Park Sung-hoon Tearfully Apologizes “‘Squid Game’ Parody AV Incident Was a Mistake I Deeply Regret”
On January 8, during an interview held at a café in Jongno-gu, Seoul for “Squid Game 2“, Park Sung-hoon reflected on the incident, saying, “Through this series of events, I’ve looked back on myself and come to realize the great influence I wield as an actor. As someone involved in creating and participating in Korean content, I hope this time will serve as an opportunity for growth and self-reorganization.”
Previously, Park Sung-hoon had unintentionally posted an explicit image on his personal social media account. The image was a parody of “Squid Game 2” and depicted a woman’s body without any censorship, causing widespread shock.
At the time, his agency explained, “Park Sung-hoon was checking multiple DMs and appears to have accidentally uploaded the image to his story. He was shocked and deleted it immediately.” They later clarified, “Park Sung-hoon had saved the image to share it with a company employee after determining it was problematic. It seems it was mistakenly uploaded during this process.” Despite these explanations, public backlash persisted, and the incident significantly damaged his image as an actor.
During the interview, Park Sung-hoon apologized with a heavy heart, saying, “I deeply regret causing discomfort and concern to many people due to my mistake. I sincerely apologize.”
Park Sung-hoon revealed that he received the problematic image via DM from an unknown sender. He explained, “It was during the first week of the show’s release, and I was closely monitoring viewers’ reactions. I came across the photo, recognized it could be an issue, and intended to forward it. However, some error occurred during the process, and I later discovered it had been uploaded to my story. It’s a situation that I find hard to understand myself.”
Addressing speculation that the upload was intended for a private account, Park Sung-hoon clarified, “I do not own any secondary accounts. I only have one account.”
Park Sung-hoon emphasized that he had not watched the AV in question and stressed that while it was an unintentional mistake, he acknowledged it was still a wrongful act.
He said, “I’ve caused concern to many people. I fully grasp the severity of the situation and will be more cautious in my words and actions to ensure such a mistake never happens again.”
He concluded, “I’ve recently received overwhelming love for my work. I hope this incident becomes a moment for me to reorganize and grow as a person and an actor.”
Meanwhile, “Squid Game 2”, released on December 26, 2024, portrays the intense rivalry between Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), who returns to the game seeking revenge, and the Front Man (played by Lee Byung-hun). It also explores the start of new deadly games. Park Sung-hoon played the role of Hyun-ju, a transgender participant (number 120) seeking money for gender affirmation surgery, delivering a compelling performance.
