A sensational scandal accusing South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun of dating the late actress Kim Sae-ron during her teenage years was built entirely on forged digital evidence.
According to internal police documents reviewed by local media on Thursday, authorities have uncovered a calculated smear campaign driven by a desire for online clout and financial gain.
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported that the Seoul Gangnam Police Station has concluded its investigation into Kim Se-ui, the figurehead behind the gossip YouTube channel HoverLab (also recognised as Garo Sero Institute). Detectives allege that the content creator knowingly broadcast malicious lies about the actor to farm engagement and maximise YouTube ad revenue.
Anatomy of a smear campaign
Investigators have systematically debunked the «proof» broadcast by the channel over the past year. In documents filed to secure an arrest warrant, police stated that Kim Se-ui was fully aware the allegations were baseless but proceeded to launch a deliberate character assassination anyway.
The fabricated evidence centred heavily on purported KakaoTalk message histories published in March last year. Authorities revealed that Kim Se-ui acquired 11 digital screenshots from the grieving family of Kim Sae-ron. He then allegedly manipulated seven specific elements within these images, crucially altering the sender’s display name to frame Kim Soo-hyun.
These doctored files were subsequently presented to millions of viewers as verified romantic exchanges despite the true identity of the original sender remaining a mystery.
Furthermore, the police report confirmed that an explosive audio clip released by HoverLab last May was a complete fabrication. The recording, which supposedly featured the voice of the late actress, was actually generated using advanced artificial intelligence.
Legal repercussions and tragic context
The controversy first erupted when Kim Sae-ron’s bereaved family used the YouTube platform to claim the pair began a relationship in 2016 when the actress was only 15. Representatives for Kim Soo-hyun fiercely rejected this timeline, maintaining that the two only dated briefly between the summer of 2019 and the autumn of 2020 after she had legally reached adulthood.
The situation is heavily shadowed by tragedy, as Kim Sae-ron took her own life in February 2025.
Following the malicious broadcasts, Kim Soo-hyun initiated a sprawling defamation lawsuit in March of last year targeting both the YouTube channel and the late actress’s family.
Armed with the new police findings, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office officially requested an arrest warrant for Kim Se-ui on Tuesday
A judicial hearing to decide his immediate fate is slated for 26 May. The YouTuber completely denies the allegations levelled against him.
