Uhm Ki Joon turns out to be not the first choice to play the iconic Ju Dan Tae of Penthouse.

Penthouse – SBS’s 3-season series, depicting the battle for money and power among Korean wealthiest families, became a massive hit and took the popularity of the cast to a whole different level. For some actors, joining the cast of Penthouse is even considered a life-changing decision.

Uhm Ki Joon – who takes on the role of the main villain Ju Dan Tae – is one of them. Thanks to the success of Penthouse, Uhm Ki Joon boosted his reputation remarkably after nearly 20 years of working in the industry without a solid position.

Flawlessly portraying Ju Dan Tae, but Uhm Ki Joon was actually not originally selected for this part. Initially, the production crew offered the role to Shin Sung Rok – an actor who is famous for playing villains. If Shin Sung Rok did not pass on the offer, the viewers would have seen an extremely haunting Ju Dan Tae.

At that time, Shin Sung Rok was said to have tried to join Penthouse but failed because of the overlapping schedule, as he was playing the lead role in the MBC drama Kairos. Of course, Kairos is also an excellent drama, but when it comes to the achievement, it can’t match what Penthouse has achieved.

Looking back at the success of Penthouse and especially actor Uhm Ki Joon, Shin Sung Rok must have felt extremely regretful.

Of course, it still has to be affirmed that Uhm Ki Joon is perfect for the role of Ju Dan Tae, and whether it is him or Shin Sung Rok, the Penthouse team is still successful in choosing actors.

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Kim Jaejoong, the famous singer and businessman, recently revealed that he was the victim of a hacking incident involving his Kakao Pay account, raising concerns about his financial safety.

On May 7, the star shared his experience with fans via the official fan platform From, explaining that his Kakao Pay account was hacked and the password was changed without his permission. As a result, Kim Jaejoong was locked out of his account and couldn’t access any of his information, which made the situation even more difficult to handle.

He expressed frustration over the customer service process, sharing that he had contacted support multiple times for help. Despite talking to a representative for over an hour, the issue wasn’t resolved. Kim Jaejoong pointed out a flaw in the system: “The hacker changed the password, so why do I, the victim, have to prove everything?”

Things only got worse when he was told he would be connected to another representative, only for it to be the same department. He admitted, “I was mentally crushed” after realizing the lack of progress. While he acknowledged that the customer service staff was working hard, he couldn’t help but feel that the system was too weak to handle such incidents.

Fortunately, after two days of struggle, the situation was finally resolved. Kim Jae Joong confirmed that his account was closed and deleted, and luckily, no financial loss occurred. “It was truly a terrifying day,” he shared, relieved that the problem was fixed.

Despite the scary experience, Kim Jaejoong continues to thrive in other areas of his career. In 2023, he co-founded iNKODE Entertainment, a company where he works as a producer and businessman. iNKODE Entertainment currently manages artists like Oh Ji Yul, Jung Si Hyun, Lee Ji Hoon, and others. Kim Jae joong also launched the 7-member girl group Say My Name last year.

Even though he’s facing challenges, Kim Jaejoong’s career remains strong, and he’s taking steps to ensure this type of situation doesn’t happen again.

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