AI-fabricated evidence used in defamation case against actor Kim Soo-hyun
YouTuber Kim Se-ui published AI-fabricated audio recordings and forged messages falsely accusing actor Kim Soo-hyun of having a relationship with actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. Police investigation found the audio was created with AI voice synthesis technology. An unnamed informant had attempted to extort money from Kim Soo-hyun's agency by offering conflicting evidence to different parties.
What happened
YouTuber Kim Se-ui, who operates the Garosero Research Institute channel, publicly released audio recordings that allegedly showed actor Kim Soo-hyun had a relationship with actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. The recordings, attributed to an anonymous informant, featured what appeared to be Kim Sae-ron's voice describing a relationship starting in middle school.
Police investigation determined that the audio recordings had been created using AI voice synthesis technology and were fabricated. The Kakao Talk messages between Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Sae-ron that Kim Se-ui had also published were found to be forged.
An unnamed informant had approached Kim Soo-hyun's agency one month before the public accusations, offering to provide audio recordings claiming to support the opposite narrative—that any relationship occurred only after Kim Sae-ron reached adulthood. The informant demanded money, promising product advertising in exchange. The informant provided conflicting audio files to different recipients, with at least four different versions of the recordings circulating.
Reported impact
The fabricated evidence caused significant damage to actor Kim Soo-hyun's reputation, with the AI-generated audio recordings widely influencing public opinion when first released.
Index analysis
The incident demonstrates how AI-generated audio can be weaponised for extortion and defamation. The informant's offer of conflicting narratives to both the victim and his accusers reveals the absence of authentic evidence underlying the initial allegations.
Governance controls
Police were able to identify the voice recordings as AI-fabricated through forensic analysis. Kim Soo-hyun's legal representative highlighted that the existence of multiple conflicting versions of the same recordings logically proved they could not be authentic.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.