Squid Game 2 actor Park Sung-hoon quits new show after controversial social media post, Lee Chae-Min rumoured as replacement

Actor Park Sung-hoon recently faced significant backlash after posting an offensive and explicit parody image of Squid Game on his social media account. The image was swiftly deleted, but not before it was widely disseminated online.

In response to the controversy, Sung-hoon offered an apology during an interview to Korea Economic Daily, and explained that he had intended to forward the image privately but mistakenly uploaded it to his public Instagram Story. “I found a problematic photo in my DMs as I was rushing to go out around lunchtime to go to my schedule. It was during the beginning of the show’s release, and I thought it was a shocking photo and could cause problems. While exchanging the show’s reactions with the organizer, I think I accidentally posted it to my story while sending it,” he had said.  He also acknowledged the discomfort and disappointment caused to fans and colleagues.

However, the incident led to professional repercussions. He resigned from the upcoming tvN drama The Tyrant’s Chef after discussions with the production team. Studio Dragon, the production company behind the series, released a statement on Sunday confirming his exit, according to the South Korean publication Soompi. “After extensive discussions between the production team and Park Sung-hoon, it was decided that he would not participate in this project,” the statement said.

The statement also read, “Both Park Sung-hoon and his agency have issued multiple apologies regarding the recent incident. After careful deliberation, the production team and the actor decided to go their separate ways.”

Meanwhile, South Korean star Lee Chae-min has now been approached for the role, according to his agency, Gold Medalist.

Apart from Squid Game, Sung-hoon is also known for his roles in The Glory and Queen of Tears.