From Cha Eun-woo to Park Sung-hoon, controversial stars stage comebacks
Several high-profile Korean celebrities whose controversies once dominated national headlines are preparing to make comebacks, with streaming platforms emerging as the primary stage for their returns.
Cha Eun-woo is set to return in Netflix’s action-comedy series “Wonder Fools,” where he stars opposite Park Eun-bin (“Extraordinary Attorney Woo Young-woo”) as a male lead with supernatural abilities.
“‘Wonder Fools’ is still scheduled for a Q2 2026 release, though no specific date or press event has been finalized,” a Netflix spokesperson told The Korea Herald.
The project marks Cha’s first major release following reports in January that Korea’s tax authority issued the 28-year-old actor and singer a 20-billion-won ($13.8-million) tax reassessment, the largest ever sought from an individual celebrity in the country.
Cha later posted an apology while serving his mandatory military service, saying he would cooperate fully with the procedures and “accept the final judgment made by the relevant authorities and fulfill the responsibilities accordingly.” The case remains unresolved, with courts expected to determine whether the corporation that Cha has allegedly used to avoid taxes has substantive legitimacy under the country’s substance-over-form taxation principle.
Park Sung-hoon, behind Netflix megahits “The Glory” and “Squid Game,” is also staging a comeback after a controversy sparked by his brief upload of pornographic “Squid Game” content on social media two years ago.
He stepped down from the male lead role in “Bon Appetit, Your Majesty” following the incident — a role later filled by Lee Chae-min, with the series ultimately becoming a global hit — but is now set to return to the small screen for the first time since the controversy in cable channel tvN’s romantic drama “The Practical Guide to Love,” opposite Han Ji-min. The series is slated to premiere on Feb. 28.
Meanwhile, Comedian Park Na-rae, whose career was shaken in December by allegations from two former managers, including claims of assault, workplace harassment, illegal proxy prescriptions and embezzlement, has resurfaced in Disney+ Korea’s ambitious variety series “Battle of Fates.”
The survival-style format pits self-proclaimed seers, tarot readers and physiognomists against one another, with contestants relying on data and intuition to advance. Park appears as a main judge in footage filmed before her scandal broke, and the production did not edit her out of the show.
“Battle of Fates” launched with its first four episodes on Wednesday and is slated for a 10-episode run.
Comedian Jo Se-ho has also confirmed his participation in Season 4 of Netflix’s variety series “Screwdriver,” reuniting with Hong Jin-kyung, Kim Sook, Joo Woo-jae and Jang Woo-young as a main cast member. The new season is set to drop Feb. 22.
His comeback follows rumors linking him to organized crime figures tied to illegal gambling operations. Although his agency denied any financial wrongdoing, he exited KBS2’s “2 Days & 1 Night” and tvN’s “You Quiz on the Block” amid the fallout.
The comebacks arrive at a time when streaming platforms face comparatively lighter regulatory scrutiny, and have been seen as more permissive in featuring celebrities mired in controversy than terrestrial broadcasters. Currently in Korea, terrestrial networks are governed by the Broadcasting Act and, under their public-service obligations, can compel the removal of controversial cast members through internal review committees.
By contrast, streaming platforms are classified as value-added telecommunications service providers under the Telecommunications Business Act, not the Broadcasting Act. Unless a case involves clear, serious crimes such as murder or drug trafficking, there are effectively no legal mechanisms to penalize platforms for moving forward with appearances before a final court ruling. /ra
