SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Police have decided not to pursue an underage dating charge against actor Kim Soo-hyun over his past relationship with late actress Kim Sae-ron, sources said Wednesday.
The Seoul Seongdong Police Station recently dropped the charge against the actor, who was accused by the actress' family of dating her while she was a minor, citing a lack of evidence, according to the informed sources.
This file photo, taken March 31, 2025, shows South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun sobbing while holding a press conference at a Seoul hotel to deny underage dating allegations involving late actress Kim Sae-ron. (Yonhap)
The family had accused Kim Soo-hyun of dating the late actress when she was still a minor after Kim Sae-ron was found dead at her home last year following an apparent suicide at the age of 24.
YouTube channel Hover Lab also raised allegations that the actor had dated the late actress for six years starting when she was 15, citing what it claimed to be voice recordings of the late actress telling an acquaintance that she had dated the actor while she was still in middle school.
The voice recordings were later found to have been fabricated, and the chief operator of the YouTube channel, Kim Se-ui, was placed under arrest in May on suspicion of publicly playing the audio recordings and defaming actor Kim despite knowing they were fabricated.
In this file photo, Kim Se-ui (C), operator of YouTube channel Hover Lab, speaks to reporters outside the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul before attending his arrest warrant hearing on May 26, 2026. The court later issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of spreading false and fabricated information about actor Kim Soo-hyun. (Yonhap)