"I don't think Kim Soo-hyun is responsible for Kim Sae-ron's death", lawyer Bu Ji-seok changes his speech on the Kim Soo-hyun case

table of content table of content

• Investigation relaunched, pending expert results
• Thousands of photos: a baseless accusation
• Photos and recordings: a lack of consistency
• On KakaoTalk messages: total absence of technical evidence
• On military letters and "hidden evidence
• The family is now backtracking, saying they never thought or claimed that KSR had died because of Kim Soo Hyun.
• Family situation: some notable contradictions
• On the "Seronero" nickname and misunderstandings
• On the 2022-2024 timeline: from the break with the agency to the photo leak
• A sensitive and high-profile case
• Chronology of the Kim Soo-hyun case - Kim Sae-ron

The lawyer Kho Sang-rock, Kim Soo-hyun's official representative, published on November 12 a new detailed press release on the ongoing investigation into the accusations made after the actress's death Kim Sae-ron. This text responds in particular to statements by Bu Ji-seok, lawyer for the bereaved family, and discusses the situation of Kim Se-ui, Director of YouTube Media Garo Sero Research Institute (Gaseyeon) currently the target of several complaints for dissemination of false information and defamation.

Investigation relaunched, pending expert results

According to Kho Sang Rock, the investigation team would have adjusted its work to speed up the processing of the case in conjunction with forthcoming results from the National Forensic Medical Service (NFS) concerning the audio recordings handed over by the opposing party. The lawyer, while acknowledging past delays, said he had "confidence in the police's ability to bring the investigation to a proper conclusion". These analyses of the audio recordings and AI texts supplied by the family and Garosero have been pending since almost the beginning of the case.

Thousands of photos: a baseless accusation

Kho Sang Rock categorically denies the existence of the "thousands of photos" mentioned by Kim Se-ui, stating that they never existed. He points out that Bu Ji-seok, the family's lawyer, himself acknowledged "We were not sure why Garosero had made such remarks, while recalling that the two men had organized a joint press conference on March 27.

A few weeks later, on May 7, Bu Ji Seok again held a joint press conference with Kim Se-ui, at which no photos were shown, but audio recordings allegedly supplied by a "New Jersey informant" were publicly released and declared authentic.

Photos and recordings: a lack of consistency

Concerning ski photos and other photos that Garosero claims show the deceased as a minor, Kho reports that Bu "has now stated that it never claimed that these photos were from the minority period". He is surprised, however, that the lawyer has continued to collaborate with Kim Se-ui and to provide him with documents used to support this thesis, notably at the May 7 conference.

About the photo taken cheek to cheek between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron, Kho quotes Bu, who reportedly said he "had nothing to say because the photo was published before he became the family's lawyer", thus would indirectly confirm that the photo dates from February 2020. However, the family still claims that it was taken when Kim Sae-ron was a freshman in high school, which Kho considers "unrealistic".

On KakaoTalk messages: total absence of technical evidence

The lawyer then returns to two exchanges presented by Gaseyeon as evidence:

• the message from June 2016 ("When will I be able to fall asleep in your arms?") whose the sender is indicated as "unknown". ;
• and theapril 2018 ("If you don't make an effort, I'll never see you again").

According to Kho, these elements are based solely on the testimony of the deceased's youngest cibling and "no technical data, metadata or material evidence" linking these messages to the actor. He calls this version "absurd", explaining that it is "highly improbable that a young girl would have shown such messages to her youngest cibling and that this memory would have been faithfully preserved nine years later".

Regarding the 2018 message, the lawyer points out that no original file exists other than a simple screenshot broadcast by Gaseyeon. Even so, "there's no proof that the recipient is Kim Soo-hyun", he says.

On military letters and "hidden evidence

Mr. Kho also rejects the rumor that the deceased exchanged private e-mails with the actor during his military service, pointing out that the e-mails from that time were public messages sent by fans, not personal communications. Kim Soo-hyun never sent a private e-mail to the deceased during her service.

He adds that if the aunt claims to have accessed "private military emails", this involve unauthorized access to personal accountsand invites you to disclose evidence if they really exist.

The family is now backtracking, saying they never thought or claimed that KSR had died because of Kim Soo Hyun.

According to Kho Sang Rock : "The bereaved family declares that they never thought or asserted that "Kim Sae-ron suffered because of actor Kim Soo-hyun to the point of death" and says he doesn't think so today either. This position is understood as: "We never said that; we don't know why Mr. Kim Se-ui is saying it. "

If this is true, then M. Kim Se-ui who has continued until recently to make this point, differs of the family. And yet, at any time I only learned the family or Bu Ji-seok called Mr. Kim Se-ui to account and said: "Why do you assert things that the family has never supported?""

Family situation: some notable contradictions

The lawyer points out that the deceased had been estranged from her parents for several yearsThis contradicts the story of emotional closeness put forward by the family. In particular, he mentions the recent involvement of the mother to a charity event on November 2, 2025 with entertainment personalities, judging that it didn't fit the portrait of a "overwhelmed and devastated" woman as described by Bu.

Go also points out that the use of a credit card in mother's name is not proof of a strong family bond, which explains why the deceased had substantial debts and frequently borrowed from relatives. "What is clear is that, for a 25-year-old adult with a nearly 20-year career as a child actress, using a card in the mother's name is in itself strange, and it's not enough to establish mother-daughter closeness, especially as there are multiple clues to the contrary (self-mutilations, marriage hidden from the family), not to mention a one-way telephone recording (from a member of the deceased's family) that I have so far not made public for fear of a boomerang effect of opinion. "

On the "Seronero" nickname and misunderstandings

The nickname "Seronero", often mentioned in exchanges, was not invented by Kim Soo-hyun, the lawyer points out. He points out that Kim Sae-ron herself had used the term "Saerone-ro" on Twitter in May 2016, accompanying photos, long before the nickname was associated with the actor.

On the 2022-2024 timeline: from the break with the agency to the photo leak

The lawyer then retraced the sequence of events:

• Visit 2022: after his drink-driving incident, Kim Sae-ron has reportedly resumed normal activities before suddenly leaving for Europe in the middle of a contract renegotiation, without informing either his Gold Medalist agency or his lawyer.
• Visit november 2022 :She herself published an invitation to a drunken party, contrary to the family's version that it came from a friend. M Kho: "However, since Bu Ji Seok always distorts the facts on this point, I rectify: it was the deceased herself who issued the invitation; there is nothing to confirm that the friend would have created it."
• His agency would then have let his contract expire without renewal.

Visit march 2024,According to Kho, the deceased contacted her former agency about photos taken in February 2020, in which she appeared cheek-to-cheek with the actor. According to Kho, this was perceived as an attempt to exert pressure, and Gold Medalist cancelled a debt of 700 million won (around 470,000 euros) in response.

A year later, after his death, the same falsified photos and declarations would have been published by Garoseroreigniting the controversy.

Despite police commissioner of Seoul acknowledging the slow pace of the investigation, Kim Se-ui is said to have continued his public attacks. He claimed just last week that "Kim Soo-hyun led [the deceased] to her death," a statement that Go calls "last speech before court confrontation".Kim Se-ui will no longer be able to escape investigation".

A sensitive and high-profile case

This new statement by Kho Sang Rock strengthens the defense of Kim Soo-hyun's campwhich has been denouncing media manipulation and the dissemination of fabricated elements.
The investigation is still ongoing, pending the outcome of NFS voice expertise resultswhich could mark a crucial turning point in what has become one of Korea's most closely watched entertainment events.

Chronology of the Kim Soo-hyun case - Kim Sae-ron

Because this is a complex affair, we've put together a chronology of the various stages leading up to 2025 and since the indictment in March.

May 2016
▪️ Kim Sae-ron, then a teenager, posted a photo on Twitter accompanied by the term "Saerone-ro", a future nickname misinterpreted as "Seronero" in later rumors.
▪️ The actress is still under contract with her former agency, before joining Gold Medalist a few years later.

April - June 2016 / 2018
▪️ Two KakaoTalk exchanges are cited by Garosero as evidence of an alleged relationship between the actor and actress. Kim Soo-hyun's lawyer formally denies their authenticity, for lack of metadata or sender identification.

May 2022
▪️ Kim Sae-ron is involved in a drink-driving accident.
▪️ She temporarily withdraws from the business, before resuming social activities and planning a media comeback.

Summer 2022
▪️ According to Gold Medalist's records, the actress displayed "stable and optimistic" behavior during contract negotiations, before suddenly leaving Korea for Europe without informing her agency or lawyer.

November 2022
▪️ Kim Sae-ron publishes a invitation to a drinking partywhich was later interpreted by certain media as an attack on his image.
▪️ Gold Medalist receives several similar reports and chooses not to renew the contract of the actress when it expires.

March 2024
▪️ Kim Sae-ron contacts his former agency about photos taken in February 2020where she appears cheek by jowl with Kim Soo-hyun.
▪️ The agency interprets this move as an attempt to exert pressure and cancels a debt estimated at 700 million won (approx. €470,000).

February 2025
▪️ The actress dies tragically.
▪️ Shortly afterwards, photos and a so-called testimonial are distributed by YouTube media Garo Sero Research Institute (Gaseyeon)launched the controversy.

March 27 & May 7, 2025
▪️ Two joint press conferences are organized by Bu Ji-seok (family lawyer) and Kim Se-ui.
▪️ Audio "evidence" presented as coming from a "New Jersey informant".
▪️ No original photos are made public, despite the announcement that thousands of photos are in their possession.

March - August 2025
▪️ Garosero and his host Kim Se-ui are increasing the number of broadcasts accusing Kim Soo-hyun of being involved in the actress's death.
▪️ Kim Soo-hyun files a complaint against defamation and dissemination of false information.

November 2025
▪️ Seoul police recognize delay in processing the survey on Garosero's accusations
▪️ Kim Soo-hyun's lawyer publicly accuses Kim Se-ui of having invented or manipulated evidence.

▪️ Kho Sang Rock publishes new multi-page press releasepointing out the Bu Ji-seok's contradictions and denouncing the ongoing collaboration between the latter and Kim Se-ui despite their contradictory statements.
▪️ He claims that Kim Se-ui "will no longer be able to escape investigation" after publicly repeating that "Kim Soo-hyun led [the deceased] to her death".

Full details and even more statements on the original Korean and English version of Me. Kho Sang Rock.