Kim Soo-hyun's fan clubs rally after old hiking photo sparks confusion amid Kim Sae-ron legal drama: 'He is loved...'

Fans of actor Kim Soo-hyun have called for an end to 'secondary harm,' emphasising that a photo shared on Instagram three years ago is being misrepresented as recent, fueling unnecessary misunderstandings.

The Korea and Global Fan Union of Actor Kim Soo-hyun issued an official statement on October 1, saying, “Distorted reports and baseless claims about Kim Soo-hyun have been repeatedly made in some YouTube broadcasts and media outlets recently.”

The fan union stated, “The misuse of past photos as recent situations has led to misconceptions, unnecessary misunderstandings, and serious secondary harm. Speculative interpretations and the reproduction of false information about the actor must be immediately stopped.”

It added, “Actor Kim Soo-hyun has earned the public’s trust and love through sincere work and diligent efforts over the years. The fan union will firmly respond to distorted reports and indiscriminate secondary harm to protect the actor’s rights.” Furthermore, it urged, “We call on media and outlets to uphold their responsibilities and conscience, and we will continue to ensure the actor’s name is not unfairly tarnished.”

The previous day, a YouTube broadcast claimed, “Kim Soo-hyun is currently under extreme stress and has no other way to relieve it, so he is hiking alone to compose himself.” The program cited a photo Soo-hyun had posted on Instagram in August 2022. As the image was mistakenly treated as current, some viewers questioned its context, asking, “Who took the photo? Is it true he went hiking alone?”

On September 30, YouTube channel Entertainment President released a video titled “Kim Soo Hyun Ex-Girlfriend’s Letters Revealed: Double Dating Rumors Explained?” The channel claimed that he is under extreme stress and has taken to hiking to clear his mind.

Lee Jin Ho of Entertainment President revealed roughly 150 diary-style letters Soo-hyun wrote to his former girlfriend during military service. While the letters offer insight into his personal life, the channel noted they do not prove any wrongdoing related to the late actress Kim Sae Ron.

The actor's legal team strongly denied the allegations of an underage relationship raised by Kim Sae-ron’s family. They emphasised that proving the nonexistence of such a relationship is inherently difficult, but stressed that, as a public figure, Soo-hyun must continue clarifying the truth.

It all began in March, when a YouTuber released information about how the two were in a relationship, mentioning details about Sae-ron was crushed by her debt, and Soo-hyun's lack of support and acknowledgement broke her ffurther. Later, a voice recording allegedly surfaced of Sae-ron claiming she had dated Kim Soo Hyun since middle school. Gold Medalist, his agency, dismissed the audio as fabricated and suggested it may have been artificially generated using AI.

Attorney Ko, speaking via his YouTube channel Korean Legal Titan, further disputed the claims. He explained that the intimate photos shared by the bereaved family were taken between late 2019 and spring 2020, when Sae-ron was already an adult. He clarified, “If the two had truly been dating since middle school, photos from that period would exist—but none do.”

Ko also highlighted Soo-hyun's military service records, stating that the letters were reflective writings about daily life and future plans rather than intimate love letters. “Kim often wrote to friends and acquaintances during his service, and the letter sent to the deceased was part of that same pattern,” he noted.

The dispute intensified in March when a draft statement allegedly written by Kim Sae-ron surfaced on KakaoTalk. Ko described the draft as “filled with falsehoods,” pointing out that it misrepresented her age with the claim, “I was 16, he was 30,” seemingly designed to cast Kim in a negative light. He stressed that the supporting photos were actually from February 2020, during Kim Sae Ron’s second year of university.

“Kim Soo-hyun is suffering from an organized and malicious cyber attack,” Ko said, likening online rumor-spreading to digital gang violence. He urged society to recognize fake news as a crime, not entertainment.

Soo-hyun's last public appearance was in March, when he gave a tearful press conference, addressing the allegations, while denying all of them, saying that he was not responsible for Sae-ron's death in February, and neither did he date her, when she was a minor. However, his reputation still hangs in the balance, as he was dropped from several brands and his Disney show was stalled.