"Kim Soo Hyun, murder-for-hire of Kim Sae Ron whistleblower" proven false, authorities confirm no such case

Claims that actor Kim Soo Hyun was involved in orchestrating a violent attack on a whistleblower who had provided a controversial recording related to the late Kim Sae Ron have been officially debunked.

According to the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York on May 19, there has been no record or notification of any Korean national being arrested or involved in a criminal case involving attempted murder or other serious charges in the U.S., as would be required under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The alleged victim, referred to as A, had claimed to have been stabbed nine times in the neck in New Jersey by two men—one Korean and one Chinese—and that the attack was linked to a plot involving Kim Soo Hyun. However, the consulate confirmed that no such case has been reported by local authorities, and no official notification has been received.

YouTuber Kim Se Ui, head of Garosero Research Institute, held a press conference on May 7, claiming A had been assaulted and that the attackers had been arrested. He also alleged that FBI records connected the attackers to Kim Soo Hyun through phone records.

However, inconsistencies in the story quickly surfaced. A later changed the story, saying only their arm had been injured. A medical report they presented noted injuries to the right shoulder and left hand—nowhere matching the initial claims of nine stab wounds to the neck.

The case stems from a manipulated audio recording allegedly provided by A, in which Kim Sae Ron is heard claiming she dated Kim Soo Hyun in 2015 when she was still a minor. However, journalist-turned-YouTuber Lee Jin Ho presented a forensic report stating that the recording was likely AI-generated and altered with added noise and a third-party voice.

Lee further claimed that A had attempted to contact both him and Kim Soo Hyun’s camp to demand money, which was refused. The actor’s agency has not issued a formal statement but is reported to be monitoring the situation closely.