A legal expert weighed in on if Kim Soo Hyun may face criminal charges for a sexual offense involving a minor.
On March 14 KST, an attorney appeared on YTN's 'News Square 2 PM' to discuss allegations of Kim Soo Hyun dating the late actress Kim Sae Ron while she was still a minor.
When the news anchor asked, "Can the relationship itself be subject to legal punishment?", the attorney explained, "The laws regarding sexual offenses against minors were revised in May of 2020. According to the revisions, if an adult engages in physical intimacy or sexual relations with a minor under the age of 16, regardless of whether there was consent, it may be deemed statutory rape or molestation."
However, the attorney added on, "But before the 2020 revision, the law only applied to minors under the age of 13. This means that in 2015, when Kim Sae Ron was 15-years old, the previous law was still in effect. Because the previous laws only applied to minors under the age of 13, the fact that they were simply in a relationship at the time would not be sufficient grounds for legal punishment."
According to the attorney, "Because she was 15 at the time, in order to legally punish Kim Soo Hyun for a sexual offense involving a minor, there must be proof of sexual contact or relations. Given what information has been revealed so far, it seems difficult to press criminal charges against him for a sexual offense involving a minor."
Meanwhile, according to those claiming to be family members of the late Kim Sae Ron, the actress began dating Kim Soo Hyun in November of 2015, when she was 15-years old, and their relationship continued until July of 2021. However, Kim Soo Hyun's side claimed on March 14 KST that he and the late actress dated between summer of 2019 and autumn of 2020, when Kim Sae Ron was of legal age.
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