'Uncanny Counter' actor returns to screen after bullying scandal

Actor Cho Byeong-kyu / Courtesy of HB Entertainment

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Actor Cho Byeong-kyu will star in a new film titled, “Even If I Die, One More Time” (working title), seven months after becoming embroiled in a school bullying scandal.

Cho's agency, HB Entertainment, confirmed that he will be playing the role of Jeon Woo-suk, a stunt performer who dreams of becoming an actor. The 40-year-old mysteriously regains his physical appearance as a high school student and earns another chance to chase his dream.

After his breakout role in JTBC's 2018 hit series, “Sky Castle,” Cho shot to fame after appearing in OCN's series, “The Uncanny Counter” (2020-2021). However, he halted all his activities after being mired in a controversy concerning claims that he committed violence against another student while in school.

In February, a person who claimed to be his high school classmate, accused Cho of bullying him while they were attending Westlake Boys High School in New Zealand.

The 25-year-old actor was faced with similar bullying accusations in 2018, when an unidentified person said Cho “verbally attacked and spat” on the person, who claimed to have attended the same elementary and middle schools with him. Cho dismissed the claim, saying that he had never bullied anyone in school.

In July, Cho's agency announced that the accuser who claimed to have been in school with him when they were teenagers admitted to posting false claims about the actor and apologized. However, one anonymous source asserted that he never wrote a letter of apology, and thus the case remains unsettled.

“Even If I Die, One More Time” will hit local theaters in 2022.