SEOUL – Korean Culture Alliance (KCA) Thailand, a now-defunct event promoter that organised South Korean actor Kim Soo-hyun’s first fan meeting in Thailand in 2014, confirmed that the actor played badminton at the event venue, but denied that he forcefully demanded a court be set up.
This after an X user, who claimed to be a staff member at the fan meeting, said he was forced to set up a badminton court at the request of Kim Soo-hyun.
The actor had visited Bangkok for “2014 Kim Soo Hyun Asia Tour 1st Memories in Thailand” held at Siam Paragon on March 30, 2014.
“It is true that Kim played badminton then, but there was no coercive request by Kim to install a badminton court,” a former official at KCA Thailand told The Korea Herald through a source familiar with the matter on March 16.
“We would also like to clarify that other information circulating online regarding the badminton video and photos is not true.”
The incident in Bangkok has resurfaced following recent dating rumors involving the late actress Kim Sae-ron.
On March 11, a Thai X user claiming to have been an on-site staff member at Kim Soo-hyun’s fan meeting 11 years ago, posted that he and his colleagues were forced to set up a badminton court inside Siam Paragon, an upscale shopping center in Bangkok, late at night on March 29 and 30, 2014.
He alleged that staff had to clear the entire hall at the shopping mall to accommodate Kim Soo-hyun’s request, reinstalling the seats after he finished playing.
According to the post, when Kim Soo-hyun made the same request the following day, the staff suggested renting an outdoor badminton court, but Kim Soo-hyun insisted on playing inside the shopping mall, citing privacy concerns.
“Staffers were watching with their eyes almost closed (falling asleep),” the user wrote on X. “From that day until today, I’ve waited so long for everyone to open their eyes. I still remember he said, ‘The net is not tight enough, can’t play, put up the net again.’”
The post was deleted shortly after it went viral.
However, the claim gained traction when an old video on YouTube showing four unidentified men playing badminton in a hall that appears to be inside Siam Paragon went viral.
On March 16, the former KCA Thailand official acknowledged that Kim Soo-hyun was one of the men in the video.
Kim Soo-hyun has enjoyed immense popularity in Thailand for his roles in hit TV dramas including “My Love from the Star”, “The Producers” and the recent “Queen of Tears.”
But he has also been mired in controversy over allegations of a past relationship with the late actress Kim Sae-ron, rumoured to have started in 2015 when she was 15.
His agency Gold Medalist denied this, stating that their relationship began in 2019 after she became an adult.
The controversy has escalated with leaked private photos and speculation following Sae-ron’s death. She was found dead in her home on Feb. 16. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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