According to MBC's "PD Notebook" investigation program, Kim Se Ui's donations from these videos alone exceeded 118 million won (about 2.2 billion VND), not including advertising revenue.
In the broadcast with the theme "The Hunter and the Prey - Garo Sero's Dangerous Survival Model", MBC said that Kim Se Ui had turned controversial content into tools to attract views, donations and advertising revenue. The program said that exploiting unverified accusations for profit not only contributes to spreading false information but also seriously damages the honor and lives of those targeted.
According to the program, videos related to Kim Soo Hyun and the late actress Kim Sae Ron brought Garo Sero about 118 million won in donations from viewers. During the broadcast, these videos also inserted a total of 146 advertisements. MBC believes that if including advertising revenue, the amount Kim Se Ui earned may be significantly higher.
Not only did revenue increase sharply, the number of followers of Garo Sero also exceeded the 1 million mark during the time the channel continuously posted content related to Kim Soo Hyun.
Appearing in the program, YouTuber Eun Hyun Jang (nickname "Business King") - who is in legal dispute with Kim Se Ui - said that he directly statistically analyzed the amount of donations displayed in each broadcast. According to him, donations alone exceeded 100 million won, not including advertising revenue.
Eun Hyun Jang also shared that he was once a target in Kim Se Ui's videos. He said that after being targeted, he had to withdraw from some programs he was participating in and suffered psychological pressure for a long time.
According to this YouTuber, what Kim Se Ui aims for is not to clarify the truth but to profit from public attention. Every time targeting an individual, the top goal is the number of views, donations and advertising revenue that can be collected.
Notably, the program also quoted a person who used to be in the same detention cell as Kim Se Ui. This person said that Kim Se Ui has repeatedly shared her desire to build Garo Sero into a media channel with great influence and set a goal to achieve revenue like commentator Kim Ou Joon. According to the story, Kim Se Ui once said she wanted to earn tens of billions of won each year.
In addition, "PD Notebook" announced data from the financial report showing that Garo Sero's revenue increased rapidly over the years, from 1.76 billion won in 2019 to 4.35 billion won in 2020, 4.5 billion won in 2021 and about 5 billion won in 2022. According to the program, this growth is associated with the continuous posting of controversial content to attract public attention.
Currently, Kim Se Ui has been temporarily detained by the South Korean investigating agency to investigate allegations of spreading false information related to Kim Soo Hyun.
Previously, Kim Se Ui repeatedly broadcast content claiming that Kim Soo Hyun had dated the late actress Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor, and also accused the male actor of putting financial pressure, causing her to make an extreme choice.
Kim Soo Hyun denied all accusations, affirming that the two only dated after Kim Sae Ron had grown up. According to the investigation results cited by MBC, some images, messages and documents Kim Se Ui used in broadcasts were identified as having signs of editing or not being fully verified before publication.
On Kim Soo Hyun's management company's side, this unit affirmed that it will continue to pursue legal measures against individuals who spread false information and infringe upon the actor's honor.
