Despite being banned in court from making videos about the late actress, YouTuber Lee Jin Ho released another 12-minute video about Kim Sae Ron.
This article is part of our coverage of Kim Soo Hyun And Kim Sae Ron’s Relationship. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.
Despite being banned in court from making videos about the late actress, YouTuber Lee Jin Ho released another 12-minute video about Kim Sae Ron. In the video, the reporter-turned-cyber-wrecker alleged that actor Kim Soo Hyun was in a relationship with someone else during the time frame that Kim Sae Ron claimed to have been dating him.
Claiming that he “invested both [his] life and reputation into this investigation,” Lee Jin Ho listed what he deemed as “decisive evidence” to prove that Kim Soo Hyun did not date Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor.
A photo used as “evidence” for Kim Soo Hyun’s relationship with Kim Sae Ron as a minor. | Garosero Research Institute
“A lot of people continue to strongly raise suspicions that Kim Soo Hyun was in a relationship with Kim Sae Ron during her minor years. Now, the time has come to reveal the decisive evidence. I have invested both my life and reputation into this investigation. Through this, I have started to look into who Kim Sae Ron was involved with since 2016, including those she dated after becoming an adult. I was able to track down and identify the individuals she met, ranging from non-celebrities to fellow celebrities, sports stars, business men, singers, fellow part-time workers, some idol trainees, and eventually her American husband. This investigation has led to some significant results.”
— Lee Jin Ho
The video contained no visual evidence, as Lee Jin Ho claimed that he did not want to start “another witch hunt.” But he claimed that he has verified the tip-offs and stories himself, since concluding that both Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron were involved with different people, not each other.
“First, I received a tip that Kim Sae Ron was actually involved with another celebrity, and not Kim Soo Hyun, in 2016. The tip was highly credible, and through it, I was able to understand the situation at that time.
I focused on investigating the two celebrities who were suspected of having been involved with her. However, there was a problem: while there were claims and statements, there was no decisive evidence. There were instances where Kim Sae Ron directly mentioned these individuals to her friends, saying that they were in a relationship, and this was corroborated by the records.
However, upon further investigation, it was confirmed that, contrary to her statements, she was not actually in a relationship with one of the individuals. There were other individuals who also had objective evidence proving the relationship never happened.
Given this, hastily revealing these individuals without proper evidence could result in another witch hunt. As seen in Kim Soo Hyun’s case, identifying someone without conclusive evidence only causes harm.”
— Lee Jin Ho
Lee Jin Ho added that Kim Soo Hyun distanced himself from Kim Sae Ron—showing a FaecTime call log of when she reached out to him multiple times in 2018.
“So, I decided to only reveal matters for which I have decisive evidence. What evidence do I have? From now on, I will share the entire process and outcome with the viewers.
First, this case isn’t only about Kim Sae Ron, but also about the past relationships of Kim Soo Hyun. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that Kim Soo Hyun was in a romantic relationship with someone else during that period. This relationship lasted from 2016 until the end of his military service in 2019, lasting for nearly three years.
Although Kim Soo Hyun kept this relationship secret to avoid causing harm to the other person, his close friends knew just how deeply involved he was with this partner. Contrary to the claims made in the 2018 ‘Chicken Stew’ video, Kim Soo Hyun was still in this relationship at that time.
During Kim Soo Hyun’s long vacation off the military base during his enlistment, Kim Sae Ron visited the house where his family lived, and they ordered delivery food together. That is about all there is to the friendship between the two. At that time, Kim Sae Ron was also aware that Kim Soo Hyun had been in a long-term relationship. It is unclear what feelings Kim Sae Ron had toward Kim Soo Hyun at the time, but it is confirmed that she actively reached out to him.
As a result, it seems that Kim Soo Hyun, who was in a relationship, kept considerable distance from Kim Sae Ron.”
— Lee Jin Ho
Citing an old comment from Dispatch about Kim Soo Hyun, Lee Jin Ho continued to vouch for the actor’s non-involvement with the late actress.
“In fact, Kim Soo Hyun has been known to engage in hobbies like bowling, but also singing and hanging out with his friends, most of which took place at his own home or his family’s house. So much so that even Dispatch named him as the hardest celebrity to catch in a dating scandal. In fact, there have been no public photos of Kim Soo Hyun’s romantic relationships. In the ‘Chicken Stew’ video, which was made public, he is actually accompanied by Lee Ro Be, the representative of his agency and a family member. To summarize these events: At the time, Kim Soo Hyun had been in a long-term relationship with a partner. Kim Sae Ron was aware of this, and during his long break, she only visited the house where the family lived once.
In fact, it has been confirmed that there are objective materials supporting Kim Soo Hyun’s long-term relationship with the partner he started dating in 2016. And so it seems, he will actively cooperate with the investigation. This matter is clearly a private affair and personal life, but since the police investigation is about to proceed, the truth will be clearly determined through what evidence is out there.”
— Lee Jin Ho
The YouTuber then turned on Kim Sae Ron and suggested that, based on the late actress’s sociable personality, she has dated around since her high school years.
Kim Sae Ron with her ‘New York’ Husband. | @ron_sae/Instagram
“So, is it possible that both Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron were both involved with each other and in other relationships at the same time? I focused on investigating this suspicion. Upon verification, this turned out to be untrue. The reason is that Kim Soo Hyun was released from his military duty on July 1, 2019. After dating for about three years, he ended his relationship with his partner as his military service came to an end. Kim Soo Hyun stated that he was in a relationship with Kim Sae Ron from the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2020. Note that Kim Sae Ron also had another partner leading up to this time. This is confirmed by clear evidence.
Kim Sae Ron has a highly sociable personality and has dated various people from high school to university. Sometimes, her affectionate displays, such as kissing her partner in public, were captured. The material I’m revealing today includes a video of Kim Sae Ron showing affection with her partner in Seoul, between Noryangjin Station and Eonju Station, in 2019.
I seriously debated whether to release this video. However, if the truth about this issue isn’t revealed, it will only lead to many unfair accusations and speculations. So, I made the decision to release it.”
— Lee Jin Ho
He provided photos and videos of Kim Sae Ron with her alleged boyfriend (not Kim Soo Hyun) and claimed that she was “affectionate” and open to displaying her relationship publicly.
“Let’s first take a look at the photos of Kim Sae Ron with her partner at that time. Some may argue that holding hands with a friend doesn’t necessarily prove they were in a relationship. To clarify that this was a date, I have decided to reveal a scene where they can clearly be seen as a couple. I hope you understand.
Since these were taken from a considerable distance, Kim Sae Ron’s face is not clearly visible. However, this video was taken by one of her closest friends, who was surprised to see Kim Sae Ron engaging in public affection and decided to film it. This footage eventually circulated to some staff members at her agency, and through similar processes, I was able to obtain it. The metadata of the video confirms that it was taken on May 27, 2019. This means that Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron were both dating different people at the same time, as this evidence shows.”
— Lee Jin Ho
The YouTuber ended the video reiterating that Kim Sae Ron’s claims of having dated Kim Soo Hyun for six years through her teenage years are false—and bidding Kim Se Ui of Garosero Research Institute good luck on his massive lawsuit filed by the actor.
“Therefore, Kim Sae Ron’s statement in her KakaoTalk message mentioning her relationship with Kim Soo Hyun lasting from November 2015 to 2021 is inaccurate. The expression she used in a letter to Kim Soo Hyun, saying he is her ‘first love and last love’ also turned out to be inaccurate.
Did Kim Sae Ron lie? There is a possibility, but we can’t completely rule it out. There’s a clear reason for this. In March 2024, Kim Sae Ron mentioned a photo with Kim Soo Hyun through KakaoTalk, claiming it was taken when she was 16 years old. This statement became the root cause of all the current controversy. However, through digital evidence verification, it was found that the photo was taken in 2019.
Kim Sae Ron was in 9th grade in 2016 and turned 20 in 2019. We will provide precise evidence later, but Kim Sae Ron wrote that the photo was from 2016, when she was with Kim Soo Hyun. It’s extremely difficult to confuse whether you were a middle school student or a university student in a photo. This suggests that there may have been discrepancies in Kim Sae Ron’s statements. Kim Sae Ron has continued to raise suspicions about the manipulation and falsehood of the materials she previously revealed, but she has not provided any rebuttals and has instead resorted to personal attacks.
The materials I am revealing today are not the end. I will continue to release all the materials I have gathered and have them judged by the viewers. As for Kim Se Ui, the end is near. I hope you resolve the legal issues and the civil case worth ₩12.0 billion KRW (about $8.07 million USD) well. The truth, though slow, will definitely be revealed. Thank you.”
— Lee Jin Ho
Meanwhile, Kim Soo Hyun held an emergency press conference on March 31, 2025 (KST), to address all accusations that the late actress‘s family made public following her sudden passing last month.
