Actor Park Sung Hoon has officially stepped down from his role in tvN's upcoming drama The Tyrant's Chef, following ongoing controversy surrounding an Instagram post.

On January 11th, a tvN representative shared, "After a lot of discussion between the production team and Park Sung Hoon's side, we decided it would be difficult for him to continue with this project."

The statement continued, "Both Park Sung Hoon and his agency have apologized multiple times regarding the situation. After careful thought, the decision was made for the actor and the production to part ways."

The controversy began on December 30th when Park Sung Hoon shared a parody image of Netflix’s Squid Game featuring Japanese AV (adult video) content on his Instagram Story. Although he quickly deleted the post, it spread online, sparking major backlash.

BH Entertainment, Park Sung Hoon's agency, addressed the issue, stating, "Park Sung Hoon accidentally uploaded the image after pressing on a DM (direct message) he received. He was shocked by the mistake and is reflecting deeply on the matter."

However, the public response remained critical. The scheduled script reading for The Tyrant's Chef on February 2nd was canceled, leading to speculation that it was due to the ongoing AV photo scandal. tvN, however, attributed the delay to the national mourning period at the time.

During a February 9th interview about Squid Game Season 2, Park Sung Hoon emotionally opened up about the incident.

"During the show’s release week, I received the image in a DM while sharing audience reactions with a team member. I thought it could be an issue, and while trying to forward it, there was a mistake, and it somehow ended up on my Story", he explained.

He clarified, “I deleted the photo immediately and didn’t watch the video. Some have suggested I uploaded it to a secondary account, but I don’t even have one.”

When asked why he hadn’t shared proof of the problematic DM, Park Sung Hoon responded, "I get so many messages that retrieving one from weeks ago isn’t easy."

Despite his explanations, public opinion hasn’t softened, leading to his exit from the highly anticipated drama. Fans remain divided on whether the incident was a genuine mistake or carelessness on the actor’s part.

Source: [1]

BTS’s Jimin is once again proving his global dominance, especially in Japan, where his solo music continues to break records!

Jimin's hit song "Who", from his second album MUSE, has just been awarded the prestigious Gold streaming certification from the Japan Record Association (RIAJ).

This honor comes after "Who" surpassed a remarkable 50 million streams in February, making it the first solo song by Jimin to receive this certification in Japan!

The Japan Record Association certifies music based on total streams, with Gold for 50 million streams, Platinum for 100 million, and Diamond for a massive 500 million.

This achievement adds another significant milestone to Jimin’s growing solo career.

Previously, Jimin also earned a Platinum certification for his first album FACE (for 250,000 units shipped) and a Gold certification for MUSE (for over 100,000 units shipped).

With the Gold streaming certification for "Who", Jimin now holds a total of three prestigious certifications from the Japan Record Association, solidifying his place as a solo artist.

Not only that, but "Who" made waves on the Billboard charts, staying on the Billboard Hot 100 for an impressive 33 weeks, setting a record for the longest-charting K-pop solo song! It also spent 32 weeks on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, showing just how much love fans have for his music.

Jimin’s solo success doesn’t stop there, as GOLDEN also spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart, and Jimin continues to dominate the Billboard Japan Artist 100, where he has now charted for 47 weeks! Clearly, Jimin’s popularity is unstoppable!

Source (1)