Im Si-wan 'begs' for forgiveness from fans after Squid Game 3 betrayal: 'Sorry, I am a coward'

Im Si-wan has done several complicated roles in his life, but few have earned him hatred as his character Myung-gi earned in Squid Game 3.  In the series, Myung-gi went from nuanced, complicated to straight-up unlikeable and detestable as he murders Hyun-ju in the gruesome game of Hide And Seek, and worse, almost threatens to kill his newborn child to win the game.

It’s a bit of a shock for those who watched Run On, where he plays a gentle, timid athlete. Nevertheless, Si-wan has been apologising profusely to fans for his role. Recently, he spoke to Sports Chosun to discuss the series.  Ahead of the season 3 release, viewers speculated that Im Si Wan might survive until the end because his name appeared third in the credits. However, he denied knowing the outcome and said during interviews for Season 2 that he didn’t remember what happened.

Reflecting on this, he joked, “I’m sorry. I lied. I’m a coward,” and explained, “I was so afraid of accidentally revealing spoilers. At the time, I didn’t have many options in terms of what I could say.”

In different interviews, Im Si-wan has apologised for his role, while the other cast members can’t stop laughing at his abject apologies. Yet, fans are rather perplexed and are defending him too, wondering why he has to apologise for doing his job. In fact, Si-wan has even 'begged' for forgiveness from fans.

Squid Game 3 has taken the world by storm, recording 60.1 million views (measured by dividing total watch time by runtime) within just three days of its release, topping Netflix’s global Top 10 list.

Released on June 27, Squid Game 3 claimed the No. 1 spot in all 93 countries tracked by Netflix, including South Korea, the U.S., Japan, France, and Brazil. It became the first show in Netflix history to debut at No. 1 in every country during its opening week—an unprecedented achievement.

Additionally, the series entered Netflix’s all-time Top 10 for non-English TV series in 9th place. With this, Squid Game Seasons 1, 2, and 3 all now rank within the Top 10 most popular non-English series on Netflix. In the latest weekly global Top 10 rankings, Season 2 climbed to 3rd place and Season 1 to 6th, showing a renewed surge in interest and proving the franchise’s global appeal.