High School Senior Kim Sae-ron was in a relationship with a well-known older idol, not Kim Soo-hyun, who even loaned her a significant sum of money.

According to a report from MoneyToday on May 21, it was revealed that high school senior in 2018, Kim Sae-ron, was in a relationship with a well-known older idol member, known as Mr. A, instead of Kim Soo-hyun. The two briefly split in early 2019 but got back together in early to mid-2022.

This time frame coincided with Kim Sae-ron’s DUI incident. Mr. A reportedly helped her financially during her tough times and was introduced as her boyfriend by Kim Sae-ron. They ended their relationship in early 2023 but remained in touch until last year.

A source from the entertainment industry mentioned, “Kim Sae-ron and Mr. A remained friends after their breakup. Bringing up their relationship is just to clarify the timings regarding the rumors of dating Kim Soo-hyun, and we aim to avoid baseless speculation about Mr. A’s identity.” There were rumors that one of Kim Sae-ron’s ex-boyfriends belonged to a famous seven-member idol group, but these rumors were proven false.

Since March, there has been a ongoing conflict between Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Sae-ron’s family, about whether they were in a relationship when she was a minor. Kim Sae-ron’s side claimed on the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute that she was dating Kim Soo-hyun from late 2015 when she was in middle school until July 2021. However, Kim Soo-hyun’s side argued they dated from summer 2019 to fall 2020 when Kim Sae-ron was of legal age.