As Kim Soo Hyun battles lawsuit, Kim Sae Ron’s ex-manager drags famous YouTuber to court: ‘He lied, I tried to save her’

Kim Sae Ron’s former manager files lawsuit against Kwon Young Chan

“In an attempt to attract public interest, [Kwon Young Chan] created content containing false information. The accused defamed and insulted the complainant with baseless and malicious claims related to the deceased’s death on his channel, Kwon Young Chan TV.” Mr K stated in a complaint filed on June 20. He claimed, YouTuber called him things like: “the guy who sold her off,” “slave hunter,” “the one who caused her death,” and “the one who leaked all her personal information.”

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Despite not being a public figure, the manager alleged that his face was plastered all over the thumbnail and video. “My real name and face were continuously exposed. Claims were made that I sold Kim Sae Ron to an unknown person, leaked all information, and caused her death, all of which are untrue.” Kwon Young Chan went as far as to accuse Mr. K of grooming Kim Sae Ron and even separating her from her family, all while emotionally trapping her.  He said Mr. K “put her on an island” and described grooming as “raising someone while gaining control over their soul.”

In response, Mr. K said he only started working with Kim Sae Ron when she signed with Management Run in 2024, after quitting Gold Medalist over her 2022 DUI controversy. According to him, he was only trying to help her get back on her feet when the controversy derailed her career. He also clarified, “I called an ambulance right away to save her,” at the time the incident occurred. “Then I called her mother to let her know. Her mother replied, ‘I can’t come right now.’ So the claim that I didn’t inform her family is absurd.”

Kwon Young Chan, in his videos, claimed that Mr. K stole or misused the money meant for hospital expenses and even committed some illegal act while breaking medical laws. Mr. K hit back, calling that pure defamation. “I’ve worked as a manager for 20 years. I stayed silent amid baseless suspicions to protect the deceased’s honour. But seeing these groundless claims being broadcast publicly and repeatedly, I decided I could no longer stay silent and filed the complaint.” He told Sports Seoul that the last straw was seeing his name being dragged on repeat while he hadn’t even had time to properly grieve. Kwon Young Chan claims he tried contacting Mr. K through KakaoTalk and even called him more than 10 times. Since he didn’t get a response, he decided to raise the questions in a broadcast.