Kim Sae Ron's bereaved family has accused Kim Soo Hyun and the agency Gold Medalist of isolating the late actress.

On March 17, the legal representative of Kim Sae Ron's family from the law firm Buyou held a press conference at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. On this day, attorney Bu Ji Seok filed a defamation complaint against YouTuber Lee Jin Ho for spreading false information and explained the background of the lawsuit to the press.

During the press conference, Kwon Young Chan, the head of the Korea Celebrity Suicide Prevention Association, claimed, “Kim Sae Ron tried to communicate with Gold Medalist (Kim Soo Hyun’s agency), but she was unable to reach Kim Soo Hyun, the CEO, or even her manager. She was also blocked from contacting other actors in the agency, leaving her completely isolated.”

He continued, “The moment Kim Sae Ron uploaded photos of her and Kim Soo Hyun together, she received a call within minutes. They told her, ‘Let’s resolve this and handle it well,’ so she took down the photos.”

He further stated, “The real issue was that the second legal notice arrived the very next day. Kim Sae Ron was scheduled to move on February 18, but she passed away before that. The second legal notice came while she was in the process of moving.”

Regarding this second notice, Kwon emphasized, “It contained threats, stating that if she posted such photos on social media again, contacted anyone from the agency, or if the drama 'Queen of Tears' suffered damages due to these photos, she would be held financially responsible for the full amount.”

He added, “For Kim Sae Ron, 700 million KRW (~484,436 USD) was an unimaginable sum, but for an agency, it’s an amount they could have chosen to wait for. Instead, they pressured her to send the money quickly or face legal action.”

Lawyer Bu Ji Seok also explained, “To summarize, contrary to Kim Soo Hyun’s recent statement that they had no choice but to send the legal notice due to ‘breach of trust,’ the actual content was essentially demanding that she repay the debt within a given time frame. It also included threats prohibiting her from contacting Kim Soo Hyun or other actors from the agency and warned of legal action over the released photos.”

He elaborated, "The agency claimed that the first legal notice was merely a formality, but that is not true. While sorting through the deceased’s belongings, we found a second legal notice. This second notice mentioned that it was sent due to a supposed breach of trust, but in reality, it was essentially demanding that the debt be repaid within a set deadline.”

Attorney Bu explained, "Towards the end, it explicitly ordered the deceased not to contact Kim Soo Hyun or anyone at Gold Medalist. It also contained threats of legal action over the release of intimate photos. After this, even other actors from the same agency, who had previously been in contact with the deceased, suddenly cut off communication. It is evident that she suffered significant emotional distress before her passing.”

Previously, on February 16, Kim Sae Ron was found deceased.

On March 10, allegations surfaced that Kim Soo Hyun had been in a relationship with Kim Sae Ron since she was a minor. Additionally, it was revealed that after her DUI accident, Kim Sae Ron was pressured by Kim Soo Hyun’s agency to pay 700 million KRW in damages, leading to financial hardship.

In response, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, Gold Medalist, stated that he and Kim Sae Ron only dated after she became an adult and denied abandoning her financially.

SEE ALSO: Kim Sae Ron's bereaved family releases an AI-generated memorial video of the late actress