From Yoo Ah-in to Song Ha-yoon: What will happen to controversial actors’ unreleased works?
Officials are facing a dilemma of whether or not they can release the works that actors sparking social controversy finished filming, as their efforts and those of many others were invested in them
From drugs, school violence to drunk driving, the “misconduct” of lead actors imposes constraints on the release of upcoming works.
Actress Song Ha-yoon, who was riding high with tvN’s “Marry My Husband”, has also faced a red light for her next work “History of Losers” due to allegations of school violence. Song Ha-yoon’s agency King Kong by Starship stated, “It is true that Song Ha-yoon was forced to transfer schools. However, she was not directly involved in the violence.” However, the public is not easily accepting Song Ha-yoon’s explanation.
“History of Losers” is experiencing a situation where it’s one thing after another. With the filming completed in August 2022, coupled with the unresolved allegations of school violence related to another protagonist Jo Byung-kyu, the airing of “History of Losers” has become even more opaque.
Netflix’s original series “Goodbye Earth” faced turmoil due to actor Yoo Ah-in, who is accused of habitual drug use, but will be released on April 26th. The production team stated that Yoo Ah-in’s drug controversy occurred during the stage of post-production, not during the filming, and they worked to minimize the impact on the flow of the work since Yoo Ah-in appears as a major character.
The risk remains. Yoo Ah-in partially admitted to the drug charges, and the trial is ongoing. Public opinion on Yoo Ah-in is also not favorable. Nevertheless, unlike other works, “Goodbye Earth” can proceed with its release because it is a Netflix production. Netflix is an overseas-based platform headquartered in the United States. It can be more flexible regarding the moral verification of actors than domestic platforms. However, even Netflix seems to have acknowledged public sentiment, as the teaser poster released removed Yoo Ah-in’s name.
However, the fate of the movies starring Yoo Ah-in, such as “The Match” and “Hi.5”, remains uncertain. They cannot easily determine their release dates due to the fact that they will be publicly shown in domestic theaters.
There are also movies waiting indefinitely for the day they can see the light of day due to lead actors’ controversy over drunk driving. These include the film “Investigative Trip”, which finished filming in 2019, and the film “The Firefighters”, which finished filming in 2020. The protagonists of these two films are Baek Sung-woo and Kwak Do-won, respectively. Baek Sung-woo was caught for drunk driving in November 2020, while Kwak Do-won was caught for drunk driving in September 2022.
“Investigative Trip” features detectives as the main characters, while “The Firefighters” depicts the story of firefighters based on the real-life Hongje-dong fire incident. This is why there is a stricter standard applied to the morality of the actors involved.
Despite the various controversies surrounding actors, the production teams find themselves in a situation where there is no clear solution. Films typically take at least a year or more until release, and most dramas have switched to pre-production. While it may be possible to replace actors during filming, it’s not feasible to delete all footage once filming is completed. Since it’s not possible to scrutinize every aspect of an individual’s private life, the effectiveness of this approach is limited.
A representative from one production company said “It’s like being struck by lightning” and emphasized the complex situation where the fate of many people is tied to one actor. They also stated, “There is a matter of timeliness in a production, and many parties, including investors, distributors and actors’ agencies, are involved, so leaving it unattended for a long time is not an option.“
