Kim Soo-hyun’s legal team is pushing back hard, claiming the KakaoTalk exchanges between the actor and the late Kim Sae-ron that were aired by YouTube channel Hover Lab were “clearly distorted,” and urging authorities to launch a sweeping investigation into everything the channel has collected.
In an Oct. 13 statement, attorney Ko Sang-rok, who represents Kim, said the June 2016 KakaoTalk thread Hover Lab showed was not sent by Kim Soo-hyun at all, alleging the sender’s profile photo and name had been spoofed to look like him.
Ko further argued that the male sender never referenced his own schedule or whereabouts in those messages―a detail he says suggests Hover Lab and the bereaved family may have withheld parts of the conversation that could point to the man’s movements.
Back in March, Hover Lab and attorney Bu Ji-seok, representing Kim Sae-ron’s family, held a press conference and released what they claimed were affectionate KakaoTalk messages from around 2016 between Kim Soo-hyun and the late actress, who was then a minor. Bu said he was speaking out to curb reckless speculation and online attacks toward the star and her family.
Referencing remarks by Hover Lab head Kim Se-eui on a past broadcast―where he said he’d opened a KakaoTalk room with the bereaved family, who were sending materials at 3 or 4 a.m., and that he would release thousands of photos after Election Day―Ko urged investigators to seize not only the items Hover Lab aired but also any unpublished chats, photos and other files in the possession of both Hover Lab and the family.
Kim Soo-hyun’s side has filed criminal complaints and is pursuing a damages suit reportedly totaling 12 billion won against Hover Lab, Kim Sae-ron's family and others.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)