No arrest in alleged attack on whistleblower tied to late Kim Sae-ron, says Korean consulate in New York

The late Kim Sae-ron, left, and Kim Soo-hyun / Korea Times file

The Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York has denied claims made by YouTube channel Hoverlab (also known as the Garo Sero Institute) regarding a reported violent assault and attempted murder involving a whistleblower connected to the late actress Kim Sae-ron.

According to a report Monday by Money Today, the Korean consulate stated that there have been no arrests involving Korean nationals in their jurisdiction for crimes such as attempted murder against other overseas Koreans.

Under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, local law enforcement agencies are required to notify a consulate without delay when a foreign national is arrested or detained. However, the consulate has not received any such notification from U.S. authorities to date.

This contradicts the claims of a whistleblower, who alleged they were violently attacked. Hoverlab previously asserted that the informant, who they claim possessed a voice recording involving Kim Sae-ron, was assaulted by unidentified assailants.

“On May 1, two attackers from Korea and China stabbed the victim nine times in the neck. The victim’s family requested that we release part of the information to prevent the situation from escalating further,” Hoverlab said during a press conference. “This is a clear case of attempted murder,” they added.

“It was a premeditated crime," they further claimed. "The investigation is being handled not by the New Jersey police, where the incident allegedly occurred, but by the FBI.”

However, Kim Soo-hyun’s legal representative, L.K.B & Partners, refuted the allegations on the same day, calling them “outrageous and false, beyond rational comprehension.”

The law firm also pointed out that the so-called “assault photo” shared by Hoverlab is “an image easily found through an internet search,” and accused both Hoverlab and the person who delivered the audio recording of falsely presenting the image as evidence.

“We plan to file criminal charges for violations of the Anti-Stalking Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection (defamation). We will fully cooperate with investigative authorities to ensure that Hoverlab is held accountable under the law,” the firm said.

This article from Xportsnews is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.