Kim Soo Hyun has been facing intense scrutiny online over his alleged underage dating scandal involving the late actress Kim Sae Ron. In a press conference on March 31, the actor denied the claims that he dated Kim Sae Ron when she was a minor, but netizens are far from convinced.
Shortly after the Queen of Tears actor, who has since been dubbed the "King of Fake Tears", concluded his hour-long press conference, the Garosero Research Institute presented additional evidence, including metadata, suggesting that Kim Soo Hyun was romantically involved with Kim Sae Ron while she was still a minor.
The incident has sparked discussions about the treatment of minors in South Korea, and in the wake of the controversy, a petition has emerged calling for an increase in the statutory rape age and stronger penalties. This petition, now known as the "Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act", aims to address these concerns.
A petition has been circulating, calling for an increase in the age for statutory rape of minors and harsher penalties, dubbed the "Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act". The petition, posted on the South Korean National Assembly's electronic petition homepage, aims to raise the protected age range from 13 to under 16 to 13 to under 19 and strengthen penalties.
The petitioner, Mr A, cited the recent case of Kim Soo Hyun, who has been alleged of grooming Kim Sae Ron. "Recently, the grooming sexual crime committed by popular Hallyu star Kim Soo Hyun against former child actress Kim Sae Ron, who was a minor at the time, surfaced, causing outrage among the public," Mr A said. Despite public outrage, Kim Soo Hyun cannot be legally penalised due to the current statutory rape law only protecting minors aged 13 to under 16.
Mr A argued that although South Korean law defines minors up to 18 for protection, the current age limit has allowed paedophiles to escape justice, leading to devastating consequences. "To prevent this from happening again, I petition for an amendment to the statutory rape of minors law under the name 'Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act'," he said.
He also emphasised the need to change the current penalties for statutory rape of minors, saying, "The current penalties should be changed from a 2-year minimum sentence for sexual assault and rape to a 2-year minimum sentence for sexual assault and a 5-year minimum sentence for rape."
The petition for the "Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act" is currently ongoing and will run until April 30th. If it gathers more than 50,000 signatures by the end of the month, it will be formally referred to the National Assembly's relevant committee and commissioners.
A viral post has revealed that over 20,000 people have already signed the petition in just half a day. With 29 days remaining and only 30,000 more signatures needed, the petition is on track to reach its goal, significantly increasing the chances of the "Kim Soo Hyun Prevention Act" being successful. Notably, only Koreans can sign the petition.
Meanwhile, several viral posts have claimed that the Korean media has begun to take a stern stance against Kim Soo Hyun amid the ongoing controversy, after having maintained a neutral position for weeks.
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