The one year anniversary of the world-renowned K-drama, Queen of Tears, has finally arrived. However, what was supposed to be an exciting and nostalgic time soon turned into a bitter and shocking one.
On Sunday, February 16th, 2025, 24-year-old Kim Sae-Ron was found deceased in her home. Unable to discover any evidence of foul play, authorities ruled her death as a suicide. Sae-Ron was best known for the roles she played as a child. Starring in the 2009 drama A Brand New Life, The Man from Nowhere, The Neighbor, and more, Kim eventually made a breakthrough in her acting career. Unfortunately, she had to step away from her success after being caught drunk driving in May 2022. In 2023, she tried to end her hiatus by starring in Dongchimi and it wasn’t until she played a role in Bloodhounds that it did.
Around a month after the late actress’s death, scandalous claims about A-list actor Kim Soo-hyun and actress Kim Sae-ron began to flood the internet. On March 10th, the YouTube channel HoverLab released a video claiming that the two celebrities dated when Sae-Ron was still a minor. Although Soo-Hyun initially denied these allegations, he later admitted that the two were in a relationship for a year after photos and text messages between the both of them were leaked. It is believed that Soo-hyun and Sae-ron were in a relationship when he was 27 and she was only 15 years old. Following these allegations, Kim Soo-hyun’s agency released a statement on March 12th attesting that he had only begun to date Sae-Ron when she was a legal adult. Fans have even pointed out that Kim Sae-Ron committed suicide on Kim Soo-Hyun’s birthday, (February 16th) further accusing him of being at fault for her death.
Just like Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sae-ron was signed with Gold Medalist in 2020. After the drunk driving incident, Sae-ron was in heavy debt, owing her agency around $420,000 USD for revenue loss. Because she faced much backlash for the conflict, Sae-Ron was unable to secure a role in any dramas or movies for a while and therefore unable to pay off her debt. New reports have been released, which claimed that the late actress’s friend Won-Bin had allegedly tried to pay off the 700 million won to Kim Soo-Hyun, but the company had not allowed him to pay it back. Later on, more text messages between Sae-ron and Soo-Hyun were uploaded, revealing a very stressed Sae-ron trying to plead with Soo-Hyun to give her time to pay off her debts. However, even with her begging, pleading, and many phone calls, Soo-Hyun had never replied to her. On the other hand, their agency Gold Medalist constantly bugged her to pay her debt, and threatened her with lawsuits.
After the damaging allegations had spread across the internet, Gold Medalist spoke up and stated that they didn’t pressure Sae-Ron, and that they weren’t expecting her to pay off before or even later. Photos and videos of Soo-Hyun in Sae-Ron’s apartment with only a t-shirt on were released, and started spreading like wildfire through Korean media. The agency has made multiple statements claiming that the photos being released weren’t Soo-hyun. As more and more evidence comes to light, Gold Medalist continues to try and manipulate the public into going against Sae-Ron to take away attention from the fact Soo-Hyun had taken advantage of Sae-Ron.
In addition to this, the late actress’s aunt has also recently accused him of being a contributing factor to her death, claiming that the financial burden really pushed her over the edge. Gold Medalist has since then spoken up, arguing that the woman claiming to be her aunt was another idol’s mother.
As more accusations about the situation are revealed, netizens have been siding with Sae-Ron and going against Soo-hyun. He has lost many sponsorships from international and Korean brands. Even with these consequences, netizens are unsatisfied. Now, the big question is whether or not Kim Soo-Hyun’s career is completely dismantled. More news continues to be released, and his reputation is faltering. Can he recover from this? Only time can tell, but what do you think?
Sources:
- Juneau, J. (2025a, February 17). Netflix star Kim Sae-Ron’s cause of death revealed after she is found dead at 24: Reports. People.com. https://people.com/kim-sae-ron-cause-of-death-revealed-11680927
- Dailymail.com, J. P. F. (2025, March 14). How Korean A-lister Kim Soo-hyun’s career imploded in scandal after dating young actress who killed herself. Daily Mail Online. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-14500651/How-Korean-lister-Kim-Soo-hyuns-career-imploded-scandal-dating-young-actress-killed-herself.html
- Huong, N. (2025, March 11). Kim Sae Ron’s alleged Aunt accuses “queen of tears” Kim Soo Hyun of pressuring actress over nearly $500,000 debt before death – vnexpress international. VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. https://e.vnexpress.net/news/life/celebrities/kim-sae-ron-s-alleged-aunt-accuses-queen-of-tears-kim-soo-hyun-of-pressuring-actress-over-nearly-500-000-debt-before-death-4860018.html
- Actors Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron dated when they were legally adults: Agency. The Straits Times. (2025, March 14). https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/actors-kim-soo-hyun-and-kim-sae-ron-dated-when-they-were-legally-adults-agency
