Kim, once one of the brightest young celebrities in South Korean cinema, was criticized and joked about for driving while drunk, talking about her financial problems after dismissing roles, starting a job at a coffee shop, trying to attempt a comeback in theatre, moving out with friends rather than "showing remorse," and smiling on set while shooting an independent film.
According to some analysts, Kim's death, which law enforcement agencies suspect was a suicide, is part of an increasing number of high-profile celebrity deaths in the country. These suicides are led by the tremendous pressure that celebrities face from an unforgiving media that takes benefit of every mistake they make.
A Sharp Decline in Reputation
Celebrities in South Korea, especially women, are typically treated badly. Kim achieved success and fame for her roles in TV dramas and movies for years after being a child star in the 2010 murder thriller "The Man from Nowhere."
However, that altered on May 18, 2022, when Kim was driving drunk in southern Seoul and struck with a tree and an electrical transformer. She reportedly gave about 60 stores that briefly lost electricity due to the incident and wrote a handwritten regret on Instagram, but that did little to prevent the negative publicity, and she had a problem finding acting roles.
Relentless Negative Coverage
Following Kim's drunken driving accident, YouTube celebrity gossip channels began to upload negative videos about her personal life. They state, without proof, that she was lying about how breached she was by serving at coffee shops and that social media posts that demonstrated her hanging out with friends showed she wasn't expressing enough regret.
According to experts, many celebrities are afraid to seek therapy for mental health issues such as depression out of the risk of more negative publicity. Other entertainers, especially women, have had problems looking for employment following legal topics like drunk driving or drug addiction.
After years of carefully constructing their public persona, celebrities generally feel powerless when the coverage turns negative, according to Kwon Young-chan, a comedian-turned-scholar who heads a program supporting celebrities with mental health difficulties.
Kwon, who attended Kim's family for the customary three-day funeral, claimed that her family is considering suing a YouTuber with hundreds of thousands of subscribers for what they state are unfounded criticisms of Kim's personal life.
Media Blamed For Celebrity Deaths
According to the National Police Agency, officers did not find any evidence of foul play at Kim's residence, and she left no note. However, a lot of recognized deaths have spurred debates about how news outlines cover celebrities' private lives and whether the deluge of complex online comments is negatively affecting their mental health.
Hyun-Jae Yu, a communications professor at Seoul's Sogang University, claimed that traditional media outlets generally recycle and magnify sensational but unsubstantiated states from social media as they compete for audiences' attention.
He claimed that because of a sharp decline in traditional media readership, media outlets cover YouTube drama as the fastest way to enhance traffic, generally omitting the effort to report and verify facts.