On June 30, representatives of UAA (United Artists Agency) entertainment company confirmed to the media that the contract between the company and actor Yoo Ah In has ended.
On the same day, a media outlet said that the possibility of Yoo Ah In joining Galaxy Corporation is very high.
This information attracted attention because before that, on June 29, actor Ryu Jun Yeol was also confirmed to have left UAA and is discussing moving to Galaxy Corporation. Therefore, Yoo Ah In is said to be likely to follow the same path.
Galaxy Corporation currently manages many artists such as G-Dragon (Big Bang), Kim Jong Kook, Taemin, Song Kang Ho. Recently, this company also attracted attention when signing a contract with baseball star Lee Jung Hoo.
According to a source in the industry, if officially signing a contract with Galaxy Corporation, Yoo Ah In is said to receive a contract fee of at least 1 billion won to several billion won.
In particular, after UAA announced the termination of its exclusive contract with actress Song Hye Kyo on June 26, the company's continued termination of cooperation with Yoo Ah In further attracted attention.
Song Hye Kyo has been associated with UAA since 2012, when the company was newly established, while Yoo Ah In joined UAA in 2014.
Not only colleagues in the same management company, Song Hye Kyo and Yoo Ah In are also known as close friends in the entertainment industry. Another source revealed that Yoo Ah In was the one who matched Song Hye Kyo and her ex-husband Song Joong Ki.
According to media reports, at the time Yoo Ah In was investigated for using banned substances, it was Song Hye Kyo who directly exchanged with treatment experts and met for legal advice for the actor.
Yoo Ah In has stopped all activities since the beginning of 2023 after the drug use case was exposed.
He is accused of illegally using addictive drugs used in medicine including propofol, midazolam, ketamine and remimazolam a total of 181 times in the period from September 2020 to March 2022; 44 times using other people's identities to prescribe and illegally purchase more than 1,100 sleeping pills from May 2021 to August 2022.
At the same time, he was accused of smoking marijuana 3 times in the US in January 2023 with Mr. Choi and some others, as well as inciting others to use marijuana.
In July last year, the Korean Supreme Court upheld the 1-year prison sentence but granted a 2-year suspended sentence, along with a fine of 2 million won for Yoo Ah In.
Since the beginning of this year, there has been information that Yoo Ah In will reappear on screen with a new film by director Jang Jae Hyun - the person behind the blockbuster "Exhuma".
However, the director's side said that this information is not true. The actor's side also denied it and declared: "Nothing has been decided yet".
On June 27, through the YouTube channel of scholar Kim Yong Ok, Yoo Ah In first reappeared after a period of absence due to drug scandal.
In the video, it can be seen that the male actor has lost a lot of weight. But the audience thinks that he still maintains the aura of a star and his handsome appearance as before.
