The situation surrounding actor Jang Dong-ju is becoming increasingly complicated. After his sudden retirement announcement followed by the confession of large debt and various allegations and his agency's tough response, confusion has grown as a change in the way portal profiles are displayed was also detected.
Earlier, Jang Dong-ju suddenly announced his retirement on his personal social media, saying, "I will lay down my life as actor Jang Dong-ju as of today." The shock was greater because the news came right after he confessed to having his mobile phone hacked and to having debt in the tens of billions of won.
Afterward, Jang Dong-ju directly expressed his feelings during a live broadcast. He explained the reasons for his retirement, saying, "I must not cause harm to other actors and staff," and said, "If the opportunity arises someday I may return, but for now I think it is right to focus on repaying my debt." He also mentioned the debt situation, saying, "I have already repaid about 3 billion won and currently have about 800 million won left." He also drew attention by saying, "I received a message threatening to report me for drugs if I do not repay the debt," and, "I will go to the police station myself and undergo investigation."
But contrary to Jang Dong-ju's explanation, his agency took a hard line. Management W said, "The retirement announcement was made unilaterally by the actor without prior consultation," and called it "an extremely irresponsible act that betrayed responsibilities and trust during the contract period." It added that "the level of broken trust is practically irreparable" and said it would review whether to maintain the contract going forward.
Recently, another change has drawn attention online. Screenshots shared by some users captured Jang Dong-ju's profile displayed differently from the usual actor information. In the captured screen, his occupation was shown not as 'actor' but as 'corporations,' and his affiliation was listed alongside Management W as '(Woosun Group Co., Ltd. (CEO)).' However, it has not been confirmed whether that listing was a temporary system reflection issue or a change made during a self-edited information update.
Because of this, netizens responded, "Why does he suddenly appear as a corporate executive?", "What is going on with him being listed as CEO?", "I thought it was someone else when I searched," and "Things are moving too fast." In particular, some reacted, "The controversy is one thing, but right now I'm more worried about whether he is okay than about explanations."
Some of the financial and private life allegations raised in the current controversy surrounding Jang Dong-ju have not been confirmed by his official position or by investigative authorities. Because multiple issues are intertwined, this is a time when additional explanation and verification of the facts are needed rather than hasty speculation.<
[Photo] SNS
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