Gold Medalist Says They Never Forced Kim Sae Ron to Pay Back Debts and Clears Up Kim Soo Hyun Rumors in Long Official Statement

Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, Gold Medalist, has released a detailed statement addressing claims that they pressured actress Kim Sae Ron to repay debts from her drunk driving incident. The agency asserts they actually helped her, and eventually wrote off the remaining debt.

Agency Refutes Pressure Allegations

Gold Medalist directly responded to claims made by Garo Sero Institute, which alleged the agency forced Kim Sae Ron to pay back debts, leading to distress. The agency stated these claims are false. They explained that they worked to lower Kim Sae Ron’s initial debt, which included penalty fees from acting contracts and compensation for affected businesses.

According to Gold Medalist, the initial penalty totaled approximately ₩1.14 billion KRW (about $784,000 USD). The agency claims they successfully lowered this amount to around ₩700 million KRW (about $482,000 USD). They also denied repossessing her vehicle, stating they helped sell it to contribute to the debt settlement.

“Due to reports from Garo Sero Institute, Kim Soo Hyun was portrayed as a villain who drove Kim Sae Ron to her death. Garo Sero Institute alleged that Gold Medalist, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, pressured Kim Sae Ron to pay off the debts resulting from her drunk driving accident. They further claimed that she sought help from him, but he ignored her, which ultimately led her to make an extreme decision. However, this is not true. At the time, Gold Medalist covered the remaining debts that she was unable to pay. Gold Medalist worked with Kim Sae Ron to settle various financial obligations, including penalty fees related to her acting contracts and compensation for business owners affected by her drunk driving accident. The total penalty at the time amounted to approximately ₩1.14 billion KRW (about $784,000 USD). The agency made efforts to reduce the burden on Ms. Kim Sae-ron and managed to lower the remaining amount to around 700 million KRW through various means, including repairing and selling Ms. Kim Sae-ron’s severely damaged vehicle. Contrary to the claim made by a whistleblower to Garo Sero Institute, the agency did not take away her vehicle but facilitated its sale as part of the debt settlement process.”

— Gold Medalist

Debt Write-Off and Legal Procedures

Gold Medalist further explained that Kim Sae Ron faced difficulties returning to the entertainment industry, making it impossible for her to repay the remaining debt. In December 2023, the agency decided to write off the debt as a loss.

“Despite her efforts, she faced significant challenges resuming her acting career after the incident and was ultimately unable to repay the remaining debt. As a result, Gold Medalist determined that she could no longer fulfill her financial obligations and wrote off her debt as a loss in December 2023. The agency’s audit report dated April 1, 2024, confirms that the entire debt amount was classified as a bad debt expense. This process required Gold Medalist to follow legal procedures. If the agency had arbitrarily covered her penalty fees, its executives could have been accused of breach of fiduciary duty. Furthermore, if the agency had loaned her money without proper documentation, it could have been seen as granting unlawful benefits to a specific individual.”

— Gold Medalist

The agency sent a formal notice to Kim Sae Ron at the beginning of 2024. They clarified that this was not a demand for repayment but a necessary step to officially write off the debt and avoid potential legal issues. This action also helped to prevent Kim Sae Ron from facing a gift tax on the waived amount.

“At the beginning of 2024, during an accounting audit, the agency had to decide how to handle its claims against Kim Sae Ron. Legal and accounting firms advised that if the agency wrote off the debt without any collection efforts, it could be seen as an unjustified exemption, potentially harming the company and leading to legal issues for its executives. Therefore, it was necessary to demonstrate that she was in a state of “unrecoverable” financial distress. To establish this, the agency sent a formal notice to her. This was not an attempt to pressure her for repayment but a procedural step to confirm that the debt was officially being written off. Additionally, if her debt was forgiven, there was a risk that she would have to pay a gift tax on the amount waived.”

— Gold Medalist

Gold Medalist concluded by reiterating that they did not pressure Kim Sae Ron for repayment beyond her means, and that they followed proper legal and accounting procedures in handling her debt.

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Source: YT

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