SEOUL: A YouTuber accused of using AI-generated material to falsely claim a top South Korean actor dated a late actress while she was a minor is due in court next week, the court’s spokesperson told AFP on Saturday (May 23). 

YouTuber Kim Se-eui allegedly used manipulated screenshots of messenger conversations and AI-generated audio files to make false claims about actor Kim Soo-hyun, according to South Korean media reports. 

The reports said prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for the YouTuber at the request of police over allegations he illegally circulated fabricated material.

A spokesperson for the Seoul Central District Court told AFP that YouTuber Kim’s warrant hearing is scheduled for 10:30 am (0130 GMT) on May 26. 

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YouTuber Kim, a former TV journalist widely regarded as a far-right figure, shared on his YouTube channel what he said was the prosecution’s arrest warrant.

The document shared to Kim’s channel said that the YouTuber had publicly played an AI-manipulated audio file using the deceased actress’s voice. 

It also said actor Kim was currently receiving psychiatric treatment due to severe emotional distress, and that the YouTuber had deliberately circulated false allegations for profit despite knowing that actor Kim and the late actress were not in a relationship when she was in middle school.

In the video in which he shared the warrant, YouTuber Kim said the prosecutor who requested the arrest warrant should “be ashamed”, and asked to be sent to the detention facility where disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol is being held over his 2024 martial law declaration.

ALLEGATIONS SNOWBALLED INTO A MAJOR SCANDAL

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and Seoul Gangnam Police Station, which handled the case, declined to comment when contacted multiple times by AFP.

A senior police official told AFP the media reports involving the case were “not wrong” but declined to confirm the details.

Kim Se-eui had alleged that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor, and was responsible for her death by pressuring her to repay debts.

The allegations snowballed into a major scandal, forcing Kim Soo-hyun to halt public appearances and activities, and the release of a major project was indefinitely postponed.

Actor Kim has maintained, including during a highly publicised and tearful news conference, that his relationship with the late actress began only after she became an adult.

He later filed criminal complaints against the YouTuber and the actress’s family over what he described as false allegations.

Late actress Kim Sae-ron had also faced online bullying after a 2022 drunk-driving incident became public. She was fined at the time. 

The controversy damaged her career, drawing heavy criticism and reportedly forcing her to take part-time jobs outside of acting to make ends meet.