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| Actor Yoo Ah-in / Courtesy of Netflix |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Actor Yoo Ah-in was forced out of Netflix's "Hellbound" season 2 amid an ongoing police drug investigation.
Kim Sung-cheol will replace Yoo as cult leader Jung Jin-su in the supernatural thriller series. Actors Yang Dong-geun and Moon Geun-young will be joining the new installment, according to Netflix Korea. "Hellbound" will begin filming its second season in June.
The first season of "Hellbound," directed by Yeon Sang-ho, topped Netflix's most-viewed TV shows upon its release in November 2021.
Yoo, whose real name is Uhm Hong-sik, has been under police investigation after the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reported that he had been using propofol, a sleep-inducing drug, for non-medical purposes on a habitual basis since 2021.
Last month, Seoul Metropolitan Police collected his hair and urine samples immediately upon his return from the U.S. They sent the samples to the National Forensic Service for testing, and the results came out positive for four drugs: propofol, marijuana, cocaine and ketamine.
The A-list actor will be summoned as a suspect over allegations of consuming illicit drugs. Drug use in Korea is comparatively more controversial to the public and drug laws are more strictly enforced than in some Western countries. South Korean law forbids citizens from smoking marijuana, even if they are abroad in countries where it has been fully legalized.
The drug scandal leaves Yoo's ongoing projects in limbo. The actor had a number of projects scheduled for release in the coming months, including Netflix's film "The Match," series "Goodbye Earth" and film "Highfive." However, film studios said they will put everything on hold until the police investigation is completed.
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