South Korean actress Kim Sae Ron committed suicide on February 16, 2025 at the age of 24. Since her passing, her previous relationship with Queen of Tears actor Kim Soo Hyun was exposed. The pair allegedly dated for 6 years, when Kim Sae Ron was only 15 years old. Her passing was coincidentally on the same day as Kim Soo Hyun’s 37th birthday.
Kim Sae Ron was discovered lifeless at home by her friends. Despite immediate efforts to contact emergency services, her life could not be saved. The South Korean police stated that there were no signs of external intrusion at the scene, and the cause of death was still under investigation.
Kim Sae Ron Had Troubled Career
In 2022, Kim Sae Ron was caught in a DUI scandal which caused her to lose all her work. Her return to the entertainment industry has been rocky and her recent theater opportunity was also met with negative comments, eventually leading to her stepping away from the role.
In March 2024, while Kim Soo Hyun’s drama Queen of Tears was airing, Kim Sae Ron suddenly uploaded a picture of herself posing intimately with Kim Soo Hyun on her Instagram, only to delete it shortly after. She was accused of trying to ride on the coattails of the actor’s popularity, which resulted in backlash and criticism.
Kim Sae Ron Was Underage When Dating Kim Soo Hyun
Following her death, a woman known as AOO and claiming to be Kim Sae Ron’s aunt accused Kim Soo Hyun of being the reason behind her death. AOO alleged Kim Soo Hyun had manipulated Kim Sae Ron, who was part of the same agency at the time, into voluntarily resigning. In the live Youtube broadcast, AOO revealed previously unpublished Instagram posts from Kim Sae Ron, where she admitted she had dated Kim Soo Hyun from November 2015 to July 2021, from the time when she was 15 years old. After their breakup, Kim Soo Hyun demanded she repay 700 million Korean won (approximately $480,000 US dollars) that he had previously lent her.
A former child actress, Kim Sae Ron was discussing contract renewal with her company. During this time of meeting with different agencies, she signed an unfair contract with Gold Medalist, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency. She was assigned duties to sit in on casting for new talent, but she did not receive any proper compensation. Kim Sae Ron pointed out that the contract she signed with Gold Medalist was not a normal agency contract, but one that involved a loan condition, and was forced to sign an updated agreement under pressure. When it came time to renew the contract, neither the agency nor Kim Soo Hyun responded to her attempts to reach them. During the period when the contract was not renewed, she received threatening messages. Her contract ended in May 2022, and Kim Sae Ron expressed hope that her former agency would acknowledge the damages she suffered. The post was written by Kim Sae Ron on March 24, 2024, the same day she had uploaded the selfie with Kim Soo Hyun.
In response, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency denied all the accusations made in the YouTube livestream and stated that legal action would be taken. Kim Sae Ron’s parents were also suing the actor for defamation since he had denied his involvement with Kim Sae Ron.
Source: [1]
This article is written by Kiki for JayneStars.com.
