MBCs Straight Investigates AI-Fabricated Audio Claims Linking Kim Sae-ron and Kim Soo-hyun
When a whisper turns into a scandal, the stakes are high. On June 14, MBC’s hard‑news program Straight aired a segment that dug into a series of audio recordings the late actress Kim Sae‑ron was said to have made. The files, released by YouTuber Kim Se‑ui on May 7, were used to allege that Kim Sae‑ron had dated actor Kim Soo‑hyun while she was a minor.
Police investigators have since determined that the recordings were altered with artificial‑intelligence technology. The National Forensic Service, acting on the police’s request, confirmed that the files were not original and that verification was impossible. The claims that the audio proved a teenage romance between Kim Sae‑ron and an adult actor have therefore been called into question.
An informant supplied the Garo Sero Institute with the audio. That same source had approached Kim Soo‑hyun’s agency about a month earlier with a different version of the recordings, in which Kim Sae‑ron supposedly denied any relationship with the actor while she was underage. Messages from the informant, dated April 5, suggested the files could be sold for money and that, if Kim Soo‑hyun’s side accepted, the informant would later arrange for the actor to appear in a company advertisement.
Kim Soo‑hyun’s attorney, Go Sang‑rok, told Straight that multiple versions of the recordings exist, each with conflicting content. He said that the sheer number of contradictory versions constitutes “circumstantial evidence that they cannot be authentic.” The informant’s claim that the recordings were taken in January 2025—just a month before Kim Sae‑ron’s death on February 16—was noted as suspicious, given that the issue had not yet entered the public sphere.
Kim Se‑ui has repeatedly insisted that the audio had been verified. He also alleged that Kim Soo‑hyun’s side offered the informant tens of billions of won for the file and that, after the offer was rejected, unidentified assailants were sent to kill the informant. Straight countered these claims by noting that the National Forensic Service had not confirmed authenticity and that the request for examination came from the police, not from Kim Se‑ui.
The investigation has highlighted the ongoing exploitation of Kim Sae‑ron’s voice and name after her death, as well as the broader problem of AI‑generated content being used to defame public figures in South Korea. The police have not yet announced whether charges will be filed against Kim Se‑ui or the informant.
At present, the case remains under police scrutiny. Straight has called for a thorough forensic review of all versions of the audio and for the legal system to address the use of AI‑generated material in defamation cases. No further developments have been reported as of the time of this article.
