table of content table of content
A major turning point in the case that has been shaking the South Korean entertainment industry for several months. On May 26, 2026, the South Korean justice system officially validated the arrest warrant for Kim Se-ui, the representative of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute (GaroSero), accused of spreading false information about actor Kim Soo-hyun and the late actress Kim Sae-ron.
Kim Se-ui taken into custody: court validates arrest warrant
Judge Boo Dong-sik, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, ruled that there was a “risk of destroying evidence and absconding”, thus justifying his detention.
L’audience de validation du mandat d’arrêt avait débuté à 10h30 du matin et s’est déroulée pendant environ quatre heures, hors pauses, devant le tribunal central de Séoul.
À l’issue de cet interrogatoire préalable à la détention, le juge Boo Dong-sik a finalement validé le mandat vers 22h10, estimant qu’il existait un “risque de destruction de preuves et de fuite”.
Kim Se-ui is being sued for defamation via news networks as well as for violation of the Sex Crimes Act, following months of controversy surrounding the actor and the late actress Kim Sae-ron. The announcement came at around 11.15pm in South Korea, after a full day of live coverage by the Korean media.
Selon plusieurs médias coréens, le parquet aurait notamment insisté sur le fait que Kim Se-ui et son entourage avaient déjà manipulé des données dans le cadre de cette affaire, ce qui renforçait les craintes de destruction de preuves supplémentaires.
A tense day in court
Since the morning of May 26, all media attention has been focused on Kim Se-ui's hearing before the Korean courts.
On his arrival in court, the YouTubeur held a very offensive press conference in front of reporters, rejecting all the accusations against him outright. In particular, he declared, “The arrest warrant is full of obvious misinformation.” Before adding, “I recognize absolutely none of the accusations.”
Kim Se-ui also directly attacked the investigators and the public prosecutor's office, claiming that the investigation was politically motivated.
The Garo Sero Institute representative also referred to accusations of audio manipulation by artificial intelligence. According to him, South Korea's National Forensic Service would not have been able to state with certainty that the broadcast recordings had been generated by AI.
He said, “The national institute did not conclude that the recordings were generated by artificial intelligence, while the private company hired by Kim Soo-hyun claims otherwise. Are they questioning the findings of the national service?”
Kim Se-ui also announced his intention to lodge a complaint on May 27 against the police and prosecutors involved in the case, accusing them of distorting the judicial process. 2 journalists, one from MBC and one from SBS, were virulent in their questions and tried to confront Kim Se-ui, notably concerning the verification that the audio was AI, which he had difficulty answering.
See in Threads
Police accuse Kim Se-ui of tampering with evidence
But despite his public defense, the South Korean police's conclusions seem particularly heavy-handed.
According to the investigators, several items publicly broadcast by Kim Se-ui were deliberately manipulated in order to accuse Kim Soo-hyun. One of the most serious points concerns KakaoTalk screenshots shown publicly in recent months.
According to the police, Kim Se-ui received a screenshot from Kim Sae-ron's family in June 2016, where the contact initially appeared under the name “Unknown”. Investigators later believe that this contact was altered to show Kim Soo-hyun's name, with the addition of a profile photo of the actor to make it appear as if there was a real conversation between the two celebrities.
The police claim that 7 different elements of this conversation have been altered.
Kim Sae-ron's audios suspected of being generated by AI
Another key element in the case is the famous audio files attributed to Kim Sae-ron.
In these publicly broadcast recordings, a voice presented as that of the actress claimed, among other things, “I've had a relationship with Kim Soo-hyun since middle school.” Another passage even mentioned a first sexual relationship during the winter vacations of her second year of college.
However, according to the South Korean police, these recordings now present “strong suspicions of falsification or manipulation”. Investigators believe that Kim Se-ui released the content to the public without sufficient verification or cross-checking procedures, despite the many doubts surrounding their authenticity.
Authorities also suspect the use of artificial intelligence to modify or generate certain audio files.
Selon la demande officielle de mandat d’arrêt transmise par le commissariat de Gangnam au parquet, Kim Se-ui aurait diffusé ces accusations “de manière intentionnelle alors qu’il connaissait parfaitement les faits”.
Le document précise notamment : “Le suspect savait pertinemment que Kim Soo-hyun n’avait pas entretenu de relation avec la défunte lorsqu’elle était mineure et que la cause de son décès n’était pas imputable à Kim Soo-hyun, mais il a néanmoins diffusé ces fausses informations dans le but de le diffamer.”
Cette formulation est particulièrement lourde, car elle signifie que les enquêteurs considèrent désormais que les accusations relayées publiquement n’étaient pas simplement erronées, mais volontairement mensongères.
A look back at the events of the last few days
These revelations come after several days of escalating legal proceedings.
On May 24, Kim Soo-hyun's lawyer, Ko Sang-rock, issued a lengthy statement claiming that the actor was “only a victim of a crime”. The actor's legal team explained that it no longer wished to respond individually to the accusations that Kim Se-ui had been relaying for months.
The following day, Kim Soo-hyun's lawyers also rejected the YouTuber's accusations of “political persecution”. According to Kim Se-ui, the request for an arrest warrant was linked to his recent political broadcasts. A version immediately rejected by the actor's lawyer, who pointed out that the judicial request dated back to May 14, i.e. before these political videos.
An affair that has become a huge media scandal in Korea
Since the beginning of 2025, this case has become one of the biggest media scandals affecting the South Korean entertainment industry.
Kim Se-ui and Garo Sero Institute accused Kim Soo-hyun of having had a relationship with Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor between 2015 and 2018. The YouTuber also claimed that financial pressure from the actor's agency contributed to Kim Sae-ron's death in February 2025.
Kim Soo-hyun has always denied all the accusations.
After several months of investigation, the South Korean police now consider that several elements presented publicly against the actor were false, manipulated or insufficiently verified. The case is now entering a major new judicial phase with the official arrest of Kim Se-ui. Related cases, notably the trademark lawsuits against Kim Soo-hyun, should also be able to be unblocked with the results of the police investigation.
L’arrestation de Kim Se-ui marque désormais un tournant majeur dans cette affaire ultra médiatisée en Corée du Sud. L’arrestation de M. Kim devrait permettre d’accélérer l’enquête. La décision du tribunal de délivrer un mandat d’arrêt est interprétée comme la preuve qu’il existe des indices suffisants justifiant les soupçons de crime.
