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Kim Soo Hyun press conference: 13 million Chinese fans tune in for actor’s clarification over allegations of dating minor Kim Sae Ron
Kim Soo Hyun faced sarcastic remarks from Korean netizens after his press conference's live broadcast reached an audience of 13 million in China. Find out more.
Kim Soo Hyun was known to command a big fanbase in China until he was embroiled in the dating scandal involving a minor, Kim Sae Ron. He held an emergency press conference in Seoul on March 31, where he broke down in tears while addressing all the allegations against him. During that then, a large number of Chinese netizens tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the conference and Korean netizens saw it as an opportunity to mock the actor and his controversial statements, as mentioned in an Allkpop article.
Kim Soo Hyun accepted that he dated Kim Sae Ron, but only in 2019, after she turned a legal adult. Other than that, he refuted all the other accusations, including being romantically involved with her when she was a minor, "grooming" her and sending her questionable KakaoTalk messages when she was 15. As per him, he and his agency, GOLDMEDALIST, had no role in the actress's extreme choice. The emergency press conference's live airing on YouTube saw a lot of viewers from China expressing their dissent regarding the actor's statement.
Things got worse when Kim Soo Hyun called himself a "star" while mentioning how different human Kim Soo Hyun's choices and actions were from actor Kim Soo Hyun's. It was met with heavy criticism by both the Korean and Chinese netizens. Taking a dig at him, the Korean fans commented in a mocking tone, "He needs to include this in his filmography. This is his career high." It indicated it to the 13 million+ Chinese viewers of the broadcast. Another Korean viewer wrote, "13 million people are watching his show because he's Star Kim Soo Hyun." They used the word "show," probably to imply that his emotional speech delivery was insincere or fake.
Another comment read, "This is pretty embarrassing," and a fourth one said, "I'm absolutely disgusted. Even as a third party." They demanded the actor accept dating Kim Sae Ron as a minor and apologize to the bereaved family for putting them through immense emotional trouble. Thus, even after the actor's attempt at clarification of the accusations, it seems like public opinion has still not moved in his favor.
