Korean actor and “Squid Game” season 2 star Park Sung-hoon will no longer star in a drama with K-pop idol and actress Yoona after he received backlash for uploading porn on his Instagram account.
On Dec. 30, a day after a Jeju Air plane crash killed 179 passengers and crew in South Korea, Park Sung-hoon uploaded a photo of a Japanese porn titled “Squirt Game,” a parody of the hit Netflix series, on his Instagram Stories and quickly deleted it.
However, his post was captured by netizens and it spread online.
Park Sung-hoon currently appears in “Squid Game” season 2, playing the role of a transgender woman.
Korean actor Park Sung-hoon (right) plays the role of a transgender woman (left) in "Squid Game" season 2 (Netflix)
Korean Park Sung-hoon uploaded a photo of a Japanese porn video "Squirt Game" on his Instagram Stories on Dec. 30 (Photo from Korean online community)
Yoona (Instagram)
He was cast to play the male lead role in “The Tyrant’s Chef” opposite Yoona. The tvN drama, reportedly set to air in the second half of the year, will have 12 episodes.
Park Sung-hoon faced backlash from netizens due to the porn controversy with many of them asking him to withdraw from “The Tyrant’s Chef.”
On Dec. 11, Studio Dragon, the production company for “The Tyrant’s Chef,” announced Park Sung-hoon’s withdrawal from the drama.
“After much discussion, the production team and actor Park Sung-hoon have decided that it is difficult to continue this project together,” it said, Korean media reported.
It added, “In relation to the recent events, both the actor and his agency have apologized several times and have been discussing the various situations closely. After discussion, the production team and actor Park Sung-hoon have decided to continue their separate paths.”
After the porn controversy, Park Sung-hoon’s agency, BH Entertainment, which also manages “Squid Game” stars Lee Byung-hun and Lee Jin-wook, issued a statement, which also faced criticism from netizens.
“Park Sung-soon uploaded it by mistake while checking the post he received via DM [direct message]. The actor himself was very surprised and is deeply reflecting. He will be especially careful to ensure that something like this does not happen again,” the agency claimed.
However, netizens pointed out that it was impossible to accidentally post on Instagram Stories.
Last Jan. 8, Park Sung-hoon apologized again during an interview with Korean media.
"I feel deeply sorry that my mistake caused trouble for the hard work of our many crew members, which is also the most upsetting part. I will fully accept all the criticism toward me, but I wish for the people to look at the work with a warm heart,” he said, referring to “Squid Game” season 2, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
He explained how he uploaded the porn photo on Instagram.
"At the time, it had only been a short while since the series’ [‘Squid Game’ season 2] release [on Dec. 26], and I was in the middle of exchanging reactions about the show almost in real-time with a person in charge. Then, I came across the problematic image,” he said.
He added, “I was in a hurry because I had an appointment. While doing so, I intended to send the photo via DM [to the person], but somehow — I can't even fully understand how it happened — it ended up being posted on Instagram Story.”
“I was trying to send the photo because I was extremely shocked and felt a strong sense of awareness of how problematic this was. I wondered how such a thing could have been created and felt deeply uncomfortable. However, during this process, the mistake took place," he said.
He said, "A mistake is a mistake, but I still believe it was wrong, and I think the first thing I need to do is take responsibility and endure the consequences. Right now, I am at a point where I don't even want to touch my phone, and though I am grateful, I still can't fully enjoy the situation."
Park Sung-hoon denied speculation that he tried to upload the porn photo on a second Instagram account.
“I have never owned any subaccounts other than the official account I use. And, of course, I deleted the photo immediately, and I have no intention of watching or have ever watched the video," he said.