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SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) — Actor Kim Soo-hyun expressed regret on Monday for causing pain amid underage dating allegations, while strongly denying their validity, in his first direct response to the controversy that surfaced early this month.
“I am sorry for causing so much pain to many people,” he said at the conference.
“I also feel sad that the deceased seems unable to rest in peace,” he added, referring to late actress Kim Sae-ron, who died last month.
“The deceased and I dated for about one year five years ago, before the ‘Queen of Tears’ aired. At that time, I denied the rumors,” he said. “I understand why people have criticized this and don’t trust what happened between us.”
“But it is not true that I dated her when she was underage. It is also not true that she made the fatal decision due to financial pressure from my agency.”
He also shared the anxiety and pressure he has been going through.
“It took me so long to finally stand here. Whenever my private life was exposed, I was thinking, ‘Let’s share it all tomorrow,’ or ‘Let’s end this hellish situation.'”
Actor Kim Soo-hyun speaks during a press conference in Seoul on March 31, 2025. (Yonhap)
One of the country’s biggest actors, known for such series as “Queen of Tears” (2024), “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” (2020) and “My Love from the Star” (2013-14), Kim Soo-hyun has been at the center of controversy since March 10.
Allegations that he dated the actress when she was still a minor first surfaced via a YouTube channel and the actress’s family, igniting an ongoing public exchange of claims and counterclaims.
Most recently, the family of the late actress on Thursday released what they said was evidence supporting their claims that the actress dated the actor while she was a minor.
The YouTube channel, Hoverlab, also alleged that the actor had personally lent her money and later demanded repayment despite her ongoing financial distress following her 2022 DUI accident.
A support truck for actor Kim Soo-hyun is stationed near a hotel in western Seoul where he held a press conference about underage dating allegations on March 31, 2025. (Yonhap)
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