Actor Song Young-kyu is embroiled in controversy over drunk driving and will belatedly withdraw from the play "Shakespeare in Love."
On the 25th, the production team of "Shakespeare in Love" announced via its official social media and ticketing platforms that Song Young-kyu would be stepping down from the cast.
The production company Show Note stated regarding this, "Due to personal reasons related to actor Song Young-kyu's role as Penny Man, starting from the performance on the 27th, the role will be played by actor Lim Chul-hyung as the one-cast. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to the audience due to the sudden casting change."
However, cancellations and refunds due to the casting change can only be made through the ticketing platform without any service charges, and the deadline for free cancellations is by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the 29th.
Song Young-kyu's sudden withdrawal from "Shakespeare in Love" is a result of the delayed revelation of his arrest for drunk driving. It was revealed that Song Young-kyu drove while heavily intoxicated for about 5 kilometers in Giheung-gu, Yongin, on the 19th of last month.
According to the outlet that first reported the incident, Song Young-kyu was arrested at the scene by police who responded to a report from a witness who suspected drunk driving. When the police conducted a breathalyzer test, it was reported that his blood alcohol concentration exceeded the license revocation level of 0.08%. The fact that he was arrested for drunk driving occurred nearly a month ago. However, it has been revealed that Song Young-kyu did not disclose such information regarding his appearances, drawing further criticism.
As a result, he participated in the evening performance of "Shakespeare in Love," which was scheduled for the 25th, without any changes in the cast. However, as he was double-cast with actor Lim Chul-hyung for the role of Penny Man, the production team decided after internal discussions that starting from the 27th performance, Song Young-kyu would withdraw and that the show would proceed with Lim Chul-hyung as the one-cast.
The situation is even more complicated for Song Young-kyu's other works, ENA's Monday-Tuesday drama "The Defects" and SBS's Friday-Saturday drama "The Winning Try," as both are pre-produced dramas that have completed filming.
Moreover, in the case of "The Winning Try," it is set to be released through a global OTT platform under an agreement between SBS and Netflix. For this, pre-production tasks such as subtitles in multiple languages and editing are necessary, as the broadcast length has already exceeded, making additional production costs unavoidable for adjusting Song Young-kyu's scenes.
[Photo] Provided by Show Note, ENA, SBS.
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