Director Kim Hyung-joo of the movie 'Game' said he received an apology from Yoo Ah-in related to the drug use controversy that caused delays in the film's release.
On the 21st, Director Kim Hyung-joo mentioned Yoo Ah-in during a roundtable interview. 'Game' was originally scheduled to be released in 2023, but the release was postponed by two years due to lead actor Yoo Ah-in's involvement in a drug case.
Director Kim said, “I only drank for several months,” and noted, “I didn’t reach out to Yoo Ah-in after the incident.” He also visited Yoo when he lost his father, stating, “Given the circumstances, we couldn’t have a long conversation. He said he had committed an unforgivable sin and had nothing to say.”
When the lead actor's issues arose, Director Kim needed time to accept the situation, saying, “I thought the work could be buried. Now, I have let go of a lot.”
Regarding the delay in the film's release, he said, “At the time, I had nothing I could do except endure it,” and added, “Life isn’t always good. I thought about whether I had lived wrongly during that time.”
Earlier, Director Kim had said he felt as if he had gained the whole world after casting Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Ah-in. He remarked, “I wanted an actor who could perform without being intimidated by senior Lee Byung-hun,” and emphasized, “It’s hard to negate my evaluation of actor Yoo Ah-in or the good memories I had while working with him just because of this incident. Actor Yoo Ah-in did well.”
Yoo Ah-in was sentenced to one year in prison and was taken into custody after being found guilty of habitual drug use, including propofol and marijuana, in the first trial in September 2024. Consequently, 'Game' changed its release platform from being available on Netflix to a theatrical release. The 'Game' team edited the trailer to show only Yoo Ah-in's back and featured only Lee Byung-hun in the poster.
Yoo Ah-in was released on probation after being sentenced to a prison term in the appellate trial on the 18th of last month. The prosecution has appealed the reduction of Yoo Ah-in's sentence to the Supreme Court.