Actor Seo Yea-ji is to return to the small screen in tvN’s new series “Eve” with veteran actors Park Byung-eun, Yoo Sun and Lee Sang-yeop.

Taking the role of Lee Ra-el, the mastermind behind a ferocious revenge plan for her dead father, Seo, 31, will be back in the public eye for the first time in almost a year. The actor went off the grid last year as controversies surrounding her surfaced one after another.

Seo was accused of allegedly checking staffers’ phones regularly, threatening and abusing staff, blowing cigarette smoke in a staff member‘s face to scold the staff member, and ordering her ex-boyfriend, actor Kim Jung-hyun, to avoid any physical contact with his female co-star.

Despite the efforts of her agency Gold Medalist to deny the allegations, the controversies continued, and Seo skipped the press conference for her movie “Recalled” in April.

With the news of her return in the new drama series, Seo apologized for the controveries on Sunday.

“I sincerely apologize for making a belated response in a written form. I spent time reflecting on myself after facing the countless messages and criticisms,” Gold Medalist’s official statement quoted Seo as saying. She also said she would try to be more cautious and behave more maturely.

Though some are welcoming her small screen comeback, many netizens are questioning the actor’s sincerity, claiming that the official statement and Seo’s apology were timed to be released together with the start of the PR blitz for the new series.

The 16-part series “Eve” will air this year, but a fixed release date has yet to be announced.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)