UPDATE: Na In Woo CONFIRMED to play Ondal from EP 9; Ji Soo officially out of River Where The Moon Rises

UPDATE:

According to Star News, KBS has confirmed that Mr. Queen's Na In Woo will be joining the drama for the role of the lead character, Ondal from Episode 9 onwards. As for Episode 7 and 8, KBS stated that they'll try their best to delete Ji Soo's scenes as much as they can, as to not affect the storyline. They will also be cancelling this week's broadcast. 

Original:

The official news by KBS is out. According to Naver and News1, actor Ji Soo, who was playing the main role of Ondal in the hit series River Where The Moon Rises has been removed due to the school violence and sexual harassment charges against him. The production house is still in discussions about the replacement actor, the filming, and the past cuts that feature Ji Soo. 

A source from the Cube Entertainment agency told News1 that Na In Woo, who played the lead role in tvN’s highly popular show, Mr. Queen has received proposals for the replacement role and the agency is still discussing the possibility of him playing Ondal. Another problem that has arisen is that KBS and the production house, Victory Contents, have suffered huge losses as the show has completed filming almost 90% of the content, till episode 18 (in a total of 20 episodes). Whether they choose to remove the cuts filmed by Ji Soo, edit it, or re-shoot it with a new actor - both the companies are going to face a huge blow on their costs. 

River Where The Moon Rises has only released 6 episodes till today, ie. March 5 and Episode 7 is supposed to be out on March 8. However, viewers requested to stop broadcasting once the allegations against Ji Soo arose, according to Star News. KBS had decided to telecast reruns of the 5th and 6th episodes, but those reruns are also cancelled now. 

It all started with a victim uploading a post on an online community with the title of ‘Actor Ji Soo is a school violence perpetrator’ on March 2. The former classmate opened up about the actor’s violent and bullying behaviour in school, which made him and many others suffer through traumatic experiences. While the actor’s agency released a statement of investigating the matter thoroughly, Ji Soo uploaded a handwritten apology letter on his official Instagram account on March 4, admitting the actions and apologizing to the fans. 

Also Read: Actor Ji Soo begs for forgiveness in a handwritten letter; Filming for River Where The Moon Rises cancelled

What do you think of Mr. Queen’s Na In Woo in Ondal’s role? Share your thoughts in the comment below!