Actor Kim Soo-hyun is set to reveal his side of the story regarding rumors about his relationship with late actor Kim Sae-ron next week, his agency Gold Medalist said Thursday.

"We will release a statement based on hard evidence to set the truth straight regarding the groundless rumors that have been circulating," the agency said on Thursday.


"We apologize for the exhaustion due to this issue."

The agency did not specify the date or method.

The statement comes three days after far-right political YouTube channel Hoverlab first claimed that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim for six years from 2015 when she was 15. The YouTube channel, in a livestream, showed a picture depicting Kim Soo-hyun kissing Kim Sae-ron on the cheek, along with a text message showing Kim Sae-ron asking Kim Soo-hyun for more time regarding her 700 million won ($481,545) debt to the agency.

The YouTube channel allegedly received the text message and picture from Kim Sae-ron's aunt.

Kim Sae-ron, star of “The Man from Nowhere” (2010) and “A Girl at My Door” (2014), was found dead at her home in February at the age of 24.

In 2022, Kim was cut from roles in drama series and films after driving while drunk into a guardrail and lamppost in southern Seoul's Gangnam District on May 18 at around 8 a.m. She was handed a 20 million won fine and also had to pay compensation for productions that she could no longer participate in.

Kim Sae-ron was unable to pay this herself, so Gold Medalist paid instead and wrote a contract on Nov. 22, 2022, stating that Kim Sae-ron would have to pay 686,409,643 won to Gold Medalist by Dec. 31, 2023.

Gold Medalist, a company founded by Kim Soo-hyun and his cousin in 2019, sent a formal letter on March 15, 2024, demanding Kim Sae-ron pay up.

Hoverlab claimed that it was the "ruthless" debt collection that led to Kim Sae-ron's death.

Gold Medalist warned legal measures against Hoverlab.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]