KUALA LUMPUR: Popular Korean actor Kang Ji Hwan who was arrested two days ago on a sexual assault charge has dropped out as the star of drama series Joseon Survival.
According to Soompi, the 42-year-old actor’s agency, Huayi Brothers Korea, which is also responsible for the drama’s production, had earlier announced that Kang would be cancelling all of his scheduled activities in order to cooperate with police investigations.
An announcement that this week’s episode of Joseon Survival will not be aired and that reruns would not be broadcasted was made as well.
Earlier today, the agency released an official statement on the future of the affected drama series that read: “This is Huayi Brothers Korea, the production company for TV Chosun’s Joseon Survival. Actor Kang Ji Hwan, who played Han Jung Rok, has dropped out of the drama.”
It added: “We are currently looking for an actor to replace his role, and we are doing our best to ensure smooth broadcasting. We are sorry to all of the viewers who supported Joseon Survival and we will be back on air as soon as possible.”
Soompi also reported that the Gwangju Police Station of Gyeonggi Province had requested a pretrial detention warrant for the award-winning actor of popular movies and dramas such as My Girlfriend Is An Agent, Rough Cut and Capital Scandal.