South Korean Actor Kang Ji-Hwan Is Arrested for Suspected Sexual Abuse

Kang Ji-Hwan, a well-known South Korean actor, has been arrested without a warrant by police following reports that he sexually abused one woman and molested another, police reported Wednesday. Both women are reportedly employees of his agency.

Police took the 41-year-old actor into custody at his residence in the city of Gwangju around 10:50 pm, on July 9. An hour before that, police received a tip from a friend of one of the women, who said that she had a drink at Kang’s house and was locked up there. After obtaining testimonies from the two women separately, police put Kang into custody.

“I can remember that I had a drink with them, but I have no memory afterwards,” Kang said during an interrogation with the police. “I woke up to find myself in the same room where they were sleeping.”

Huayi Brothers, Kang's agency, announced earlier today that he will also no longer be starring in the period drama Joseun Survival, and that they are looking for an actor to replace his role in the show.

Joseun Survival has cancelled this week’s broadcast, as well as re-runs of previous episodes.

"We are also working on fully understanding the incident that occurred recently,” Huayi Brothers said in a press release. “However, as the police investigation is currently underway we will defer any statements until the results of the investigation are released.”

“Since the victims are also staff members from our team, we are asking for your understanding so that we can protect the two people. Kang Ji-hwan will be canceling all future activities. We once again sincerely apologize for causing trouble to many people due to this unfortunate incident."

Gwanju police have also requested a pre-trial detention warrant for Kang earlier today.