While there is still controversy over the cause of death of actress Kim Sae Ron, who passed away in February, it is heartbreaking that more information appeared showing that she had to struggle with a debt of up to hundreds of millions of won borrowed from acquaintances in the entertainment industry.
According to those close to Kim Sae Ron, at around 2:00 a.m. on September 8, 2024, the late actor posted an article and a photo on social media with the content implying "the end". This is a private account where Kim Sae Ron interacted with close friends until before his death.
In the post, Kim Sae Ron mentioned the celebrities who helped her, along with the line: "If I die, take a photo of this post and post it."
Kim Sae Ron also expressed his despair when he said: Those who left me when I was at my most miserable, remember what they received from me. Now I will not have any more pain".
It is reported that about 10 minutes after this article was published, Kim Sae Ron's 2 acquaintances quickly went to her house in Seongdong-gu, Seoul to prevent the unfortunate incident.
A close friend revealed: "She has worked tirelessly in acting classes, cafes, flower shops and bars, but still struggled financially and was always in a state of insecurity."
According to the investigation, SBS News confirmed that two members of a famous idol group and a friend, a singer mentioned by Kim Sae Ron, each lent her about 100 million won.
Actor A and a singer and actor B also confirmed that they lent money to Kim Sae Ron after a drunk driving accident on May 18, 2022, although they did not disclose the specific figures.
Singer C, who is said to have lent money to Kim Sae Ron twice, cautiously admitted: In the second half of 2023, I lent 12 million won for the first time, and around May 2024, I transferred nearly 8 million won to Kim Sae Rons familys account.
In addition, Kim Sae Ron was confirmed to have borrowed 50 million won as a monthly house rental deposit from a businessman D, an acquaintance of hers.
The management company has been with Kim Sae Ron for about a year since the beginning of last year, and has also advanced 60 million won for surgery and hospital fees for her. After her exclusive contract ended, the company settled the amount in the form of of offset.
After Kim Sae Ron's death, it was revealed that Gold Medalist, Kim Soo Hyun's current management company and Sae Ron's former management company (which ended its contract in December 2022) helped her pay 700 million won in advance for Netflix's drama "The Hunting Dogs", which arose from a drunk driving incident. The company treated it as a loss in December 2023.
Notably, in the post, in addition to mentioning those who helped him, Kim Sae Ron is said to have denied the information about causing a power outage in the accident.
She wrote: "I measured my breath alcohol concentration but the results were not clear, so I took a blood test and gave a high result, but that was the story from the day before.
There has never been a power outage. However, I have fully compensated all parties for the damage.
This information is controversial, because Kim Sae Ron's case of driving while intoxicated and causing an accident has been tried for a long time.
At that time, the media confirmed that Kim Sae Ron crashed into the railing and transformer, disrupting traffic order for 4 hours, and causing many neighboring households to lose power.
In April 2023, the Seoul Central District Court issued a verdict to fine Kim Sae Ron 20 million won.
