Actress Kim Saeron passed away on the 16th, at the age of 25.
The late Kim Saeron was found dead at her residence near Seongdong-gu, Seoul, around 4:50 PM KST on the 16th. A friend visited her home that day and found her collapsed. She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.
A memorial has been set up at the funeral hall of Asan Medical Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Her parents and two younger sisters are listed as the chief mourners. Stars who had a connection with her during her lifetime have visited to pay their respects, including Wonbin, Han Sohee, Kim Bora, and more.
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The turning point for Kim Saeron, who was naturally progressing into a grown-up actress, was when she was caught driving under the influence near Gangnam, Seoul, in May 2022. At the time, she accidentally crashed into an electrical transformer while driving under the alcohol influence, causing a power outage in the nearby buildings and impacting local businesses.
At the time of the incident, her former agency, Gold Medalist, paid the settlement money and penalty fees on her behalf, leaving her with significant debt. It's estimated that the penalty that Gold Medalist charged her was around 700 million KRW. When she parted ways with Gold Medalist, she promised to repay the debt.
Gold Medalist is a management company established in 2020 by actor Kim Soohyun and his cousin, Lee Robe (Lee Sarang). The two are effectively the heads of the company. Kim Saeron and Seo Yaeji were the first two actors recruited by Gold Medalist.
However, Kim Saeron struggled to find opportunities to repay the penalties due to the overwhelmingly negative public sentiment. She was not healthy, both physically and mentally. She made a living through working part-time jobs, including as café employee and also manager, acting coach for aspiring actors, and more, but it was not enough to repay the debt.
According to our investigation, Gold Medalist sent a certified letter to Kim Saeron, demanding repayment. She appealed to them about her difficult financial situation and asked for more time to repay the debt, expressing her intention to repay it.
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https://www.tvdaily.co.kr/read.php3?aid=17397738211742532002
-It's difficult to repay the debt of 700 million KRW as a regular person with an ordinary job...
-From the agency's perspective, they did everything they could by paying 700 million KRW on her behalf. It was practically impossible for her to repay all those debts through entertainment activities due to the public's negative sentiment toward her.
-Paying off a 700 million KRW penalty must've been difficult... Well, the agency has no other options besides demanding repayment...
-The agency has a separate CEO. I think the reporter made a mistake on that part.
-I heard that Kim Saeron worked hard as an actress for 16 years and used all the money she earned on her family because she's the head of the household... I guess it was true... This is so heartbreaking.
-I thought she would've saved up some money since she had started acting since she was a child, but I guess that wasn't the case...
-This is so heartbreaking.. She was so young...
-That is the amount of settlement money + penalty fees...
-So, what is this article trying to say?? The agency did nothing wrong.
-How is a 25-year-old supposed to repay the debt of 700 million KRW if she can't work as a celebrity...
-This is so heartbreaking.
-700 million KRW is indeed a lot, but she did a lot of. lead roles... Was she really unable to pay it off? It's not like she was a nugu actress eitherㅜ
-It somehow feels like this article is subtly trying to blame the agency...
