A court review of the detention of Kim Se-eui, head of the Garosero Research Institute, ended after about an hour on Thursday. Kim was arrested on charges of spreading false information, including claims that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated the late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. The detention review is a procedure in which the court re-examines the legality and necessity of detention for investigation. A decision on whether to maintain Kim's detention is expected as early as Thursday afternoon.
The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Appeals Division 8-1 (presided over by Chief Judges Cha Seung-hwan, Choi Hae-il, and Choi Jin-sook) held the detention review hearing for Kim, who is charged with violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes (distribution of materials filmed using cameras and similar devices), starting at 2:10 p.m. on Thursday.
Kim left the court at around 3:16 p.m., about an hour after the hearing began, with his hands bound by rope. He called for his detention to be revoked, saying, "Extremely serious dissemination of false information and defamation against me, the late actress Kim Sae-ron, and the actress's bereaved family is taking place." He added, "This detention should be promptly withdrawn so that I can actively respond. Ultimately, there is a main lawsuit that can restore the honor of not only myself but also the late actress Kim Sae-ron and the actress's bereaved family." He emphasized, "Because I am being detained like this, the claims made by myself, actress Kim Sae-ron, and the bereaved family could all be turned into lies. That is why today's court ruling is extremely important."
Kim was previously arrested on October 26. He is charged with spreading false claims via YouTube and other platforms, including that Kim Soo-hyun dated Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor and that the direct cause of Kim Sae-ron's death was pressure from Kim Soo-hyun's side to repay a debt. He is also charged with defaming Kim Soo-hyun by using artificial intelligence (AI) to fabricate Kim Sae-ron's voice into statements such as, "I first had sexual relations with Kim Soo-hyun during the winter break of my second year of middle school."
When attending the detention warrant review on October 26, Kim said, "The warrant is riddled with blatantly false information," adding, "I will file complaints against the investigators in charge with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 27th for legal distortion, dissemination of false information, and abuse of authority leading to confinement."
