Kim Soo Hyun claims vindication after arrest in Kim Sae Ron legal case, but that doesn’t mean we have to buy it

Catching up on current events that I’ve fallen behind on, big news emerged regarding the controversy surrounding Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron’s family, as authorities recently requested an arrest warrant for Kim Se Eui of Garo Sero Institute fabricated evidence in the form of text messages and voice calls.

Authorities say the YouTuber had manipulated screenshots of text messages and shared an audio file made with AI to give the impression that the actor had dated actress Kim Sae-ron when she was still a minor.

They also allege that the YouTuber had manipulated screenshots of text messages sent from the actress’s phone to make it look like she had been texting Kim Soo-hyun.
The YouTuber had knowingly spread the false claims for financial gain, authorities say.

Kim Se Eui was subsequently arrested after the warrant was granted, with authorities citing concerns that he might destroy evidence or flee the country.

All of this is bad, both for the wider implications of AI-use as setups and because quite frankly it’s the kind of win that Kim Soo Hyun desperately needed. Now he can use this as a jumping off point to try and convince the public that he did nothing wrong and was essentially setup.

Shortly after the ruling, that’s basically what he did in a statement.

We sincerely thank the investigative authorities for their efforts in uncovering the truth based on objective evidence.
At a press conference one year ago, Kim Soo Hyun stated:
“I won’t ask you to believe me. I will make sure to prove it.”
The past year for Kim Soo Hyun has been devoted solely to keeping that promise. At last, through lawful procedures and a thorough investigation, the truth has been proven.

For his part, Kim Se Eui disputes the charges, saying “I do not admit any of them and plan to deny them all,” adding, “The warrant is nonsense that has not even clarified the basic facts.” He goes on to claim that the police accepted a private determination that the evidence was AI from a company commissioned by Kim Soo Hyun, “The issue is that we submitted AI-manipulated voice recordings, but the National Forensic Service said it is impossible to determine AI manipulation,” and “The Korean police are rejecting the National Forensic Service and seem to trust a private company commissioned by Kim Soo Hyun, which is unacceptable.”

I have no idea as to the facts on this, but honestly, would it surprise me if Garo Sero Institute made some shit up for their own gain and took advantage of a grieving family? Absolutely not. In fact, I said as much last May.

I really hope this is legit and that Garo Sero aren’t just using this to try and push their political agenda behind the stupid-ass Chinese spy conspiracy thing that they were alluding to earlier. All that would do is help to “vindicate” Kim Soo Hyun in the eyes of the public despite what his side has confirmed with regards to the grooming suspicions around Kim Sae Ron already.

And look, there’s no reason to take GOLDMEDALIST’s word for it either, but maybe if this didn’t involve Garo Sero I wouldn’t be so cynical about every claim the originates from them. Their involvement in this has made it difficult to believe everything Kim Sae Ron’s family’s side is claiming because Garo Sero are the exact kind of cyberwreckers (like Lee Jin Ho), who might do something this dumb. So I’ll just wait and see how this shakes out, because when I initially read it, I have to admit it didn’t pass my smell test either.

Welp.

Thing is, this all still distracts from the core issue of the grooming allegation, and my worse nightmare at the time ended up coming true.

Regardless, though, my point then is the same as now. To those who have followed this case, the problem with Kim Soo Hyun trying to hand-wave everything away based on this ruling is that it’s not even the main reason people had an issue with his actions. Throw out the evidence provided by the cyberwrecker, and you still have things that his agency confirmed to be true. Things like late night visits to the 17-year-old Kim Sae Ron, totally-not-love letters he sent her from the military, and the fact that he did admit to dating her, just coincidentally the moment she was of age.

It was, after all, his side that tried to explain away Kim Soo Hyun telling Kim Sae Ron “I miss you right now” and “I love you” by claiming it was “habitual affection” and that“Due to the natural personalities and nature of their profession, actors frequently express affection and care for staff, colleagues, and juniors. No colleague misunderstands this as a romantic relationship. The deceased did not misunderstand at the time either, but the bereaved family is forcibly linking it to this.”

Is that stuff enough to give his family a win in court? I have no idea, but that doesn’t mean we have to pretend we can’t see what was clearly going on here.