“We have mutually decided that Park will step down from our production after long discussions,” the drama’s producer, Studio Dragon, said on January 12.
Park uploaded a cover image of a Japanese porn video on his Instagram Story on Dec. 30, which allegedly was a parody of “Squid Game” (2021-).
He immediately deleted the post. However, the post reached many of his followers, stirring much criticism, especially as the country had begun its seven-day national mourning period following the deadly Jeju Air crash.
“I was trying to send the photo because I was extremely shocked and felt a strong sense of awareness of how problematic this was,” Park said during an interview with local media on Wednesday.
“I wondered how such a thing could have been created and felt deeply uncomfortable. However, during this process, the mistake occurred.”
Despite Park’s apologies, the public remained unforgiving.
“The actor and his agency issued several apologies and engaged in close discussions with us regarding the recent controversy,” said Studio Dragon.
“However, we agreed to part ways and move in separate directions.”
Park debuted in 2008 and appeared in various projects, such as the SBS drama “Roots of the Throne” (2015-16) and the horror film “Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum” (2018).
He gained global popularity through the Netflix thriller “The Glory” (2022-23). He recently starred in the latest season of the Netflix series “Squid Game” portraying the transgender woman Hyun-ju.
BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]
