Unexpected Kim Soo Hyun Advert In Seoul Sparks Outrage

This article is part of our coverage of Kim Soo Hyun And Kim Sae Ron's Relationship. You can read more and view the entire timeline here.

A recently spotted Kim Soo Hyun ad in a Seoul subway station has sparked heated reactions and outrage from Korean netizens.

| Netflix

The now-viral post shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) shows the controversial actor appearing in a CHOEAEDOL Celeb ad at one of the exits in Hongdae Station. The user then heavily criticised it in the tweet, which now has over 100,000 views.

I got a tip that Kim Soo Hyun is featured on a CHOEAEDOL Celeb ad at Exit 3 of Hongdae Station.

Seriously, what are you doing??

— @masterofjgp via X

홍대역 3번츨구 최애돌 셀럽 광고에 김수현이 걸려 있다는 제보를 받음

진심 뭐하세요?? pic.twitter.com/toEGSVz80m

— 맛스터 (@masterofjgp) April 19, 2025

CHOEAEDOL Celeb is a platform that gives fans the opportunity to crowdfund banners and ads for their favorite stars — K-Pop idols, actors, etc — by voting. These are usually organised during comebacks, K-Drama releases, celebrity birthdays, concerts, and so on. The fact that fans seemingly voted for the Kim Soo Hyun ad has sparked a lot of outrage in the post’s quote tweets.

What a national embarrassment… Hongdae has a lot of foot traffic from foreigners, especially… Why are they doing this… Foreigners might see it and go, “Oh, Kim Soo Hyun is up there… wasn’t he accused of a crime? What’s wrong with Korea?”Wouldn’t they think that way? People who like Korea would definitely know about this kind of issue… It even made BBC News…
Why… just why… are we so lenient??

— @orin_no_sin via X

나라망신이다 ㅠㅠ
홍대는 외국인들 유동인구 특히 많자너..
왜 저러는거여..ㅠㅠ
외국인들이 오우 김수현이 걸려있다니..범죄자라고 하지 않았나?한국 왜이래??
이러지 않겠냐구..한국 좋아하면 이런 이슈도 분명 알텐데.. bbc뉴스에도 기사났더만..왜…어째서…이리 관대한지??… https://t.co/kIJcgYWqo8

— 오리는 죄가 없다 (@ori_no_sin) April 19, 2025

The platform itself was also hit with heavy criticism for allowing the ad to go through amid Kim Soo Hyun’s controversy.

Isn’t this the kind of thing that should be decided by a vote?

There are way too many messed-up guys out there…

And seriously, shouldn’t they take the ad down themselves? What’s up with platforms still running it?

— @skybluesdream via X

이런거 투표로 거는거 아닌가

남자에 돌은 인간이 너무 많음…

그리고 자체적으로 광고를 내려야지 여태 걸어두는 플랫폼은 또 뭐임🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ https://t.co/Vad4rzIoOY

— 하늘빛꿈 (@skybluesdream) April 19, 2025

Isn’t this the kind of thing people vote for? If the votes were collected before the news came out… I guess I can understand. But still, they should’ve reviewed it before putting it up. They could’ve gone with the second place instead. FFS.

— @Blackbean_232 via X

이런거 투표로 거는거 아냐?
뉴스 나기 전에 투표 받은거라면… 이해가 되긴 하는데
그래도 올리기 전에 검토하고 2위를 올리든 했어야지 ㅅㅂ https://t.co/jOvWXDiE7J

— 깜쟝콩 (@Blackbean_232) April 19, 2025

However, Kim Soo Hyun fans have defended the ad. Some supporters claim that the actor’s global fame is the reason the ad is up and that netizens shouldn’t be surprised.

He’s simply out there being Kim Soo Hyun… shining effortlessly, casually owning Hongdae Station and stealing hearts as usual😌
Or you can say-
Public service, brightening commutes and raising heart rates including h@ters(although for a very different reason😉😂)♥️#KimSooHyun https://t.co/AApZNK34gj

— Mon (@Mon_JWon) April 19, 2025

because he's an international star (: #KimSooHyun https://t.co/sTS50TWKZB

— uraniuss (@urnysus) April 19, 2025

Because he’s a global and an international star, even if you relocate to another country, you will see his pics everywhere. You better prepare yourself cos he will continue to be in y’all faces 🤪😂😂
He’s not gonna bow to your cancel culture 😀#WeStandWithKimSooHyun https://t.co/gEy50urswD

— KIM PEARL (@classypearl12) April 19, 2025

The heated debates between netizens and Kim Soo Hyun supporters continue online. Meanwhile, the actor has been wrapped up in a severe controversy after actress Kim Sae Ron suddenly passed away on February 16. Her family accused Kim Soo Hyun of dating the late actress when she was still a minor and then claimed his agency attempted to extort money from her.

Kim Soo Hyun held an emotional and tearful press conference, which sparked heavy backlash. At the conference, he denied all allegations.

Full Translation: Everything Kim Soo Hyun Said In His Controversial Press Conference