Squid Game’s Park Sung-hoon Exits Forthcoming K-Drama Amid NSFW Controversy

Squid Game vet Park Sung-hoon has exited The Tyrant’s Chef, the forthcoming tvN K-drama, after stirring up controversy for posting a pornographic photo to social media.

In December, Park shared to a personal online account a sexually explicit graphic parodying Squid Game. The incident coincided with the cancellation of The Tyrant’s Chef’s first script reading, but according to Daily Tribune, the schedule change was unrelated to the controversy; it was a sign of respect for the victims of the Jeju Air plane crash that left nearly 180 people dead last month.

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The actor has since apologized for his social media misstep, saying it was unintentional. “I found a problematic photo in my [direct messages] as I was rushing to go out around lunchtime to go to my schedule,” he told Korea Economic Daily, via Koreaboo. “While exchanging the show’s reactions with the organizer, I think I accidentally posted it to my story while sending it.”

“I, of course, did not watch the video,” he added. “I also do not have another account, so it wasn’t a mistake to try to upload it to a different account. I felt a lot of regret and blamed myself for the inconvenience my mistake had caused. I will carry on with my acting career with a heavy heart, being mindful of my words and actions so something like this will not happen again.”

In Squid Game, Park plays Cho Hyun-ju/Player 120, a transgender woman and former member of the ROK special forces who is enduring the games so as to afford the next surgery for her transition. (Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has explained it is “near impossible” to cast an openly trans Korean actor, due to that society’s staunch prejudices.)

Park was to star in The Tyrant’s Chef alongside K-pop star Yoona, and his replacement has not yet been announced.

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