Disney+ Shelves Kim Soo Hyun’s ‘Knock Off’ Indefinitely: The Scandal That Ended His Comeback

Disney+ Korea has indefinitely postponed Knock Off, the high-budget K-drama starring Kim Soo Hyun. The series was once expected to be one of the biggest Korean releases of 2025. But the plan changed fast.

Originally set for an April 2025 release, the show has now disappeared completely from Disney+ Korea’s schedule. The platform has not shared any future release plans.

Disney Korea’s head of local content, Choi Yeon Woo, confirmed this in June 2025. She said there had been “no new updates” and that the company was “still reviewing matters internally.” As of September 2025, Disney+ remains silent.

The drama’s budget was massive — around 60 billion KRW (about $44 million). Most filming in Korea was finished. The crew had plans for international shoots in Miami, Florida. But the project stopped suddenly in March 2025.

Production was halted during the filming of season two. The pause came after a serious controversy involving Kim Soo Hyun. There was a short attempt to restart filming, but the team stopped again within a month.

Also Read: Kim Soo-Hyun Lawsuit Against Late Kim Sae-Ron’s Family and YouTuber Moves to Court

The Scandal That Stopped Everything

In March 2025, shocking allegations appeared online. YouTuber Kim Se Ui from the Garosero Research Institute and the family of late actress Kim Sae Ron accused Kim Soo Hyun of misconduct.

The accusations claimed that he had dated Kim Sae Ron when she was 15. They also accused him of causing her emotional pain and breaking South Korea’s Child Welfare Act.

Kim Sae Ron tragically died by suicide in February 2025. The allegations against Kim Soo Hyun quickly went viral and split public opinion.

At an emergency press conference held on March 31, 2025, Kim Soo Hyun firmly denied all claims. He stated that his relationship with Kim Sae Ron started years later, when she was already an adult. He said, “We dated five years ago for about a year, long before Queen of Tears aired.”

His agency, Goldmedalist, backed his statement. They said the relationship began in 2019 when Kim Sae Ron was legally an adult.

Kim Soo Hyun’s Legal Battles

After the accusations, Kim Soo Hyun took aggressive legal action. In June 2025, his agency won approval to seize two luxury apartments belonging to YouTuber Kim Se Ui. Both were worth around 4 billion KRW combined.

The seized properties were located in Seoul’s Seocho Buksan Blooming and Apgujeong Hanyang Complex.

That same month, Kim Soo Hyun also filed new lawsuits. His legal team claimed Kim Se Ui had used fake audio created with AI tools to fabricate evidence. They said the so-called proof against the actor was made using deepfake technology.

Meanwhile, Kim Se Ui’s own legal situation worsened. In a separate lawsuit involving YouTuber Tzuyang, he was fined 10 million KRW per video for privacy violations. He also faced possible jail time if he refused to cooperate with investigations.

Although police first decided not to charge him due to “lack of evidence,” prosecutors later reopened the case for further review.

A Major Financial Hit

The scandal deeply affected Kim Soo Hyun’s career. Within weeks, he lost several major brand deals.

• Prada ended his global ambassador contract after just three months.
• Cuckoo Electronics cut ties after more than ten years and filed a lawsuit for 850 million KRW.
• Cosmetics brand Dinto canceled its contract, citing “loss of customer trust.”
• Outdoor brand Eider removed all its promotional materials.

In total, six companies sued him for damages worth over 10.3 billion KRW (around $7.5 million).

• Cuckoo Electronics demanded 2.03 billion KRW.
• FromBio claimed 3.96 billion KRW.
• Classys sued for 3 billion KRW.
• Trendmaker and others filed smaller claims.

Courts even approved a property seizure worth 5.5 billion KRW on Kim Soo Hyun’s Seoul home.

Public Support Slowly Returns

Despite all this, Kim Soo Hyun’s popularity has not fully vanished. In September 2025, he ranked number one in the Star Rankings with more than 61,000 votes. It was his 21st week in a row at the top.

Fans showed strong support again after evidence surfaced suggesting the allegations were false. Many viewers believed he was unfairly targeted.

However, his agency, Goldmedalist, also came under fire. In September 2025, reports surfaced about hidden ownership structures and disputes over how profits were shared. That added another layer to the already complex story.

What’s Next for “Knock Off”

At this stage, Knock Off has no confirmed release date. There are also no updates about new projects for Kim Soo Hyun.

Industry insiders believe the actor is focused on clearing his name and resolving his lawsuits. Even if the legal issues end soon, restarting Knock Off may still be hard.

Coordinating schedules for the cast and crew again will be a major challenge. Disney+ could either wait for the court cases to end or explore other paths.

Possible options include selling the finished footage to another streaming platform like Netflix. Another choice could be asking for penalty fees from Kim Soo Hyun, estimated to reach up to 180 billion KRW.

But no decision has been made yet.

Final Look at the Situation

As of September 2025, Kim Soo Hyun remains caught in a long legal and career limbo. Knock Off is on indefinite hold.

The courts have ruled in his favor several times. His lawyers have proven that parts of the evidence used against him were likely fake. Still, Disney+ has chosen to stay cautious and keep the drama off its release list.

Kim Soo Hyun’s slow return to public favor shows that public opinion might be turning. But for a real comeback, he needs total legal closure and restored trust from the entertainment world.

For now, both the actor and Knock Off remain symbols of how one scandal can stop even the biggest projects in Korean entertainment.

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