Park Yu-cheon (39), who halted activities in Korea in the past over suspected drug use, will appear in a new drama with Japanese actor Taguchi Junnosuke, who was convicted on marijuana charges.
According to multiple Japanese outlets on the 1st, "Park Yu-cheon and Taguchi Junnosuke will appear together in the romantic comedy drama 'A greedy woman and a man with a backstory,' which will air next month on TOKYO MX."
The work is a three-part mini drama that depicts the happenings that unfold as a man demoted over workplace sexual harassment allegations works as a share house manager. It comically unravels the story of people who have endured social trials, tending to each other's wounds and growing.
For Park Yu-cheon, this project comes about three months after the drama Momono Uta, which aired on the same channel in Sep. He again appears in a major role and is continuing steady activities in Japan.
Taguchi Junnosuke, who appears together, is a former member of a popular Japanese idol group and was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of violating the Cannabis Control Act, receiving a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years. At the time, he said he would halt activities in the entertainment industry, but through this drama he is returning to terrestrial broadcasting for the first time in about 11 years.
Coincidentally, as the two actors, who share a history of drug scandals and retirement declarations, reunite in one work, local opinion is divided, saying, "Can the return of problematic actors truly win public sympathy?"
Park Yu-cheon was indicted in 2019 on suspicion of using methamphetamine and received a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years, after which he declared retirement from the entertainment industry, but he reversed that and resumed activities centered overseas, including in Japan. Last year, his name was listed by the National Tax Service among high-amount and habitual tax delinquents, and recently he lost a legal dispute with his former agency and was ordered to pay 500 million won in damages.