YouTuber Kwon Youngchan Referred to Prosecution for Alleged Defamation of Kim Soo-hyun

Kwon Youngchan, a YouTuber and former comedian, has been referred to the prosecution on charges of defamation for allegedly spreading false and defamatory claims about actor Kim Soo-hyun.

Actor Kim Soo-hyun, who had remained silent about the recent privacy controversy, is making a statement at the Stanford Hotel in Mapo-gu, Seoul on March 31, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

According to the police and other sources on August 10, the Seocho Police Station in Seoul referred Kwon to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention on July 24, on suspicion of defamation under the Information and Communication Network Act. Kwon is accused of making remarks on his YouTube channel last year alleging that Kim Soo-hyun dated and had sexual relations with the late Kim Saeron while she was a minor.

Previously, in April last year, fans of Kim Soo-hyun filed a complaint for defamation against Kwon and others who spread unverified and defamatory claims online through investigative agencies.

Meanwhile, the case in which the bereaved family of Kim Saeron accused Kim Soo-hyun of violating the Child Welfare Act and other charges was recently dismissed by the police. The Seongdong Police Station in Seoul, which investigated the case, reportedly determined that the audio recording submitted as evidence for the claim that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Saeron while she was a minor may have been manipulated. It was also found that there was a lack of other objective evidence to support the allegations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.