Sports Chosun reported that on the afternoon of December 31, Park Sung Hoon's management company - HB Entertainment - once again spoke out about the incident in which the actor posted 18+ photos on his personal Instagram account.
According to the agency, Park Sung Hoon received the 18+ photo via direct message (DM) on Instagram and felt that the photo was problematic, so he downloaded it and forwarded it to his manager. The photo should have been deleted immediately, but it was accidentally posted on the actor's social media account.
Previously, on December 30, Park Sung Hoon shocked the world when he posted an adult film cover photo inspired by the Netflix series “Squid Game”. In the photo, the actors were dressed like the “Squid Game” characters but in a revealing, offensive style.
Park Sung Hoon immediately deleted the image, but it went viral online and was criticized. Especially in the context of South Korea's national mourning after the Jeju Air plane crash tragedy that killed 179 people.
On the same afternoon, BH Entertainment explained: “Park Sung Hoon received a large number of direct messages on his social media. While checking, he accidentally uploaded the image.
The actor himself was shocked and felt regretful for making a mistake, especially in this situation."
But the explanation was considered unconvincing. The public pointed out that it is impossible to “accidentally” post a photo to Instagram’s story mode, because it requires more than one step.
Photos in messages cannot be posted to stories, they can only be sent to others. As shown, Park Sung Hoon must have saved the photo in his device before he could upload it.
The first explanation was not convincing enough, so the actor's management company gave a second explanation. But the inconsistency continued to make the public suspicious.
According to SpoTV News, after the incident, Park Sung Hoon’s Instagram account increased by about 100,000 followers in 1 day. However, this could become a “global shame”, as the actor attracted attention not because of his role in “Squid Game 2” but because of a scandal related to offensive images.
In “Squid Game 2,” Park Sung Hoon plays Hyun Ju, a transgender woman who participates in the game to earn money for sex reassignment surgery.
Previously, Park Sung Hoon made an impression when taking on supporting villain roles in the TV series "The Glory" and "Queen of Tears".
