Shocking development: Actor Yoo Ah-in is reportedly set to star in director Jang Jae-hyun's new film Vampir — a move that could mark his first big-screen comeback since his drug scandal.
On the 17th, Sports Chosun reported that Yoo Ah-in is preparing to return to theaters after three years through Jang Jae-hyun's Vampir.
Vampir is said to expand Jang's signature occult universe, with the project currently developing a Korean original take on the vampire genre. Previously, Jang wrote and directed acclaimed titles like Exhuma, Svaha: The Sixth Finger, The Priests, heightening expectations for Yoo's comeback.
Yoo Ah-in had been indicted for violations of the Narcotics Control Act, among other charges. On July 3, the Supreme Court's First Division (presiding justice Ma Yong-ju) finalized a sentence of one year in prison, suspended for two years, along with a 2 million won fine.
Prosecutors alleged that from September 2020 to March 2022, he repeatedly obtained medical sedatives such as propofol under the pretense of anesthesia for cosmetic procedures at hospitals around Seoul, totaling 181 instances. He was also charged with illegally purchasing more than 1,100 tablets of two types of sleeping pills under another person's name across 44 occasions between May 2021 and August 2023, and with smoking cannabis in the United States with an acquaintance surnamed Choi in January last year and abetting another person to do the same.
Back in September, a social media post by DJ-producer Peggy Gou drew attention to Yoo Ah-in's recent whereabouts, especially as famed director Bong Joon Ho appeared beside him — sparking fresh global buzz.