Yoo Ah-In Returns To The Big Screen(Photo Credit –Facebook/Instagram)
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Yoo Ah-In is yet again on the news and this time for making waves at the box office with his latest released movie, The Match, and for announcing his next project. Yes, the once controversial actor continues his streak of successes as he dropped the details of his second movie, titled Hi.5, post-scandal. For those who don’t know, Yoo was dragged into a major drug scandal. In 2023, he was indicted without detention for using various kinds of drugs, including propofol, and for getting sleeping pills under another person’s name.
The court sentenced him to 1 year in jail, 2 years of suspension, and a 2 million KRW fine. He was also asked to pay an additional fee of 1.54 million KRW, 80 hours of community service, and 40 hours of drug education. The case still awaits the Supreme Court’s decision. However, amid all this, he received a lot of hate from netizens. People even demanded to boycott the actor.
This incident then greatly affected Yoo Ah-In’s career. His film The Match, in which he starred alongside Lee Byung-Hun, was postponed for an indeterminate time. However, two years later, the film was released in 2025, and people showered it with love, so much so that it led the Korean box office list by surpassing 1.8 million viewers. Audiences and critics praised his performance and the veteran actors who appeared in various roles.
However, because of his legal procedure, the actor was excluded from all kinds of promotions, including trailers, poster launches, and so on. During that time, director Kim Hyung-Joo opened up about it and shared that it was done out of caution as they wanted to cater to a broader audience. Yet, Yoo Ah-In was the movie’s lead character, where he played the Go prodigy, Lee Chang-Ho, mentored by Cho Hun-Hyun (portrayed by Lee Byung-Hun).
Basking in the success glory of The Match, Yoo Ah-In announced his second film, Hi.5, despite all the controversy revolving around his name. (via Kbizoom) Directed by Kang Hyoung-Chul, the movie was a long-awaited due as it had wrapped filming in 2021. But it got delayed because of Yoo’s drug scandal. Now, after four years, it will finally hit the theatres, and it has revealed a new teaser poster.
The distribution company NEW has stated that it will follow the same technique as the crew of The Match and exclude Yoo Ah-In from all promotional events. Nonetheless, Yoo’s back-to-back movies show great progress in his career after the long hiatus. Netizens claim it to be a “light-speed comeback.” The film is a comic action blockbuster and is expected to have a summer 2025 release date.
What do you think?
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