On March 31, 2025, No Cut News, a South Korean media outlet, reported a significant legal decision favoring the family of the late actress Kim Sae-ron. The court granted an injunction against YouTuber Lee Jin-ho, prohibiting him from broadcasting any content related to Kim Sae-ron for three months due to allegations of stalking.
“Today (the 31st), Lee Jin-ho’s stalking crime was acknowledged and the court issued an interim measure. Accordingly, Lee Jin-ho will not be able to broadcast anything on YouTube related to the late Kim Sae-ron and the bereaved family for three months,”stated Kwon Young-chan, the head of the Suicide Prevention Association, in an interview with No Cut News.
The legal issues surrounding Lee Jin-ho intensified earlier, as Kim Sae-ron’s family filed a defamation lawsuit on March 17, 2025. They accused Lee of disseminating false information that purportedly contributed to the actress’s tragic death.
Additionally, the family alleged that Lee attempted to obstruct justice by privatizing his videos following her passing. On the same day they initiated the lawsuit, a representative from the family, lawyer Bu Ji-seok, held a press conference, indicating that further legal action would be pursued.
Despite the looming legal proceedings, Lee Jin-ho continued to propagate unverifiable claims about Kim Sae-ron and her family. This led the family to file another lawsuit on March 27, seeking an injunction based on the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes.
During a press event on the same date, lawyer Bu Ji-seok emphasized the emotional turmoil that Kim Sae-ron faced as a direct consequence of Lee’s videos.
“The defamation charge is just a legal term. We believe Lee’s actions are closer to murder. We hope the seriousness of his conduct is fully reflected in sentencing and that he faces strict punishment,”Bu remarked, as reported by Korea Times.
In contrast, Lee Jin-ho defended himself in a comment beneath his YouTube video titled “Clearing Kim Sae Ron’s Name… Why Isn’t Kim Soo-hyun Being Sued?.”He refuted any allegations of legal transgression, asserting to KBIzoom that he had not been formally summoned or investigated regarding the defamation or stalking claims.
Lee contested assertions regarding the timing of Kim Sae-ron’s death, indicating that the timeline presented was distorted, and criticized the recent court order as an attempt to hinder his speech. He expressed intentions to appeal the court’s decision.
Lee Jin-ho’s Controversial Claims Amid Ongoing Legal Troubles
On March 19, 2025, Lee Jin-ho released a provocative video alleging that Kim Sae-ron had secretly married a man in New York and had undergone a termination of pregnancy. He referenced an Instagram post from January 8, 2025, where she used the caption “Marry,”as evidence.
Furthermore, Lee shared an audio recording purportedly supporting his claims. However, Kim Sae-ron’s representatives quickly denied these allegations. They clarified:
“These are snapshots taken with a friend. The marriage rumors are not true,”as reported by Sports Donga.
Despite the denials, Lee asserted that his claims were validated through fact-checking. He provided a recording featuring a woman he claimed to be Kim Sae-ron, in which discussions about the alleged marriage took place.
Lee also suggested that Kim Sae-ron’s family was revisiting concerns related to her past relationship with actor Kim Soo-hyun, although he asserted that she was living like a newlywed with someone else at the time.
He claimed that the family was sharing data from Kim Sae-ron’s phone with the Garosero Research Institute, further suggesting their awareness of her supposed marriage.
In a troubling narrative following Kim Sae-ron’s passing, the Garosero Research Institute alleged that she had a six-year relationship with Kim Soo-hyun, dating back to when she was only 15 in 2015.