Kim Soo-hyun Cleared: Police Say 2016 KakaoTalk Chat Not His, Report Says

Actor Kim Soo-hyun is back in the spotlight as new details emerge in the controversy surrounding allegations that he dated the late Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. Police found that a 2016 KakaoTalk conversation, one of the central pieces of evidence cited in the allegations last year, was not between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron, according to a report published this week.

Dispatch reported on Oct. 13 that police analyzed a phone used by Kim Sae-ron and related materials, identifying the other partcipant in the 2016 chat as a different celebrity, referred to as A. The same conversation was presented last year by Garosero Research Institute, a controversial YouTube channel, as the basis for claims that Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron dated when she was underage.

The messages drew heavy attention at the time because of lines such as "When can I hold you and sleep?" According to Dispatch, the recovered data directly identified A by name, and investigators compared speech patterns, spelling habits and references to people around the pair. One factor cited was that A tended to spell certain Korean verb endings correctly, while Kim Soo-hyun often used shortened, less standard forms.

The time Kim Sae-ron saved Kim Soo-hyun's phone number on her device was also reported to be later than the period of the 2016 chat. The report said that police forensic work on the phone she used at the time did not turn up material supporting the claim that the two dated while she was a minor.

Kim Soo-hyun held a press conference last year as the controversy grew. He acknowledged that he had dated Kim Sae-ron, but said the relationship began only after she became an adult. He also denied that the 2016 KakaoTalk messages were his, citing an outside analysis to push back on the claim.

Police later decided not to forward Kim Soo-hyun's case to prosecutors on alleged child welfare law violations and false accusation, citing insufficient evidence. Kim Se-eui, head of Garosero Research Institute, has been indicted and detained on charges including spreading false information about Kim Soo-hyun, and is currently on trial.

Kim Soo-hyun scaled back his public activities following the controversy, but has started to return in the second half of this year, inluding a fan event in Manila and an appearance at the 2026 The Fact Music Awards. He is also set to attend AAA 2026 in December.