In the same report, Dispatch cited a source—described as a close acquaintance of Kim Soo Hyun—who allegedly stated that there had been an "open secret" relationship between the actor and the late actress. The report quoted the unnamed source as saying, "Kim Sae Ron's age is the issue, which is why they will never officially admit to dating."

Hoverlab has published allegations that Kim Soo-hyun began dating Kim Sae-ron when he was 27 years old and she was 15. In response, Gold Medalist refuted the claim, stating that the two only dated from the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2020, when Kim Sae-ron was an adult.