On March 21, Yonhap News reported that because the controversy over the accusation that actor Kim Soo Hyun was dating the late actor Kim Sae Ron since she was a minor has escalated, the release of his next work has been postponed.
A representative from Disney+ told Yonhap News: "After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the plan to release knock-Off."
Knock-Off was originally scheduled to premiere this year and the production process is almost complete. There is even information that part 1 of the film will be released as early as April.
However, Disney+'s new decision raises the possibility that not only will the release date be delayed, but the film may not be released anymore.
Knock-Off tells the story of a man whose life was turned upside down by the IMF foreign exchange crisis from 1997 to the early 2000s, then became the king of the global counterfeit market.
Kim Soo Hyun plays Kim Seong Jun, vice president of the Sammul Market counterfeit market. Jo Bo Ah plays Song Hye Jung, a customs officer assigned to suppress counterfeitism.
This is a project that marks the return of Kim Soo Hyun after the success of the TV series Queen of Tears, so it is highly anticipated.
Last November, Kim Soo Hyun and Jo Bo Ah attended Disney+'s global press conference in Singapore to introduce the film.
Meanwhile, on March 20, Kim Soo Hyun's management company - Gold Medalist - filed a lawsuit against YouTube channel Garosero, Kim Sae Ron's family, and an individual who claimed to be the actor's aunt, accusing him of illegally providing and distributing sensitive images of Kim Soo Hyun.
Because of this scandal, Kim Soo Hyun is suffering heavy losses. Many brands and labels have hidden and removed his advertising images and videos. Some brands even announced that they had stopped collaborating with the actor.
On March 14, a representative of the luxury fashion brand Prada in Korea said that the company had terminated the ambassador contract with Kim Soo Hyun after 3 months, considering the seriousness of the incident.
On March 18, the Chinese brand Cuckoo announced that "all brand promotion activities related to Kim Soo Hyun will be completely suspended and will immediately replace all images with the actor's presence on official platforms". This brand has just appointed Kim Soo Hyun as a model in the Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian markets since March 1.
