Park Sung-hoon plays the transgender character Hyun-ju in 'Squid Game 2'.
South Korean actor Park Sung-hoon – who faced a backlash over an explicit image he shared on social media in late December – has dropped out of K-drama The Tyrant’s Chef, in which he was the male lead.
This was announced by production company Studio Dragon in a statement on Jan 12.
“After discussions between the production team and Park Sung-hoon’s agency, we have decided that he would not take part in the project,” it said.
Park played the transgender character Hyun-ju in the Netflix series Squid Game 2, which was released on Dec 26.
On Dec 30, the 39-year-old uploaded on Instagram Stories an image of a Japanese pornographic video parodying Squid Game before it was deleted swiftly.
This was also a sensitive time as South Korea was in the midst of a week-long national mourning period over the Jeju Air crash at Muan International Airport, which killed 179 people on Dec 29.
Park’s agency BH Entertainment explained later that the image was shared by mistake.
“Park Sung-hoon accidentally clicked on a post he received via direct message and uploaded it to his Instagram Stories,” the agency said. “The actor himself was very surprised and is reflecting on the mistake (in uploading the post).”
South Korean actor Park Sung-hoon (front) at the global premiere of 'Squid Game 2' in Seoul on Dec 9, 2024. Photo: AFP
Park apologised tearfully during an interview for Squid Game 2 on Jan 8, but it did not stop fans from asking for him to quit The Tyrant’s Chef.
The actor, who played antagonists in TV series such as The Glory (2022 to 2023) and Queen Of Tears (2024), was supposed to play a king. The fantasy romance also stars K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation’s Yoona as a chef who time-travels and encounters the food-loving king.
South Korean media outlet Sports Chosun reported on Jan 13 that actor Lee Chae-min, who starred in the Netflix series Hierarchy (2024), is in talks to take over the role. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
