Digital files concerning Kim Soo Hyun, Kim Sae Ron AI-manipulated—Seoul police
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.
A voice file of deceased Korean actress Kim Sae Ron, as well as text messages between her and actor Kim Soo Hyun were found to have been manipulated using artificial intelligence.
Per a report by The Korea Times, police determined that the voice file, in which Sae Ron supposedly admitted she was a minor when she entered a relationship with Soo Hyun, was fake.
In the audio recording released by HoverLab in May 2025, Sae Ron supposedly said she started dating her fellow actor while she was in middle school, and that they had their first sexual encounter in her second year of middle school, according to the arrest warrant request.
Based on the police report, HoverLab head Kim Se-ui called a press conference on May 7, 2025 then played the voice file. It circulated widely on social media, leading to allegations that Soo Hyun was partly responsible for Sae Ron's death.
Days after the press conference, Sae Ron's grieving family filed a criminal complaint against Soo Hyun, alleging he violated the Child Welfare Act and that he was instrumental in the spread of false accusations against Sae Ron.
The public response was quick and harsh against Soo Hyun, prompting him to hold his own press conference last year, where he claimed he was not in a relationship with Sae Ron at the time of her death, and that he did not date her when she was a minor.
Amidst doubts of the voice file's authenticity, the National Forensic Service conducted their own investigation, concluding in November 2025 that it could not determine if AI manipulation was involved.
In their request for an arrest warrant against Se-ui, police wrote, "The suspect distributed false information with the intent to slander the victim, despite being well aware that actor Kim had never dated the deceased while she was a minor."
Police have also tagged Sae Ron's family's legal representative as an accomplice, with the suspicion that the lawyer provided Se-ui with the manipulated materials.
Sae Ron died by suicide on Feb. 16, 2025. She is remembered through her work in films, such as A Brand New Life, and K-dramas, including, Listen to My Heart and The Queen's Classroom. Soo Hyun most recently starred in the K-drama Queen of Tears.
