Theater actor Kim Hyun-i asks public to stop sharing her photos after mix-up with late stunt performer of same name

Theater actor Kim Hyun-i, 25, has spoken out after photos of her began circulating online as images of the late action performer Kim Hyun-i, who shares her name.

On Wednesday, Kim posted on Instagram saying her photos were being incorrectly shared across multiple websites as if they depicted the deceased. "Currently, in connection with the passing of a person who shares my name, photos of my face are being mistakenly posted online as if they are of that individual and are spreading across various sites," she wrote.

She added that she is "a completely different person from the deceased" and that the situation has caused her "serious harm and mental distress."

Kim said she has collected all relevant materials and is pursuing deletion requests along with necessary legal action.

"If anyone has seen related posts or is under the mistaken impression that they concern me, please know that I am not that person," she wrote. She urged the public to refrain from indiscriminate sharing to prevent the misinformation from spreading further, and asked anyone who comes across such posts to report them to her via direct message.

Born in 2001, Kim Hyun-i is a theater actor who has appeared in productions including the play "The Seagull."

The confusion stems from news of the passing of the late action performer Kim Hyun-i. The first episode of the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Doctor X: Mafia in White," which premiered Friday, ended with an image of the late performer accompanied by the on-screen message: "We pay tribute to our precious colleague, the late Kim Hyun-i, who ran alongside us."

The following day, the first episode of the tvN Saturday-Sunday drama "100 Days of Deception" also closed with a tribute reading, "We will never forget action performer, the late Kim Hyun-i," bringing wider public attention to her death.

The late Kim Hyun-i died in a traffic accident in August while traveling to a filming location. She had worked as a member of the national taekwondo demonstration team and as a taekwondo instructor before entering the stunt world, performing action sequences in the films "Dark Nuns," "Victory" and "Escape: Project Silence," as well as the drama series "The Penthouse: War in Life" and "Sinbyeong 4: Sabotage."