A public petition pushing to amend South Korea’s statutory rape law is rapidly gaining traction following actor Kim Soo-hyun’s emotional press conference about his relationship with the late Kim Sae-ron.
Within just two days, the petition amassed over 30,000 signatures, urging lawmakers to broaden the law’s protection range. Dubbed the “Kim Soo-hyun Prevention Act,” the proposal calls for increasing the protected age bracket from 13–16 to 13–19, and for harsher penalties for sexual offenses involving minors.
The petitioner wrote, “The grooming abuse allegedly committed by Kim Soo-hyun has enraged the nation. However, due to legal limitations, he cannot be prosecuted under current laws.”
The petition also recommends minimum jail sentences of two years for indecent acts involving minors, and five years for statutory rape offenses.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, it had reached 33,643 signatures. Under South Korean law, if a petition on the National Assembly’s platform reaches 50,000 signatures in 30 days, it is forwarded to a legislative committee for further review.
The backlash follows Kim Soo-hyun’s press conference in March, where he denied claims of having a romantic relationship with Kim Sae-ron while she was underage. He maintained that their relationship only began in 2019, when she was 19 and he was 31.
In response to the allegations, Kim and his agency filed a lawsuit for ₩12 billion (approx. $8.18 million) in damages against a woman claiming to be Kim Sae-ron’s aunt and the far-right YouTube channel HoverLab, which publicized the accusations.