Kim Soo-hyun Gives Private Testimony as Kim Se-ui Denies Charges in Seoul Trial

Four and a half hours of testimony behind closed doors

Actor Kim Soo-hyun testified for about four and a half hours on November 11 in the criminal trial of Kim Se-ui, the head of the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, as a dispute over allegations involving the late actress Kim Sae-ron moved through a Seoul courtroom.

The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 26, presided over by Judge Lee Hyun-kyung, heard the actor in private and kept the two men apart. Kim Se-ui, who is being held in custody, denied all charges through his lawyer and asked to be released on bail.

The case concerns allegations that Kim Se-ui spread false information about Kim Soo-hyun's relationship with Kim Sae-ron and the circumstances of her death. It also involves accusations concerning an audio recording, the unauthorized publication of private photographs and threats to disclose material about the actor's personal life.

Kim Soo-hyun arrived at the courthouse at about 1:40 p.m., using a route away from the main entrance. He did not appear before waiting journalists or make a public statement. His testimony ended at about 7:10 p.m., and the hearing finished around 7:30 p.m. The next hearing was scheduled for November 13.

Why the court separated the two men

The hearing began at 2 p.m. and was closed to the public roughly half an hour later. The court took account of charges under South Korea's Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and the need to protect the actor's privacy during questioning.

Judge Lee's panel also determined that Kim Soo-hyun might have difficulty giving a full account in Kim Se-ui's presence. It ordered the defendant to leave the courtroom while his lawyer remained able to put questions to the witness.

Kim Se-ui, the defendant and head of Garosero Research Institute, objected to being separated from the actor. He told the court:

I have the right to question the witness directly.

The court rejected that request and directed him to use his legal representative for questioning:

Ask through your lawyer.

The arrangement allowed the actor's evidence to be heard without a direct encounter between the two men, while preserving a route for the defense to question him. Because the testimony was private, the public account of the hearing covers the court's procedural decisions and statements made before the session closed, rather than the substance of the actor's answers.

What the prosecution alleges

Kim Se-ui was indicted and detained in June on charges including defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act and violations of the sexual crimes law. Defamation concerns statements that damage another person's reputation; in this case, the prosecution alleges that information distributed through YouTube and other channels was false.

The central allegations concern claims that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor, and that pressure from the actor's side to repay a debt directly caused her death. Prosecutors accuse Kim Se-ui of spreading those claims as false statements.

The case also concerns an audio recording presented as Kim Sae-ron's voice, which prosecutors are described as treating as manipulated using artificial intelligence. Other allegations involve publishing Kim Soo-hyun's private photographs without permission and threatening to reveal further material about his personal life.

The charges therefore reach beyond the disputed relationship timeline. They also concern how personal material was obtained or used, what was published and whether threats accompanied its release. Kim Se-ui's defense contests the prosecution's account, and the court has yet to deliver a verdict.

The defense challenges the claims and the audio evidence

Before the hearing became private, Kim Se-ui's lawyer denied every charge. The lawyer argued that the statements at issue were true and that relevant material had been checked with Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family and others.

Kim Se-ui separately challenged the allegation that the recording was created or altered using artificial intelligence. He cited an analysis by a professor at Korea University's forensic center, submitted in October, and pointed to the file creation time described in that analysis.

According to his explanation in court, the file was created two months before his broadcast revealing the allegations and one month before Kim Sae-ron's death, during a period when she was living in New Jersey. Those dates formed part of his argument against the prosecution's account of the recording.

A file creation date is a timestamp associated with a digital file. The dispute before the court also concerns the recording's origin and contents, so the defense's timestamp argument sits within a broader examination of the audio evidence.

Kim Se-ui also claimed that wording about AI manipulation in his arrest warrant had been removed from the indictment, with the accusation instead framed around broadcasting claims heard from the bereaved family. Other accounts of the charges continued to describe the distribution of AI manipulated audio as part of the case. The precise indictment wording and the underlying forensic analysis were not publicly reproduced in the hearing coverage.

A bail request alongside the criminal trial

Kim Se-ui used his opportunity to address the court to seek release from custody. He argued that detention prevented him from searching for material, checking evidence and conducting reporting needed for his defense.

The Garosero Research Institute head described those restrictions to the judges:

While in custody, I cannot verify any material or conduct reporting.

He then asked the court to approve bail quickly so that he could contest the case against Kim Soo-hyun fairly. He had applied for bail the previous month, citing mental illness among the reasons for release.

Bail would allow him to remain outside detention while the case proceeds, subject to conditions set by the court. The request concerns where and under what restrictions he awaits trial, while the criminal proceedings determine the charges. No decision on the application was announced in the account of the November 11 hearing.

A second legal effort targets the videos

Kim Soo-hyun's side is also asking a court to order the removal of Garosero Research Institute videos containing allegedly defamatory statements about him and to prohibit their publication. That application was still awaiting a ruling.

The request has a different practical purpose from the criminal prosecution. The trial addresses Kim Se-ui's alleged offenses, while the video application seeks to stop the disputed material from remaining available or being published again. For the actor, the legal dispute therefore involves both responsibility for past broadcasts and control over their continuing circulation.

The main developments span several stages:

• March of the previous year: Kim Se-ui publicly alleged that Kim Soo-hyun's relationship with Kim Sae-ron began while she was a minor.
• After the allegations: Kim Soo-hyun stopped his entertainment activities and filed defamation complaints against Kim Se-ui and members of Kim Sae-ron's bereaved family.
• June: Kim Se-ui was indicted and detained.
• October: Kim Se-ui sought bail and submitted the forensic analysis cited in his defense.
• November 11: Kim Soo-hyun testified privately at the first trial hearing.
• November 13: The court scheduled the next hearing.

Kim Soo-hyun had previously held a news conference to deny wrongdoing. His courthouse appearance continued that response through legal proceedings, without another public address to the media.

The actor's career remains unsettled

Kim Soo-hyun's legal appearance comes amid a prolonged interruption to his acting career. The controversy prompted a sharp reversal in his public standing, with supporters calling for his return and other viewers objecting to announced public appearances.

An October fan meeting in the Philippines drew approximately 20,000 people, showing that he retained a substantial audience overseas. Some fans have argued that he has faced too many unverified accusations and have expressed hope that he will return to television.

Other viewers opposed his participation when an appearance at a major awards ceremony was announced. Those reactions illustrate the different audiences surrounding his attempted return: a large fan gathering can coexist with resistance to his presence at a broader entertainment event.

His Disney+ series, Knock-Off, still had no newly announced release date. For viewers waiting for the production, the practical position remains a missing date on the release calendar, even as the legal proceedings move toward their next hearing.

The immediate decisions lie with the courts: how the criminal evidence is assessed, whether Kim Se-ui receives bail and whether the disputed videos must be removed or barred from further publication. Those proceedings are moving on separate tracks from decisions about the actor's public appearances and the release of his work.

Key Points

• Kim Soo-hyun gave about four and a half hours of private testimony at the Seoul Central District Court on November 11.
• The court separated him from Kim Se-ui and required the defendant to question him through a lawyer.
• Kim Se-ui denied all charges, disputed allegations involving the audio recording and requested bail.
• The prosecution's case concerns alleged false statements, private photographs, audio material and threats to disclose personal information.
• Kim Soo-hyun's request to remove videos and prohibit their publication was awaiting a court ruling.
• The next trial hearing was scheduled for November 13, while Knock-Off had no newly announced release date.