Actor Fell Off the Map After Scandal. Now, 'Truth'

A Korean YouTuber who built an audience on political hot takes and celebrity gossip is now behind bars over what authorities say was an AI-fueled smear of one of the country's biggest stars. Police and prosecutors in Seoul accuse Hover Lab's Kim Se-ui of fabricating "evidence" that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated late fellow actor Kim Sae-ron when she was underage, including an allegedly AI-generated audio clip and doctored screenshots of texts, reports the BBC. A Seoul court approved Kim Se-ui's arrest on Tuesday, citing concerns he could flee or get rid of evidence.

Outside of the courthouse, Kim Se-ui refuted the allegations and said he plans to file complaints against investigators, insisting that Korea's National Forensic Service had said it couldn't tell whether or not the audio—in which Kim Sae-ron seemingly claimed she'd had a romantic relationship with Kim Soo-hyun since she was in middle school—had been tweaked via AI, per Korea Now. "I do not acknowledge any of the charges," he said, per the Korea Times, calling the warrant against him "nonsense."

Kim Soo-hyun, a ubiquitous face in Korean dramas and ads before the scandal, has largely withdrawn from public life since the claims emerged last year, shortly after Kim Sae-ron, 24, took her own life, per the BBC. Police say the false allegations devastated his career and that he's still receiving psychiatric treatment. His agency on Wednesday said the "truth has been proven," noting that investigators found Hover Lab's claims baseless. At an emotional presser last year, Kim Soo-hyun acknowledged dating Kim Sae-ron only after she was an adult, insisting, "I can't admit to something I didn't do" and vowing to clear his name—something his team now says the past year has been devoted to.