The actor Kim Soo-hyunhas been at the heart of a controversy in spite of himself since March 2025, and the media, particularly in Korea, have played a decisive role in this spiral of defamation. The Korean Press Ethics Commission (Korean Press Ethics Commission) has just sanction no less than 25 media outlets for publishing articles about him that were deemed defamatory or sensationalist.
Racket headlines based on unverified statements
At its 997ᵉ session, the Commission singled out a series of articles published in early April that directly associated Kim Soo-hyun's name with a bill dubbed "Kim Soo-hyun 방지법" ("Anti-Kim Soo-hyun Act"). The origin of this name: a petition submitted to the Korean Parliament calling for the minimum age for sexual intercourse to be raised to the level of rape of minors. Some articles reported without verification a petitioner's claim that Kim Soo-hyun had committed a sex crime involving the actress Kim Sae-ron, who has since died - an accusation that was never proven, but which was repeated as an established fact by several media outlets.
In the Commission's view, these titles violated several ethical principlesThese include respect for reputation and honor, and the duty of caution in titles and content. "To present an unverified assertion as fact, and to use a person's real name to designate a law, is to risk marking that person forever as criminal," the institution stressed.
It's not the first time the matter has been the subject of debate. At its previous session, the Commission had already issued a warning to 14 media who had relayed, without verification, YouTube videos with racy titles, such as "Kim Soo-hyun naked at his girlfriend's house" or "Kim Sae-ron: revelations from his house". The content was deemed to violate the privacy and dignity of the persons concerned.
If the Korean Press Ethics Commission cannot impose legal sanctions, it can require media publish these decisions and apologize, which is a strong reminder of the role of the press: to verify, cross-check and protect the dignity of individuals.
For Kim Soo-hyun, the case also highlights the extent to which celebrity can expose one to unfounded rumors and media attacks, sometimes amplified by the race for clicks. Many fans, very invested in setting the record straight about the actorThey are now hoping that the controversy will die down, allowing him to pursue his career with peace of mind.
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