A storm of allegations has hit Kim Soo-hyun and his agency, Gold Medalist, with claims of stock manipulation tied to an online education company and the late actress Kim Sae-ron. The controversy, sparked by a recent Garo Sero Institute livestream, has raised questions about financial misconduct and the use of Kim Sae-ron’s identity. Here’s a detailed look at the unfolding story.
What Sparked the Stock Manipulation Claims?
On April 10, KBS News reported that police are investigating suspicions of stock manipulation at Siwon School, a KOSDAQ-listed online education company.
The company’s stock price was around 1,000 KRW three years ago.
In July that year, it began climbing sharply.
By the following April, it hit over 10,000 KRW—a sevenfold jump in nine months.
A sudden mass sell-off caused the price to crash back to its original level within two months.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the Financial Services Commission flagged the activity, suspecting market manipulation.
The Korea Exchange (KRX) also noted unusual trading patterns. Police are now tracing accounts involved and tracking where profits went. A key detail? Over 50% of Siwon School’s shares are held by a private investment fund, partly linked to an entertainment agency.
When KBS reached out, the agency—rumored to be Gold Medalist—denied involvement, stating:
“We have never interfered with the stock price of the mentioned company.”
Garo Sero Institute’s Explosive Allegations
On April 11, Kim Yong-ho, head of the YouTube channel Garo Sero Institute, held a livestream that threw fuel on the fire. He claimed the agency in the KBS report shares a building with Gold Medalist.
He pointed to Gold&S, a company where Gold Medalist and Siwon School hold shares, noting its stock recently plummeted. Kim Yong-ho alleged that Kim Sae-ron was listed as a special related party of Gold&S, holding 66,000 shares, down from 100,000.
He questioned why Kim Sae-ron’s name appeared in the records but not Seo Ye-ji, another former Gold Medalist actress.
“This proves how close she was to Kim Soo-hyun. But why was Kim Sae-ron used through identity misappropriation?”
He also claimed Ryu Tae-hyun, a director linked to Gold&S, tried contacting Kim Sae-ron’s father multiple times via calls and messages.
Kim Sae-ron’s Connection to Gold Medalist
Kim Sae-ron, who tragically passed away in February 2025, had a complex history with Gold Medalist. She joined the agency in 2019, around the time it was founded by Kim Soo-hyun, Ahn Sung-soo (CEO), and Lee Ro-bae (CCO).
During a March 27 press conference, Kim Sae-ron’s family shared a handwritten letter she wrote to Kim Soo-hyun after receiving a legal document from Gold Medalist. The letter, which was never delivered due to restricted access to his apartment, included a personal plea:
“I hope it’s you, not Ro-bae, who reads this.”
The family claimed this showed her desperation to reach Kim Soo-hyun directly. They also alleged Gold Medalist mistreated her, including demanding 700 million KRW (about $482,000 USD) to cover damages from her 2022 DUI incident.
Gold Medalist’s Background and Response
Gold Medalist, launched on November 22, 2019, manages Kim Soo-hyun and has co-produced projects like:
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (2020, tvN, with Story TV)
One Ordinary Day (2021, Coupang Play, with Studio M and Chorokbaem Media)
Lee Ro-bae, the agency’s CCO, directed the film Real, starring Kim Soo-hyun. Despite these ties, Gold Medalist has firmly denied any role in stock manipulation.
Public reaction has been heated, with netizens comparing Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron’s media crises. Some have criticized Kim Soo-hyun’s silence, while others question Garo Sero Institute’s motives, given its controversial history.
What’s Happening Now?
The police investigation into Siwon School and the alleged involvement of Gold Medalist is ongoing. Authorities are digging into account details and profit trails to confirm if manipulation occurred.
Kim Yong-ho’s claims have amplified public scrutiny, but they remain unverified. Gold Medalist has not issued a new statement addressing the Garo Sero Institute’s latest allegations.
We use cookies to enhance your experience. By consenting, you allow us to process data like Browse behavior and unique IDs. Declining may affect some site features.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
![50 Cent Shares AI-Generated Trailer Mocking Diddy and Other Celebrities; Internet Calls Him the “Goat of Trolling” [WATCH]](https://vviptimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/50_cent_and_Diddy.webp "50 cent and Diddy")
