Actor Ko Kyung-pyo's drunk driving prompts broadcasters to edit him out
Actor Ko Kyung-pyo / Courtesy of Sidus
'Bogum Magical 2' to be most affected with Ko's long screen time
Actor Ko Kyung-pyo’s drunk driving has prompted broadcasters to cut his appearances from their shows, the latest case of Korea’s long-standing practice of minimizing screen time for entertainers involved in wrongdoing.
Ko was caught driving under the influence after his car hit a garbage truck in western Seoul’s Mapo District at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, police said. Officers found him in the driver’s seat with a blood alcohol level high enough for license revocation.
The production team of MBC’s variety show “Hang Out With Yoo” said on Saturday morning that it would edit out as much of Ko’s presence as possible to avoid making viewers uncomfortable. Ko had appeared as a guest in an episode set to air that afternoon.
The producers of tvN’s variety show “Sixth Sense: B-Side,” on which Ko is a regular cast member, also said they would keep his scenes to a minimum in Sunday’s episode and next week’s finale for the same reason.
The team behind “Amazing Saturday,” another tvN variety show, which recently filmed an episode with Ko as a guest, plans to edit down his appearance as well, though an air date has yet to be set.
He is also scheduled to appear in the second season of “Bogum Magical,” a variety show of tvN to be aired starting Nov. 29. As he is one of three main figures in the show and interactions between them are among the key factors in the program, entirely editing him out will be a challenge. The producers of the show have not announced their decision.
Such edits are a common response to entertainer misconduct in Korea. The fallout can extend beyond individual scenes to an entire drama’s broadcast schedule in more serious cases.
Actor Cho Jin-woong / Newsis
“Signal 2,” a sequel to the 2016 drama “Signal,” wrapped filming in August last year and was slated to premiere in June. But tvN postponed its release after allegations surfaced over lead actor Cho Jin-woong’s past as a juvenile offender.
Last December, entertainment media outlet Dispatch alleged that Cho had received juvenile protection measures and been sent to a juvenile detention center while in high school. It added that he had stood trial in 1994 during his second year, on charges of robbery and rape under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Cho acknowledged wrongdoing as a minor but denied the sexual assault allegations. He retired from acting that month amid mounting criticism, apologizing for disappointing his fans and calling his decision the right way to take responsibility for his past wrongdoing.
Earlier this month, tvN said it plans to air “Signal 2” as its Monday-Tuesday drama starting Dec. 7.
While acknowledging viewers’ concerns and saying it does not take a cast member’s past misconduct lightly, the channel stressed that the drama is a collective effort of everyone involved from planning to post-production, not a single actor’s work.
“We believe an individual cast member should be judged separately from the value of the work itself and the efforts of its creators,” tvN said.
It added that it had even tested using artificial intelligence to replace Cho before the broadcast but dropped the idea because the technology could not naturally capture his acting or the story’s flow.