On March 31, Garo Sero Institute claimed during a live broadcast, “Kim Sae-ron had five phones and four laptops. She didn’t throw away any of her old devices. She also saved all the screenshots herself—not just KakaoTalk data, but key moments as well. Yesterday, even the bereaved family told us to go ahead and air everything. But for now, we’re only revealing this much.”
Garo Sero Institute Unveils Another Video of “19-Year-Old Late Kim Sae-ron with Soju”
Garo Sero Institute Unveils Another Video of “19-Year-Old Late Kim Sae-ron with Soju” pic.twitter.com/KaszzZ9coT
— KBIZoom (@kbizoom) March 31, 2025
A newly revealed video showed Kim Soo-hyun eating dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken) in what appeared to be a home setting. Kim Sae-ron, allegedly filming the scene, can be heard asking sweetly, “How is it? Eat up! Is it good?” A bottle resembling soju also appeared in the frame.
The video of Kim Soo Hyun singing karaoke on Kim Sae Ron’s phone was recorded late at night on June 21, 2018.
The metadata of the video disclosed by Garo Sero Institute reportedly showed a modified date of June 20, 2018, at 11:20 PM. Another video showed Kim Soo-hyun singing the OST from “Moon Embracing the Sun,” and its metadata was dated June 21, 2018, at 1:00 AM.
Garo Sero Institute claimed, “This video was recorded when Kim Sae-ron was in 11th grade. Didn’t Kim Soo-hyun say he never met or dated her as a minor? But he’s shown eating spicy chicken and drinking soju with her late at night during his military leave. Then later, at 1 AM, he’s singing for her.”
Additionally, Garo Sero Institute previously released KakaoTalk messages from 2016, allegedly exchanged between Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun. They asserted that a photo Kim Soo-hyun sent, showing Kim Sae-ron backstage at Show! Music Core, had metadata dated December 12, 2015.
“He already had the photo. Seeing this metadata is even more shocking—it’s from 2015, not 2016. This proves they were dating since she was in the 8th grade. We have countless photos and videos. Kim Soo-hyun will be punished. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We’ll keep fighting until the day you’re in prison,” they stated.
Earlier that same day, Kim Soo-hyun held a press conference at Stanford Hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul, alongside attorney Kim Jong-bok from law firm LKB & Partners.
Kim Soo-hyun denied dating Kim Sae-ron as a minor and claimed the evidence presented by Garo Sero Institute was fabricated, citing expert analysis. His legal team filed a defamation suit and a 12 billion won damages claim against Garo Sero Institute and Kim Sae-ron’s family.
