Police seek warrant for YouTuber accused of fabricating Kim Soo-hyun evidence

Seoul police have moved to arrest Kim Se-ui, the YouTuber who built his audience around scandal and now stands accused of manufacturing the evidence behind one of South Korea’s most damaging celebrity defamation campaigns. Investigators say the allegations centered on claims that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, but forensic review concluded the material used to support the story was manipulated.

Kim Se-ui, 50, runs HoverLab, also known as Garo Sero Research Institute. Police and prosecutors say the case rests on edited chat screenshots, an AI-generated voice recording and other material later challenged by forensic analysis. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office requested a bench warrant on May 20, 2026, after police had reportedly sought one on May 14. A pre-arrest suspect interrogation is scheduled for May 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court.

The case has rattled South Korea because Kim Soo-hyun was once a household name and one of the country’s most prominent actors. The accusations and the wave of online scrutiny that followed helped upend his career and prolonged the backlash around him, particularly as the controversy became intertwined with the death of Kim Sae-ron. Kim Soo-hyun’s legal team has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying the released material was fabricated or misleading.

The dispute has now become a courtroom fight as much as a reputational one. Kim Soo-hyun and his agency, Gold Medalist, have filed multiple defamation complaints and civil lawsuits against Kim Se-ui and Kim Sae-ron’s family. One reported civil damages claim reached 12 billion won, or about $8.8 million, underscoring the financial scale of a case driven by claims that spread faster than they could be tested. Kim Soo-hyun’s side has also accused the YouTuber of using doctored audio recordings and internet-sourced photos to circulate false claims.

For South Korea, the episode is a stark example of how synthetic media can overwhelm traditional checks on evidence. For the United States, where political, criminal and celebrity disputes are increasingly mediated through viral video, voice clones and altered screenshots, the warning is just as clear: once fabricated material takes hold, police, courts and the public may spend months trying to restore trust after the damage is already done.