Kim Sae Ron’s Financial Struggles: Did She Sell Her Car and Use Trading Profits to Repay Gold Medalist’s Debt?
On February 16, the day of Kim Sae Ron’s passing, Dispatch visited her Seoul apartment to investigate and speak with her neighbors. Their findings, published on March 12, revealed that the late actress had been burdened with a substantial 700 million KRW (approximately $485,000 USD) debt to her former agency, Gold Medalist. The report detailed evidence of partial repayments and suggested that Kim Sae Ron had sold off nearly all her assets in an effort to settle her financial obligations.
According to Dispatch, Kim Sae Ron did everything within her means to repay as much of the debt as possible. She reportedly liquidated her assets, including selling her car and cashing out convertible bonds (CBs), managing to gather over 200 million KRW (about $138,000 USD). However, Gold Medalist provided a different explanation regarding her car sale, stating that she had to sell it because it was no longer usable—likely due to damages sustained from her DUI incident. The agency also claimed that the car was worth around 35 million KRW and that they were unaware of any additional assets she had sold.
The Golden S Investment Controversy
Dispatch further reported that Kim Sae Ron had invested in Golden S, a KOSDAQ-listed company acquired by Gold Medalist and Siwon School. Allegedly, she participated as a convertible bond investor. Notably, both Kim Soo Hyun and Siwon School reportedly saw profits over five times their original investment in Golden S. Despite being aware of Kim Sae Ron’s financial difficulties, Gold Medalist still sent her a certified letter demanding full repayment on short notice.
While the agency later attempted to justify this action as a “formality,” Dispatch argued that such an explanation failed to justify the pressure placed on Kim Sae Ron.
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