The controversy surrounding actor Park Sung-hoon and the upload of a Japanese adult video cover is ongoing. According to an exclusive report by Star News on the 2nd, the script reading for the new tvN drama ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ has been canceled. The production initially planned a script reading with the cast on the 2nd, but decided to cancel it, including a test filming.
‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ is a drama about a chef who time-slips to the past just as they reach the pinnacle of success, encountering a tyrant king known for his cruelty but also his gourmet taste. The show is directed by Jang Tae-yoo, known for works like ‘Tree With Deep Roots’, ‘My Love from the Star’, and ‘Flowers Bloom at Night’. Park Sung-hoon and Girls’ Generation’s YoonA were cast as the leads, garnering much attention.
However, the production of ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ faced a major setback due to Park Sung-hoon. On December 30th, Park Sung-hoon uploaded a group poster of Japanese AV actors engaging in explicit sexual acts while dressed in costumes from the Netflix original series ‘Squid Game 2’ on his personal social media. The image included explicit depictions of sexual positions and nudity. Park Sung-hoon played the role of Jo Hyun-joo, a transgender who participates in the game to finance gender reassignment surgery, in ‘Squid Game 2’, which was released on December 26th.
The post was deleted approximately one minute after being uploaded, but with nearly 2 million followers, the Japanese AV image had already been widely shared among fans. BH Entertainment, Park Sung-hoon’s agency, exacerbated the situation with their inadequate response. BH initially told Star News that Park Sung-hoon unintentionally shared the image while checking a large number of direct messages he received and was shocked by his mistake.
A day later, BH issued a different statement, explaining that Park Sung-hoon received the image as a direct message and found it potentially problematic. He intended to report it to the company but accidentally downloaded and uploaded the image while sending it to the person in charge. BH acknowledged their previous explanation was false and apologized again.