Actor Jang Dong Ju’s agency has released an official statement regarding his retirement announcement.
Previously on May 15, Jang Dong Ju uploaded a post on his personal social media account announcing his retirement from acting.
Afterward, the actor held a live broadcast where he apologized for the series of events and shared an update on his situation. He confessed that, with help from people around him, he had managed to settle more than 3 billion won (approximately $1,994,000) out of approximately 4 billion won (approximately $2,659,000) in debt but still had around 700 million (approximately $465,400) to 800 million won (approximately $531,900) remaining.
He also expressed that he felt unable to continue a normal acting career due to ongoing debt collection pressure. However, he stated that he would repay the debt through his own efforts rather than using legal relief procedures such as bankruptcy or rehabilitation programs.
On May 17, Jang Dong Ju’s agency Management W released an official statement clarifying that Jang Dong Ju’s retirement announcement was a decision made solely by the actor himself without any prior discussion or consultation with the agency.
Read the agency’s full statement below:
Hello, this is Management W.
First, we would like to apologize to fans who cherish and support our artist Jang Dong Ju as well as to those in the pop culture and arts industry for causing concern with such sudden news.
The announcement of actor Jang Dong Ju’s retirement, which has recently circulated through media and social media, was a matter decided unilaterally by the actor himself without any prior discussion or consultation with our agency.
Our agency did not receive any prior notice regarding this matter and only became aware of the situation after the announcement was made.
This act constitutes highly irresponsible behavior that abandons the responsibility and trust expected of an actor currently under contract. We would like to clarify that the responsibility for the resulting confusion and damages lies entirely with the actor himself.
Our agency is doing its utmost to resolve the situation with the relevant parties and partners who have been affected by the actor’s unilateral decision, and we are responding to this matter with the utmost seriousness.
Furthermore, we have judged that the relationship of trust with actor Jang Dong Ju has effectively reached an irrecoverable state, and we plan to carefully review all matters including whether to maintain the exclusive contract in the future.
We once again deeply apologize to fans and all related parties for the concern caused.
Thank you.
Last year, Jang Dong Ju caused concern after leaving behind only a brief apology statement before cutting off contact. Later, in January of this year, he revealed that he had been threatened by hackers and suffered financial losses amounting to tens of billions of won.
Born in 1994, Jang Dong Ju made his acting debut with the KBS drama “School 2017” and recently appeared in the drama “No Tail to Tell.” Earlier on May 1, the actor shared news that he was joining the cast of the new film “OUR NEXT” (literal title), but two weeks later, he made a sudden retirement announcement, causing concern.
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