Kim Soo Hyun’s Gold Medalist is linked to a stock manipulation case.
Kim Soo Hyun’s problems seem far from over. On April 11, the head of Garo Sero Institute (the YouTube channel that first accused Soo Hyun of dating a minor) went live and made a big claim: that Gold Medalist, Kim Soo Hyun’s agency, is somehow linked to a stock manipulation case.
Not just that, he hinted that the late actress Kim Sae Ron’s name might’ve been misused in all this, as reported by KBI Zoom.
GaroSero accuses Gold Medalist of alleged stock manipulation
On April 10, KBS News reported that a KOSDAQ-listed online education company is currently being investigated by the authorities for possible stock manipulation. The company’s stock is believed to have witnessed a sudden surge from around 1,000 KRW to over 10,000 KRW in less than a year – that’s a massive 7x spike. But then came a sudden crash after a bulk sell-off. And it instantly raised red flags. The Financial Intelligence Unit (under the Financial Services Commission) got suspicious over the sudden activity, and a report was filed citing possible stock manipulation. Even Korea Exchange noticed the weird trading activity. So now, police are trying to figure out who was behind the big money moves.
GaroSero head Kim Yong Ho claimed that during the investigation, it was revealed that over 50% of this company’s shares are owned by an investment fund, and within that fund is a one-man agency. (The agency is currently owned by a big Korean star.) However, according to him, when KBS reached out to the suspected agency, they denied any involvement in the case, saying, “We have never interfered with the stock price of the mentioned company.” But, during the livestream, Yong Ho mentioned that the agency mentioned in the report is in the same building as Gold Medalist. He also brought up a news article saying that the stock of Gold&S (a company that both Gold Medalist and Siwon School hold shares in) had recently crashed.
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Kim Yong Ho then went on to drag late actor Kim Sae Ron’s name in the controversy, alleging that the Bloodhounds star was listed as a special related party of the agency and once held 100,000 shares. “This shows just how close she was to Kim Soo Hyun,” he said. “But why wasn’t actress Seo Ye Ji (also formerly with Gold Medalist) listed? Why was Kim Sae Eon’s name used like this? Was her identity misused after her death?” The director of the company reportedly also tried to contact Sae Ron’s father multiple times, records show.
Yong Ho pointed to Gold Medalist’s history, saying how it was founded by CEO Ahn Sung Soo and CCO Lee Ro Bae, who have worked with Soo Hyun on big K-drama and film projects, including It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and Real. And here’s where things get a bit messier – during the press conference held by Sae Ron’s family, they released a handwritten letter by Sae Ron which clearly mentioned, “I hope it’s you, not Ro Bae, who reads this.” The letter was written after she received a legal document (proof of contents), but she couldn’t send it to him because she lost contact. The family alleged at the time that she was asked not to contact him anymore.