Seoul: A YouTuber accused of spreading false and fabricated information about actor Kim Soo-hyun appeared in court Tuesday for an arrest warrant hearing over his allegations. Kim Se-ui, operator of YouTube channel Hover Lab, is accused of defaming the actor by falsely claiming that Kim Soo-hyun had dated late actress Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor and that pressure from his side to repay a debt led to her death early last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the YouTuber is also accused of creating doctored audio recordings of the late actress using artificial intelligence technology to falsely claim she had sexual relations with the actor when she was in middle school. Kim Se-ui denied the charges outside the Seoul Central District Court, describing the warrant as baseless and stating, "It is a nonsense warrant that does not even sort out the basic facts."

He challenged the warrant's legitimacy, pledging to file complaints against the police officers and prosecutors involved in its filing. The police sought the warrant on defamation and other charges on May 14, asserting that Kim must have been aware of the falsehood of the allegations against the actor.

Hover Lab brought forth these allegations against Kim Soo-hyun, a highly prominent actor in the country, in March 2025. This followed the discovery of actress Kim Sae-ron's death at her home the previous month, which appeared to be a suicide at the age of 24.