Korean star Kim Soo-hyun confirms relationship with Kim Sae-ron, denies dating her as minor

South Korean star Kim Soo-hyun, who is at the centre of a major controversy about his alleged relationship with late actor Kim Sae-ron, on Monday denied claims that he dated her when she was underage

South Korean star Kim Soo-hyun, who is at the centre of a major controversy about his alleged relationship with late actor Kim Sae-ron, on Monday denied claims that he dated her when she was underage.

Best known to Indian K-drama fans for It's Okay to Not Be Okay, My Love from the Star, and Queen of Tears, Kim Soo-hyun held a press conference in Seoul to deny allegations that he had any role in her suicide.

Kim Sae-ron was found dead at her home in Seoul on February 16. She was 24.

“I accept responsibility for what I have done and will take any criticism for it. But I cannot take responsibility for something I did not do. For the people who still believe in me, I want to set the record straight,” the 37-year-old actor said, as he cried inconsolably while addressing the media, reported by The Korea Times.

Soo-hyun, one of the most popular Korean actors worldwide, is facing heat from Kim Sae-ron's family and local media amid claims that he was in a relationship with her when she was just 15 and that his agency GoldMedalist forced her to repay a debt prior to her death.

About the allegations that he dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor and groomed her, the actor said they dated for only a year after she became an adult, between 2019 and 2020.

“Outside of being actors, we were just like any other couple,” he said of Kim Sae-ron, who rose to prominence as a child actor with The Man From Nowhere to a leading lady in films such as A Girl at My Door.