According to Korean press, the Gangnam Police Department (Seoul) - which is being criticized for delaying the investigation of cases related to Kim Se Ui, head of YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute - has stated: "We will assign these cases to a specialized investigation team to speed up progress".
At a regular press conference on the morning of November 3 in Jongno, Seoul (Korea), Seoul Capital Police member Park Jung Bo said: Because the cases related to Kim Se Ui were divided and assigned to many departments, the investigation process was delayed in some aspects.
We have appointed a specialized investigation team to gather the cases and investigate them focused and coordinate more effectively. In the future, the investigation will be conducted at a faster pace. The public does not need to worry, because we will handle everything fairly."
Seoul Police have classified 16 of the total 21 cases involving Kim Se Ui into the newly established Specialty Investigation Team at Investigation Department No. 3, under the Gangnam Police Department. This team will comprehensively handle cases with many different complaints and denunciants, many cases with overlapping content, and prioritize the consideration of cases with slow investigation progress.
The five cases involving actor Kim Soo Hyun are still being handled by the current investigation team of the Gangnam Police Department. The investigation into Kim Soo Hyun-related cases has made significant progress, Park explained.
We have sent evidence to the National Forensic Agency for analysis and are waiting for the results. Because these cases are in the final stages of the investigation, so there will be no changes in the team, the current employees will continue to take on the responsibility.
The establishment of a full-time investigation team is a response to recent controversies over the "delayed investigation" by Seoul police.
On October 30, during a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly's Committee on Science, Technology, Information and Communications, YouTuber Eun Hyun Jang - who attended as a witness - pointed out: "Although there are about 16-20 cases involving Kim Se Ui at the Gangnam Police Department, the investigation is almost unprocessed."
In March this year, Kim Se Ui's YouTube channel Garosero and the family of the late actor Kim Sae Ron released evidence accusing actor Kim Soo Hyun of dating Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor, from 2015 to 2021.
Kim Soo Hyun denied the accusation, claiming to have only dated Kim Sae Ron for about a year (from the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2020) when the actress was an adult.
Kim Soo Hyun and management company Gold Medalist have sued Kim Se Ui and the family of the late actor Kim Sae Ron for defamation, spreading false information, and demanding compensation of 12 billion won.
After that, Kim Soo Hyun continued to sue Kim Se Ui for slander. The actor's legal representative stated that the recording released by Kim Se Ui, which is believed to have the voice of the late actor Kim Sae Ron, mentioned his relationship with Kim Soo Hyun since high school, was actually forged using AI technology.
In addition, Kim Soo Hyun's management company also added a lawsuit against Kim Se Ui for harassment and monitoring.
