She‘s changing co-stars again. This is the story of actress Im Yoon-ah, who has experienced sudden changes in co-stars in her projects one after another.

Im Yoon-ah had originally decided on the new tvN drama ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ (written by HapJak, directed by Jang Tae-yoo) as her comeback drama last year. ‘The Tyrant‘s Chef’ is a fantasy survival romance that transcends 500 years as a French chef who time-slips meets the worst tyrant and the greatest gourmet, the king. It is the new work of director Jang Tae-yoo, who directed ‘Flowers that Bloom at Night’, ‘My Love from the Star’. Her co-star is actor Park Sung-hoon, who appeared in ‘The Glory’, ‘Queen of Tears’, and ‘Squid Game 2’.

However, Park Sung-hoon has dropped out of the project. On the 12th, the production company said, “After much discussion, the production team and actor Park Sung-hoon’s side (his agency BH Entertainment) have decided that it will be difficult for him to continue on with this project.” “Regarding the recent incident (controversy over the AV cover upload on Instagram), both the actor and his agency have apologized several times and have been discussing the various situations closely,” and announced the news of Park Sung-hoon‘s departure.

They also said, “’The Tyrant‘s Chef’ is scheduled for the second half of this year, so there will be no disruption to production or programming,” and “A replacement actor is also being discussed and we will announce it as soon as it is confirmed.”


On December 30th of last year, Park Sung Hoon posted and then deleted an AV (Adult Video) cover parodying the Netflix original ‘Squid Game’ on his Instagram story. The cover explicitly showed numerous women in full nudity and sexual intercourse. As Park Sung Hoon, who stars in ‘Squid Game 2’, already has millions of followers, the captured screen of Park Sung Hoon‘s story quickly spread online.

Regarding this, his agency BH Entertainment stated, “The photo was a post that someone sent to Park Sung Hoon via DM (direct message), and Park Sung Hoon accidentally clicked on it, which ended up on his own SNS account. The actor himself was extremely embarrassed and immediately deleted it. He explained, ”I am reflecting on my mistake,“ but this only created more controversy.

Park Sung-hoon eventually opened his mouth during an interview to promote ‘Squid Game 2’. Park Sung-hoon apologized, saying, ”I am very upset that something like this happened when the work and character were receiving so much attention and love. First of all, I feel very sorry for our entire team.“

Despite this apology, some said that the additional explanation regarding Instagram was insufficient, and Park Sung-hoon eventually dropped out of ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’. The problem is that while Park Sung-hoon could have just been replaced, Im Yoon-ah, who was completely watching the situation, was flustered. This is because she had a similar experience.

Im Yoon-ah previously experienced a situation where her co-star was replaced during the casting process for the movie ‘The Devil Moved In’ (formerly ‘2 O‘Clock Date’). Actor Kim Seon-ho, who was cast as her co-star, suddenly dropped out of the work due to personal issues, and was replaced with a different actor. Thanks to this, ‘The Devil Has Moved In’ was produced later than originally planned and is currently awaiting its release.

In fact, the year 2025 holds a special meaning for Im Yoon-ah, who had her own time last year. It is the year of starting over as an actress with the release of ‘The Devil Has Moved In’ and the filming and broadcast of ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’. However, things got messed up from the start. They say a replacement actor will be brought in and filming will begin, but the name and atmosphere of the work, which has already become a blemish, will have to be endured by the lead actor.

Will Im Yoon-ah be able to put this unpleasant situation behind her and achieve good results through the two works? Attention is being paid to Im Yoon-ah‘s return and the release of the two works.

Hong Se-young, Reporter, Donga.com projecthong@donga.com