Netflix film starring Yoo Ah-in put on hold

Yoo Ah-in speaks to the press after attending a police questioning at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Mapo-gu office on Monday. (Yonhap)

Netflix will put on hold the release of an original film featuring Yoo Ah-in, after the 36-year-old actor was questioned by police over allegations that he habitually used illicit drugs.

Netflix was slated to release director Kim Hyoung-joo’s “The Match,” which stars Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Ah-in, in the first half of this year. All decisions regarding the film, including the release date, will be “temporarily put off,” a Netflix official was quoted as saying to local media Monday.

Yoo appears as Go player Lee Chang-ho, an indispensable character whose part cannot be omitted through post-production editing.

Netflix’s announcement comes after Yoo, who was born Uhm Hong-sik, appeared at the Mapo-gu office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday for police questioning. Police found that he was administered propofol 73 times between Jan. 4 and Dec. 23, 2021.

Yoo Ah-in (left) and Lee Byung-hun (right) in “The Match” (Netflix)

The global streaming platform also added that nothing has been decided on whether the contract with the film’s investor would be canceled. Last week, a news report said Netflix had sent an official statement to film investment company Acemaker Movieworks, which said Yoo’s latest allegations could lead to a cancellation of the contract regarding the film's release on Netflix.

Another Netflix original series featuring Yoo, “Goodbye Earth,” will have its release date adjusted, according to Netflix. The dystopian series also starring actors Jeon Sung-woo and Ahn Eun-jin was slated to open in the fourth quarter this year.

Meanwhile, the release date for “Hi.5,” another film starring Yoo originally slated for a June theatrical release, will be decided later, its investment and distribution company New said.

“Hi.5” is a much-anticipated film marking director Kang Hyeong-cheol’s first new work in five years. His hit projects include “Sunny” (2011) and “Swing Kids” (2018). Set in the 1970s, “Hi.5,” starring Ra Mi-ran and Ahn Jae-hong, tells the story of women divers living in a peaceful seaside village who gain superpowers overnight.

Yoo, the main protagonist in director Yeon Sang-ho’s Netflix series “Hellbound” (2021), was preparing to shoot the second season of the series starting June. He has been replaced by actor Kim Sung-cheol.