Netflix’s “The 8 Show” Controversial Cast: Drunk Driving Bae Sung-woo, Transit Love Ryu Jun-yeol, 50-year-old Director Dating Young Actress

Netflix’s original series “The 8 Show” has become a hot topic even before its official release due to various controversies of the cast and director.

At 11 a.m. on May 10th, the press conference for the Netflix original series “The Eight Show” (director Han Jae-rim) was held at Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, attended by actors and actresses Ryu Jun-yeol, Chun Woo-hee, Park Jung-min, Lee Yeol-eum, Park Hae-joon, Lee Ju-young, Moon Jung-hee, Bae Seong-woo and director Han Jae-rim.

This is the first official event Bae Sung-woo participated since he was caught drunk driving in November 2020. At the press conference, Bae Sung-woo apologized, saying, “I wanted to say sorry to everyone else, the disappointment I caused to those who sent me attention and encouragement.” “I was careful and afraid of the situation that was bound to cause inconvenience to those who worked with me due to personal problems,” he added.

Bae Seong-woo was caught drunk driving and dropped out of the SBS drama “Delayed Justice. This resulted in the drama being canceled, and the main character was replaced by Jung Woo-sung, causing enormous damage to the overall production. However, Bae did not spent much time self-reflecting and continued his work. He filmed the movie “Untold Secret” in 2021 and joined the cast of “The 8 Show.”

Director Han Jae-rim explained Bae Seong-woo’s casting, saying, “As a director, I think that Bae Seong-woo fits this role very well. I thought about who could play this role, ‘hyung’ was sincere and said he had a hard time.” However, the director’s explanation for the reason for casting the controversial actor raised questions as he called the actor “hyung,” showing their close relationship.

In addition, Ryu Jun-yeol also expressed his position at this event regarding his “transit love” controversy. Ryu Jun-yeol was caught up in the suspicion of a “transit love relationship” with actress Han So-hee in March. Ryu was later embroiled in a “greenwashing controversy” as he was an ambassador for environment protection foundation Greenpeace but enjoyed golf, which has negative impact on the environment.

At the press conference, Ryu Jun-yeol said, “Regardless of my will at the time, I thought it was best to be silent and bear the criticism that resulted from it rather than answering controversial SNS posts one by one.”

The issue and clarification did not stop there when a question was asked about the “love story” of 50-year-old director Han Jae-rim and 29-year-old actress Lee Yeol-eum. Earlier, it was reported that the two were in a relationship, but they did not disclose their position due to privacy reasons.

Director Han Jae-rim said, “I saw the article and I wondered why such a story was made,” adding, “We are close, but we are not dating.”