Actor Seo Yea-ji / Captured from Seo's social media

Actor Seo Yea-ji has addressed rumors linking her to actor Kim Soo-hyun.

"As a human being, I also feel overwhelmed, exhausted, fed up, sad and suffocated. I endure and endure…I even replied to this comment without realizing it and then deleted it," Seo posted Thursday on her online fan community.

"Can we just… stop now? I have no connection to him or his cousin," she continued, adding, "I don't even know why I have to clarify this."

A screenshot shared with her post showed a netizen asking whether she had an affair with Kim while he was in a relationship. Seo responded, "Stop. Please, just stop. It's exhausting to endure this. I have not met the person you are talking about, nor his cousin. Stop it. It's suffocating."

Previously, YouTube channel Hoverlab (better known as Garo Sero Institute) claimed that Kim started dating actress Kim Sae-ron when he was 27 and she was 15. In an interview, Kim Sae-ron's family alleged that the two were in a relationship for six years. Kim's agency, Gold Medalist, denied the claims, calling them "false information" and stating, "We are considering the strongest possible legal action against the spread of false rumors."

As speculation around Kim Soo-hyun's past relationships grew, rumors surfaced online suggesting that Seo Yea-ji was involved in his breakup with Kim Sae-ron. In response, Seo directly addressed the issue. She was previously an actress under Gold Medalist, the agency Kim Soo-hyun and his cousin co-founded.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.