K-netizens weigh in on Kim Sae Ron's aunt's claims that Gold Medalist imposed an unfair penalty on the late actress

As Garosero Research Institute continues to release content about Kim Soo Hyun and the late actress Kim Sae Ron, Korean netizens are revisiting one of the YouTube channel's past videos and putting weight on the actress's aunt's claims.

On March 10, Garosero Research Institute held a livestream where they allegedly talked with Kim Sae Ron's aunt, who claimed that Kim Soo Hyun had dated Kim Sae Ron for six years and that Gold Medalist had unfairly imposed a heavy penalty on the late actress.

Kim Sae Ron's aunt explained to Garosero Research Institute, "As you said when an actor under the agency goes through something like this, the company should help resolve the situation together. However, when the transformer crash incident happened, and businesses reported severe damages, the penalties were unbelievably high. Initially, they were talking about over 20 billion KRW (approx. 15 million USD) in compensation."

She continued, "Her family wanted to properly investigate and ensure fair compensation for the businesses affected by the transformer crash, but the agency cut that off. Instead, they insisted on paying everything quickly to wrap things up."

The aunt explained, "From a parental perspective, we naturally trusted the agency to handle things in Sae Ron’s best interest. But instead, they pinned all the debt on her. Suddenly, they hired three lawyers and sent a certification of contents demanding that she repay 700 million KRW (approx. 482,000 USD)."

The aunt added, "When Sae Ron saw that, she broke down in tears. She immediately tried to contact them, but no one responded. Worse, people around her were told not to reach out to her, effectively cutting her off. (This wasn’t the first time—the agency had already been pressuring other actors and even Sae Ron’s celebrity friends to stop contacting her.) With no way to get through to them, she resorted to posting that photo (of her and Kim Soo Hyun)."

She concluded, "After the incident, Sae Ron did everything she could to take responsibility—gathering all the money she had, borrowing from acquaintances, and trying to settle things. But then, out of nowhere, she was hit with a 700 million KRW legal notice. How was she supposed to come up with that money on top of everything else?"

Following the continued revelations about Kim Soo Hyun, K-netizens began putting weight on the aunt's claims regarding Gold Medalist, who also manages Kim Soo Hyun currently. Korean netizens further believe the aunt's claims following Garosero Research Institute's release of Kim Sae Ron's alleged text messages to Kim Soo Hyun.

According to GaroSero, Kim Sae Ron texted Kim Soo Hyun seeking help. She wrote to him a day before uploading the selfie with him, saying, "Oppa, it’s Sae Ron. I received a certified letter—I’m being sued. You said you’d give me plenty of time, so I’ve been diligently preparing for my comeback, planning to repay you little by little with each project. It’s not that I refuse to pay, but I simply can’t come up with 700 million won all at once. It’s not that I won’t; I just can’t. Do I really have to go to court? Please help me. I’m begging you—just give me more time."

Korean netizens who are now leaning towards believing in the aunt's claims further commented:

"What's with the agency? Are they thugs?"

"They are crazy for money."

"It sounds like the agency is some kind of criminal group."

"How can they do this to a young girl?"

"They did so much media play that Kim Sae Ron was made to look bad."

"This is so crazy."

"They did all this to cancel one young girl."

"If this is true, it seems the agency pushed her over the edge just to block dating rumors with Kim Soo Hyun."

"Oh my..."

"I wonder if she received proper payment during her activities at this point now."

"I feel so bad for her."

"This is so inhumane."

"How can they do that to her?"

"Just because they wanted 700 million KRW from a young girl."

"People were saying she died on his birthday for a reason."

"What is scary was when the Seo Yea Ji scandal was out, people were saying how Kim Soo Hyun knew she was crazy so he kept his guard up. But someone commented that Kim Soo Hyun is actually worse than Seo Yea Ji."

"Did they have to do this to a young girl?"

"They just sent her a certified letter telling her to pay them. Wow..."