When Kim Sae-ron was found dead at her dwelling in February, she joined a rising checklist of South Korean entertainers who’ve ended their very own lives. However the actress, who was 24, has generated extra headlines in loss of life than in life as her relationship with an older male celebrity has come below scrutiny.
The tragedy and scandal has embroiled Kim Soo-hyun, 37, one in all South Korea’s best-known actors, and is filled with allegations worthy of a Ok-drama story line: A former youngster prodigy and a person 13 years her senior began courting. Not lengthy after they broke up, the actress obtained right into a drunk-driving incident that proved deadly to her profession and suffered monetary troubles, whereas the actor turned one of many nation’s richest stars. She tried however didn’t stage a comeback. Then she took her personal life.
The scandal additionally raised extra critical accusations. Since Ms. Kim’s loss of life, her household has stated Mr. Kim began courting her when she was a minor, and that after they parted, a expertise company he based had pressured her over a debt she was unable to repay. Mr. Kim has denied the accusations in opposition to him, and filed a defamation lawsuit in opposition to Ms. Kim’s household.
However the scandal has already begun burning Mr. Kim’s profession and highlighted the perils of superstar in South Korea, the place private lives can come below unforgiving scrutiny. Stars have seen their careers ruined — and even ended their own lives — due to aggressive and generally malicious on-line rumors over every little thing from plastic surgical procedures to their romantic life.
“South Koreans deal with entertainers like public figures who should dwell as much as textbooklike moral requirements,” stated Bae Kug-nam, the writer of a number of books about South Korea’s leisure trade.
That tradition has created a lethal entice when mixed with YouTubers and different influencers who’ve dished out sensational particulars of a star’s private life, Mr. Bae stated.
Ms. Kim, a former youngster star, confronted such an onslaught when she obtained right into a drunk-driving incident in 2022. Amid a public furor, advertisers abandoned her. Roles have been canceled. Ms. Kim left Mr. Kim’s company Gold Medalist after the incident, however nonetheless owed it for a big mortgage that was used to pay penalties for failing to meet contracts with manufacturing firms and advertisers.
An absence of danger administration coaching leaves many South Korean entertainers badly ready for such crises, stated Jeongseob Kim, a professor on the Graduate Faculty of Tradition Business and Arts at Sungshin Girls’s College in Seoul. To them, a scandal usually means monetary devastation.
“Stars attain unbelievable heights,” Prof. Kim stated. “However they don’t notice that tall peaks imply deep valleys till they get into hassle.”
Ms. Kim’s relationship with Mr. Kim turned information when she briefly posted an outdated picture on her Instagram final 12 months. The picture confirmed the 2 with their cheeks touching and triggered a frenzy of hypothesis, though Mr. Kim denied a courting relationship.
Mr. Kim confronted a full-blown scandal final month after Ms. Kim’s household took her story to HoverLab, a YouTube channel greatest identified for carrying sensational content material. HoverLab has launched photographs, video clips and textual content messages that it stated backed its claims that Mr. Kim started sexually grooming Ms. Kim when she was below 16 and that he ignored her when she was in monetary hassle.
Mr. Kim and his company have denied the claims and filed lawsuits in opposition to HoverLab in addition to Ms. Kim’s household, accusing them of spreading fabricated proof, blackmailing the actor and violating his privateness.
A number of days earlier than Ms. Kim posted the picture final 12 months, she had acquired a discover from Mr. Kim’s company demanding reimbursement of her debt. The company stated that the discover was only a procedural step, however her household’s legal professionals stated she felt stress and sought assist from Mr. Kim.
“She tried however couldn’t attain Kim Soo-hyun,” stated Boo Ji-seok, her household’s lawyer. “She posted the picture briefly, hoping that it might immediate him to name her again.”
Solely below rising stress from Ms. Kim’s household did Mr. Kim say final month that he had dated her for a 12 months, after she turned an grownup. Ms. Kim’s legal professionals insist that their romantic relationship lasted six years, from 2015.
Mr. Kim stated that his denial final 12 months was pushed by his concern of the harm his admission would trigger. “I had a lot to guard,” he stated throughout a tearful information convention on Monday, explaining {that a} drama collection during which he stars, called “Queen of Tears,” was being proven on tv on the time. “What would occur to the actors performing alongside me, the employees who have been working in a single day on set and the manufacturing group who had every little thing staked on that mission?”
Manufacturers have begun dropping him from their ads. Native media reported that he might face big penalties if the scandal jeopardized initiatives he has been concerned in, together with a Disney+ show.
“Will probably be troublesome for him to take care of his present standing,” stated Prof. Kim. “The system hardly ever permits a second likelihood.”
In case you are having ideas of suicide, name or textual content 988 to achieve the 988 Suicide and Disaster Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a listing of extra assets.
In South Korea, name 109 for the Well being Ministry’s suicide prevention hotline, or go to the Korean-language website 129.go.kr/109.
