequences for his recently aired Netflix series “Queen of Tears.”

“If you want to criticize me for being cowardly or selfish, I will accept that,” he said.

Kim Sae-ron was a prolific actor who shot to stardom as a child, but her career stalled after she crashed her car in the South Korean capital in 2022. In April 2023, a Seoul court found her guilty of driving under the influence. She avoided jail but was fined about $14,000.

Kim Soo Hyun also claimed that many text messages that had been distributed online, purportedly between him and Kim Sae-ron, were false.