Wave of outrage

TPO - After police concluded that Kim Soo Hyun did not date Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor, controversy erupted again online. Many people expressed anger at the congratulatory messages that fans sent to the actor born in 1988.

Báo Tiền Phong•24/05/2026

Another wave of outrage has erupted targeting Kim Soo Hyun.

On May 21st, South Korean media reported that along with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office requesting an arrest warrant for YouTuber Kim Se Ui, the head of the Garo Sero Institute YouTube channel, police also concluded that Kim Soo Hyun was not dating the late actress Kim Sae Ron. Previous messages and audio recordings against the actor from "Moon Embracing the Sun" were determined to have been fabricated using artificial intelligence (AI).

This is great news for Kim Soo Hyun's fan community. A large number of netizens flooded the actor's personal page. Although Kim Soo Hyun stopped updating his Instagram for over a year, fans still left numerous congratulatory comments under his most recent post on February 12, 2025.

Fans flooded Instagram to congratulate Kim Soo Hyun on being exonerated.

“I’m so happy. I know he’s innocent. He’ll get through this difficult time. We’re always here to support him. Hang in there,” “He will always be my favorite actor. God is always fair. Fans love, admire, and trust him. I know his return will be a legendary journey,” “Congratulations, everything will be alright,” “The truth will always come out. Congratulations on this victory! He deserves recognition and applause…” These are some of the encouraging messages for Kim Soo Hyun.

This reaction displeased some netizens. On May 22nd, a verified account shared a screenshot of activity on Kim Soo Hyun's Instagram page, along with angry comments: "I went to Kim Soo Hyun's comments section and was so angry I almost cried. The worst thing is seeing women attack and belittle other girls just to protect a man. There's no empathy, no compassion, just misogyny disguised as fandom."

The poster stated that they were shocked that Kim Soo Hyun still received such great support, despite the serious nature of the allegations and evidence regarding the "Queen of Tears" actor's inappropriate intimate behavior with Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor.

The post received significant attention from the online community, attracting over 1.2 million views in less than two days.

The post criticizing Kim Soo Hyun's fans attracted over 1.2 million views.

Hundreds of comments were left, with the majority agreeing with the poster's viewpoint. They pointed out that despite YouTuber Kim Se Ui fabricating evidence, the intimate photos of Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron were real, thus proving the romantic relationship between the two former colleagues.

These netizens criticized Kim Soo Hyun's supporters for being inhumane, flattering someone they had never even met or interacted with directly, and contributing to the destruction of social justice. Kim Soo Hyun was also associated with negative terms such as "liar," "devil," and "criminal"...

Anti-fans argue that Kim Soo Hyun initially denied dating Kim Sae Ron, but after clear evidence emerged, he changed his tune, admitting to dating her but claiming she was of legal age. This shows the actor is lying and untrustworthy.

Some viewers also argued that even though they were of legal age to date, Kim Sae Ron was only 18-19 years old at the time, too naive for a mature man in his 30s like Kim Soo Hyun, making her vulnerable to exploitation and hurt.

On the other hand, there were also opinions defending Kim Soo Hyun, emphasizing that congratulating someone on being proven innocent is normal and understandable, and there is nothing to condemn about it.

Some comments countered: “Why is this misogyny? They’re celebrating that someone’s career wasn’t ruined by liars and people who believe false accusations more than the truth. He’s been exonerated. People shouldn’t keep clinging on,” “What happened to the principle of presumption of innocence? Is it right to easily accuse someone with manipulated and altered evidence? Are people not allowed to prove their innocence? You just want to spread hatred…”

Threats from Sulli's brother

On the same day the post criticizing Kim Soo Hyun's fans appeared, the brother of the late actress Sulli, who co-starred with Kim Soo Hyun in the film Real (2017), shared a threatening message on his personal Instagram: "The moment you show your face outside again, round two will begin. The choice is yours."

In the comments, when asked who he was referring to, Sulli's brother replied, "Someone from some star."

Korean media believe that Sulli's brother was referring to Kim Soo Hyun because he starred in the hit drama My Love from the Star.

On the evening of May 22nd, this person updated their personal page with another post, this time directly mentioning Kim Soo Hyun's name.

"I'm keeping a recording of a 37-minute phone call with my sister's former manager. It mentions IU, Lee Robe (director/producer of Real ), Kim Soo Hyun, a psychiatric hospital, SM Entertainment, and even some not-so-pleasant aspects of my sister's private life at the time. I have many questions I want to ask, but I'm holding back because I'm thinking of my mother."

"A year ago, I only touched on the film a little… I don't want to have to bring this up again in the future. I want to state upfront that there is nothing fabricated here," Sulli's brother said.

Along with the warnings, he posted a screenshot of the 37-minute and 16-second audio recording, seemingly to prove he wasn't joking.

Sulli's brother threatened to release audio recordings related to Kim Soo Hyun.

A year earlier, when the scandal between Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron was at its peak, Sulli's brother unexpectedly spoke out, questioning Kim Soo Hyun and Lee Robe about his sister's nude scene in Real .

In an exclusive interview with the media outlet Sports Kyunghyang , Sulli's brother stated that it was confirmed by staff and actors at Sulli's funeral that the intimate scenes between Sulli and Kim Soo Hyun were not originally in the script, but were mysteriously added later.

Furthermore, according to her brother, although the film crew had a body double, Sulli ultimately had to perform the intimate scene herself.

In response, Kim Soo Hyun's side asserted that they had discussed the matter thoroughly with Sulli before she agreed to participate in Real . They also denied the accusation that Sulli was not allowed to use a body double.