'Lee Seon-gyun and Jeon Hye-jin Disappear from Family-Oriented Image Ads'... Quick Cutoff Following Acknowledgment of Drug Investigation

Domestic Telecom Companies Remove Ads Featuring Model Lee Seon-gyun for Educational Content
Supplement Ads Modify Copy to 'Lee Seon-gyun's Choice'

Famous actor Lee Sun-kyun (48) has admitted to being under police investigation for drug use allegations, prompting companies that had hired him as an advertising model to quickly begin 'erasing Lee Sun-kyun.'

On the 20th, just one day after drug allegations surfaced, Lee Sun-kyun released a statement acknowledging that he was the actor involved in the drug suspicion. From that day, advertisements featuring Lee Sun-kyun began to disappear.

Actors Lee Sun-kyun and his wife Jeon Hye-jin [Photo courtesy of Lotte Entertainment and Hodoo&You Entertainment, Yonhap News]

On the 20th, a telecommunications company withdrew an educational content advertisement featuring the couple Lee Sun-kyun and Jeon Hye-jin as models. The company had gained attention for selecting the two actors, known for their family-oriented image, as models.

Simply the fact that the educational content advertisement model was involved in drugs was fatal to the image, and if the allegations are proven true in the future, a greater impact is expected, so it appears that swift action was taken first.

Lee Sun-kyun also served as an advertising model for a customized nutritional supplement brand of a health functional food company. The brand promoted its products with the copy 'Chosen by Lee Sun-kyun OOO,' but after Lee Sun-kyun admitted to the drug investigation, it was replaced with the phrase '1:1 Customized Nutrients OOO.' Additionally, Lee Sun-kyun's face photo disappeared.

Lee Sun-kyun stars as the model in a customized supplement advertisement
[Image source=Online capture]

The film industry, which has already invested nearly hundreds of billions of won in production costs and completed filming, is in a state of extreme tension.

The upcoming film starring Lee Sun-kyun, Escape: Project Silence, is a big-budget production with nearly 20 billion won invested and was invited to the 'Midnight Screening' section of the 76th Cannes International Film Festival. Regarding this, a representative from the film distributor CJ ENM stated, "We need to observe the investigation situation a bit more."

Another film starring Lee Sun-kyun, Land of Happiness, finished filming last February and is currently in post-production. Both of these films have Lee Sun-kyun as the lead actor, making editing or actor replacement impossible. In addition, Lee Sun-kyun was cast in STUDIO X+U's new series No Way Out, but since filming has just begun, if the allegations are proven true, it is highly likely that the actor will be replaced.

Moreover, if Lee Sun-kyun's drug allegations are confirmed, it is expected to cause a major ripple effect, potentially expanding to compensation issues for damages.

Lee Sun-kyun's agency, Hodoo&U Entertainment, issued a statement saying, "We deeply apologize for causing concern due to reports about actor Lee Sun-kyun," and "We are currently verifying the exact facts regarding the allegations against Lee Sun-kyun. We intend to sincerely cooperate with any forthcoming investigations by authorities." They also added, "Lee Sun-kyun has been subjected to continuous extortion and threats from a person identified as A related to the incident, and he has filed a complaint with the investigative authorities." It is reported that Lee Sun-kyun even handed over a large sum of money amounting to hundreds of millions of won to the person who threatened him.

Meanwhile, among the eight individuals under investigation alongside Lee Sun-kyun are 'third-generation chaebol' Hwang Hana, who has a prior drug conviction, and former trainee singer Han Seo-hee. The police plan to select investigation targets who can specify the types of drugs used, locations, and times around next week and then formally book them as suspects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.