Disney+ has postponed the release of its Korean original series “Knock-Off” amid ongoing controversy surrounding lead actor Kim Soo-hyun.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to put our plans for the release of Knock-Off on hold,” Disney+ said in a statement issued on March 21.
The series follows the story of a man who rises to power as a counterfeit king during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Knock-Off had completed most of its filming and was slated for release in April.
Kim, the lead actor in the series, faces allegations of dating the late actress Kim Sae-ron when she was a minor. Kim Sae-ron was found dead at her home in Seoul last month, which police consider a suicide.
YouTube channel HoverLab, widely known as Garo Sero Institute, claimed that Kim Soo-hyun had been in a six-year relationship with Kim Sae-ron, which allegedly began in 2015 when she was 15.
Kim Soo-hyun’s agency Gold Medalist denied the claims, stating that the two were in a relationship from the summer of 2019 to the fall of 2020—after Kim Sae-ron had become an adult.
The dispute escalated when Hoverlab released a photo showing Kim Soo-hyun washing dishes at Kim Sae-ron’s home. Gold Medalist filed a complaint against Hoverlab’s operator and Kim Sae-ron’s bereaved family, accusing them of exposing photos that are “sexually insulting and should never have been made public.”
