Who is Park hyung-sik as he takes over from Kim Soo Hyun as South Korea’s highest-paid actor?

According to Pinkvilla, Park hyung-sik “reportedly earned 500 million KRW for his appearance in each episode of Doctor Slump (2023), also starring Park Shin Hye. With the series having 16 episodes, his total earnings from its filming can be said to be 8 billion KRW. His ongoing revenge thriller drama, Buried Hearts,is expected to fetch him an even higher per-episode fee, although the exact amount is not known yet.”

500 million KRW equates to approximately £263,145.35. Kim Soo Hyun reportedly earned 500 million KRW for filming It’s Okay to Not Be Okay in 2020 and One Ordinary Day in 2021.

Park hyung-sik who has 13.1M followers on Instagram, is known both as a singer and actor. He started out as a member of the South Korean boy group ZE: A in 2010. The band, ZE:A were also known as Children of Empire and were formed by Star Empire Entertainment in 2010.

There were nine members in ZE:A and the band comprised of : Kevin, Hwang Kwang-hee, Im Si-wan, Moon Joon-young, Kim Tae-heon, Jung Hee-chul, Ha Min-woo, Kim Dong-jun and Park Hyung-sik. Park Hyung-sik went on to become an actor and has appeared in The Heirs in 2013, High Society in 2015, Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth in 2016, Strong Girl Bong-soon in 2017, Suits in 2018, Happiness in 2021, Our Blooming Youth in 2023 and Doctor Slump in 2024.

What has happened to Kim Soo Hyun?

Multiple brands such as Prada have dropped actor Kim Soo Hyun following allegations that he was involved with the late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. Kim Soo’s agency, GOLD MEDALLIST, recently released a statement which read: Hello, this is GOLDMEDALIST.We would like to address the claims stated at the press conference held by the family of the late Kim Sae Ron in collaboration with HoverLab Inc. (hereafter referred to as HoverLab) as well as HoverLab’s YouTube channel.

“We state our position regarding the second certification of contents.

“During the press conference, the family claimed that our company’s second certification of contents sent on March 25, 2024 stated, “The notice includes that if you post a photo similar to the one posted on March 24 on social media, contact any of the actors from the agency, or if ‘Queen of Tears’ suffers any damages, you will be liable for full compensation.” In response, we are attaching the original text of the certification of contents to this statement.

“As can be confirmed through the certification of contents, our company did not demand any compensation from Kim Sae Ron for damages related to [the drama]. It is also impossible to claim compensation for damages for posting photos on social media or contacting agency actors.

“The reason we sent the second certification of contents was to provide Kim Sae Ron with a more accurate explanation of the certification of contents. As stated in our previous statement, we sent a notice by mail to inform Kim Sae Ron that our claims against her were in a “non-recoverable” state, allowing us to write off the debt and eliminate any potential for occupational breach of trust by our executives. This was the first certification of contents sent on March 15, 2024.

“However, as is known, Kim Sae Ron sent a text to Kim Soo Hyun regarding this matter and posted a photo of the two on social media on March 24. The certification of contents sent on March 25 was intended to alleviate Kim Sae Ron’s concerns and explain the reasons for urging debt repayment, as well as to express our willingness to negotiate positively regarding the repayment.

“ As explained in the attached second certification of contents, we informed Kim Sae Ron that “if the company does not claim the repayment of your loan despite the due date having arrived, there is a possibility that the executives of the client company could be liable for breach of trust,” and we expressed our “willingness to negotiate the method and timing of the debt repayment.”

The statement continued and was a response to a recent statement by the late actress Kim Sae-ron’s family. Bloodhounds star Kim Sae-ron was found dead at the age of 24. Her body was discovered by her friend at her home in Seongdong-gu, Seoul.

Their statement read: “Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act stipulates that a person who commits murder shall be punished by death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for a term of at least five years.

“In our hearts, we wish to file charges under the crime of murder. However, as defamation does not fall under the methods of murder according to legal precedents, we regretfully hope that the fact that the deceased’s death is causally linked to YouTuber Lee Jin Ho’s dissemination of false information will be fully reflected in the sentencing, leading to the strictest possible punishment.

“On March 24, 2024, the deceased uploaded a photo of her with her ex Kim Soo Hyun. This was because she had received a certification of contents demanding repayment of debts from Kim Soo Hyun’s agency. Hoping that Kim Soo Hyun might not be involved in this matter, she attempted to contact him, but when there was no response, she briefly uploaded the photo, thinking it might prompt him to reach out.

“However, YouTuber Lee Jin Ho, for reasons unknown, not only denied the past romantic relationship between the deceased and Kim Soo Hyun but also spread false information that portrayed the deceased in a negative light, making her appear as an unusual or problematic person. This caused the deceased to suffer extreme mental anguish, ultimately driving her to make an irreversible decision.

“In light of this, the bereaved family asks for understanding regarding the necessity of revealing the deceased’s past relationship with Kim Soo Hyun in order to prove the falsehoods spread by YouTuber Lee Jin Ho. This also necessitated the disclosure of photos from their past relationship.

“Regarding the investigation, YouTuber Lee Jin Ho has been deleting past videos since the deceased’s passing. This is a clear act of evidence destruction, and we urge the authorities to conduct a search and seizure as well as an arrest investigation.

“Next, we would like to address matters related to Kim Soo Hyun.

“Initially, the bereaved family hoped that Kim Soo Hyun would acknowledge his past relationship with the deceased to disprove the false claims made by YouTuber Lee Jin Ho. However, Kim Soo Hyun’s repeated false statements have caused further distress to the bereaved family. We sincerely hope that even now, he will offer a heartfelt apology.

“After Kim Soo Hyun’s agency sent the first certification of contents, the deceased sent a text message to Kim Soo Hyun pleading for help. However, Kim Soo Hyun did not respond even once. Instead, through his agency, he sent a second certification of contents to the deceased. To briefly explain the contents of the second certification of contents, contrary to the recent statements made by Kim Soo Hyun’s side, it mentioned that the certification of contents was sent due to acts of embezzlement and other issues. However, in essence, it demanded that the deceased repay her debts within a given period. Additionally, it included instructions not to contact Kim Soo Hyun or other actors from his agency directly and threatened legal action regarding the photo she uploaded.

“Even after the second certification of contents, there was not a single instance of contact from Kim Soo Hyun nor was there any communication with other actors from his agency.

“It is difficult to even imagine the mental anguish the deceased must have endured after receiving such certification of contents during her lifetime. We cannot understand why Kim Soo Hyun’s side is claiming to await contact from the bereaved family by publicly releasing statements at this point.

“We are currently reviewing potential legal actions against Kim Soo Hyun and his representatives.”