The legal battle surrounding Kim Soo Hyun and the late Kim Sae Ron has taken another dramatic turn, with prosecutors seeking an arrest warrant for Hoverlab CEO Kim Se Eui.
According to reports, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office filed the warrant request on May 19th, saying there were sufficient grounds to approve detention. Kim Se Eui is scheduled to appear at the court on the 26th for a pre-arrest hearing.
The case centers on claims repeatedly made through Hoverlab broadcasts that Kim Soo Hyun dated Kim Sae Ron while she was still a minor — allegations the actor has strongly denied while pursuing legal action against Kim Se Eui.
Police cited the seriousness of the allegations, concerns over repeated offenses, possible destruction of evidence and fears of witness intimidation as reasons for seeking detention.
Investigators further alleged that Kim Se Ui played what police described as an AI-generated voice recording during a press conference, claiming Kim Sae Ron first had sexual relations with Kim Soo Hyun while she was still underage and that the actor’s side attempted to pay 4 billion won (approximately $2.7 million) to obtain the file.
Police also claimed Kim Se Eui manipulated KakaoTalk screenshots by changing profile details to make conversations appear as though they were directly between Kim Soo Hyun and Kim Sae Ron. Investigators further alleged he played an AI-generated voice recording during a press conference containing additional accusations against the actor.
Police additionally accused Kim Se Ui of broadcasting private images related to Kim Soo Hyun and pressuring the actor by threatening to release more personal material unless he apologized publicly to Kim Sae Ron’s family.
In response, Kim Se Ui denied wrongdoing and argued the police findings were contradictory.
“The National Forensic Service said it could not determine whether the audio file was AI-generated,” he said in a phone interview. “But police are now definitely calling it fabricated. That doesn’t add up.”
He also maintained that Kim Sae Ron’s family had commissioned a forensic analysis of her phone and confirmed KakaoTalk conversations between the actress and Kim Soo Hyun existed.
“We repeatedly explained during the press conference that the chat logs shown were reconstructed CG versions, not the original screenshots,” he said.
Kim Se Ui further criticized police for citing Kim Sae Ron’s father’s refusal to submit the actress’s final cellphone as part of the detention request, calling the reasoning difficult to understand.
The court is expected to decide after the May 26th hearing whether Kim Se Ui will be formally detained while the investigation continues.
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