Voice file, messages involving actor Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sae-ron manipulated by AI: Seoul police - The Korea Times

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Voice file, messages involving actor Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sae-ron manipulated by AI: Seoul police<br>ListenListen<br>Text Size<br>Print

By Baek Byung-yeul Published May 21, 2026 5:14 pm KST<br>Updated May 21, 2026 5:27 pm KST

Actor Kim Soo-hyun speaks during a press conference regarding allegations about his past relationship at a hotel in Seoul, March 31, 2025. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

A voice file of deceased actor Kim Sae-ron, in which she admits that she had been a minor when she began a relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun, had been manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI), Korean language daily Chosun Ilbo reported Thursday, quoting a police document.<br>The female actor committed suicide in February last year, raising allegations that Kim Soo-hyun was in part responsible. Kim Soo-hyun most recently enjoyed popularity with his role in the 2024 drama series "Queen of Tears."<br>Following the spiraling allegations against him, Kim held an emotional press conference, claiming he had not been in a relationship with the deceased at the time of her suicide and that he had not dated Kim when she was a minor. The press conference and ensuing media coverage led to his downfall as an actor.<br>Police have been conducting an investigation into the case since then, and on Wednesday sought an arrest warrant for Kim Se-ui, head of the controversial YouTube channel HoverLab (GaroSero Institute), over allegations of defaming Kim Soo-hyun by spreading fabricated claims about his past relationship with the late actor.<br>"The suspect held a press conference on May 7 last year and played an audio file of the deceased's voice, which was fake and made by AI. He then falsely claimed the deceased had been dating the accused since she was middle school and they had their first sexual encounter during her second year of middle school, during winter break,” the arrest warrant request is quoted as saying.<br>"The suspect distributed false information with the intent to slander the victim, despite being well aware that actor Kim had never dated the deceased while she was a minor."<br>Chosun Ilbo also reported that not only the voice file, but also text messages exchanged between the two Kims, were manipulated.<br>There was suspicion last year that the voice file had been manipulated. In November, the National Forensic Service concluded that it was unable to determine whether there was AI manipulation.<br>In addition, police have also booked the legal representative of the late actor’s bereaved family as an accomplice, suspecting the lawyer of providing the manipulated materials to Kim Se-ui to help spread the false rumors.