Actress Kim Sae-ron dies aged 24, had planned to open own cafe

South Korean actress Kim Sae-ron was found dead in her home at Seongdong-gu, Seoul, yesterday (Feb 16). She was 24 years old.

A friend who had planned to meet her discovered her body and called the police at around 4.50pm.

A police official said there were no signs of foul play and they are currently investigating the cause of death.

A friend of Sae-ron told E-Daily that she had changed her name to Kim A-im and had plans to start anew after taking a hiatus due to her scandal in May 2022. She was caught driving under influence and had crashed her car into a guardrail and a transformer.

"She was preparing to open a cafe with her acquaintances and return to the entertainment industry," the friend said.

Her last drama was Bloodhounds (2023) but it was reported that some of her scenes were edited out after the drink-driving incident.

A friend of Sae-ron also told Hankyung.com that she had worked part-time at a cafe under her new name but was fired after her photo was taken and circulated the internet.

"She needed to work part-time to make a living, but when that happened over and over again, she had a lot of worries," they added.

Sae-ron debuted as a child actress in 2009. The following year, she starred as Won Bin's daughter in The Man from Nowhere, which became 2010's top grossing film.

Her notable roles include The Queen's Classroom (2013), A Girl at My Door (2014) and Hi! School: Love On (2014).

Her posthumous film Guitar Man has no release date as of now.

syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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