Actor Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, Gold Medalist, has secured a court order to provisionally seize two apartments owned by Kim Se Eui, head of the YouTube channel Garo Sero Institute (Gaseyeon), as part of a 12 billion KRW (~$8.8 million USD) defamation lawsuit.
According to Money Today on June 11, the Seoul Central District Court approved the provisional seizure request on June 9. The properties in question are a 120.27㎡ unit in Seocho-gu and a 208.65㎡ unit in Apgujeong, Gangnam-gu.
The Apgujeong apartment is co-owned by Kim Se Eui and his sister, with Kim holding a 50% share. The seizure targets Kim’s share, and the total claimed value is estimated at around 4 billion KRW (2 billion per property).
Legal expert Roh Jong Eon explained, “This means the court found the lawsuit submitted by Kim Soo Hyun’s side sufficiently compelling. They substantiated who was responsible for the defamatory actions and detailed the estimated damage to the agency.” He added that since the decision was made based on written documentation without a hearing from Kim Se Eui or the family of the late Kim Sae Ron, the final damage amount may change during the main trial.
Roh speculated that Kim’s agency likely presented evidence disproving a relationship with Kim Sae Ron during her minor years, as well as documentation showing that Kim Se Eui’s press conference in May—where he claimed to have received an audio file from an anonymous source—caused serious reputational and financial harm, estimated at 12 billion KRW.
However, insiders note that both apartments have already been used as collateral for loans, making it unlikely that the agency will recover the full amount, even if they win the case.
The conflict began when Kim Se Eui and the late Kim Sae Ron’s family alleged that Kim Soo Hyun had an inappropriate relationship with her in 2015, when she was a minor. Kim Soo Hyun denied the claim, stating their relationship began in summer 2019, after she became an adult. He has since filed a 12 billion KRW lawsuit against Kim Se Eui and the family.
Kim Se Eui later released what he claimed was a voice recording of Kim Sae Ron confirming the relationship, but the file was soon exposed as an AI-generated deepfake, sparking further outrage and legal consequences.
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