The controversy surrounding Kim Soo Hyun and the late Kim Sae Ron continues as both sides continue to bring out new evidence and refute each other. Kim Soo Hyun’s team is under scrutiny for allegedly misrepresenting the late Kim Sae Ron’s age in their effort to refute claims that he had a relationship with her when she was a minor.

On April 2, Kim Soo Hyun’s legal representatives, LKB & Partners, announced that they had filed an additional complaint against Hoverlab (Garo Sero Research Institute) operator Kim Se Ui for violating the Anti-Stalking Act.

Alongside the complaint, they attempted to debunk suspicions by providing timestamps and Kim Sae Ron’s age at the time of the photos released by Hoverlab. However, discrepancies in the reported ages have sparked controversy.

LKB & Partners acknowledged that a video of Kim Sae Ron cooking Dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken) at Kim Soo Hyun’s house was indeed filmed in June 2018. They clarified, "The location was Kim Soo Hyun’s Seongsu-dong apartment, where he lived with his family. Kim Sae Ron visited during Kim Soo Hyun’s vacation, and his family was also present. The two were not in a romantic relationship at the time." They claimed that on June 20, 2018, Kim Sae Ron was 19 years old (using the old Korean age system).

However, Kim Sae Ron, born on July 31, 2000, was 17 years old at that time under the international age system, as her birthday had not yet passed.

South Korea used to calculate the age by subtracting the birth year from the current year and adjusting based on whether the person’s birthday has occurred. If the birthday has not yet passed, one year is subtracted from the result. However, South Korea switched to the international age system in June 2023.

Further discrepancies were found in another photo of Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron dressed in ski gear on January 22, 2020. Kim Soo Hyun’s team stated that she was 21 years old at the time, but by international age standards, she was only 19.

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