New Hit K-Drama’s Success Threatened By Producer’s Assault Controversy

The latest SBS romance K-Drama, Love Scout, has worked its magic on viewers within just one week of its airing. Despite any major promotion, the show achieved remarkable growth in the first three episodes. But it seems that this climbing success might be under threat due to a controversy surrounding its producer.

Ham Jun Ho, the producer of Love Scout, was recently embroiled in a major scandal due to his past allegations of assault and defamation. On January 13, KST, the production team of Love Scout, addressed the allegations and confirmed that in 2020, he was charged with assault and defamation while under the influence.

The statement clarified that Ham had “sincerely apologized” to all the victims and reached settlements with them after they forgave him. After the incident, he was suspended from the company and didn’t return as a director for three years.

The past controversy of Ham became a hot topic recently after a 2020 report by MBC Newsdesk resurfaced online. Though the report didn’t name him, it identified him as the SBS producer “A,” along with some blurred-out photos that were enough for netizens to connect the dots. The report claimed Ham was arrested at the scene in Hannam for indiscriminately pouring soju on passersby and assaulting them. The police sought an arrest warrant for him, citing his criminal record, but the prosecution denied the request.

The Love Scout production team also clarified that the criminal record in question was a misdemeanor and unrelated to the later incident.

While the show’s ratings are facing a possible threat due to Ham’s controversy, the storyline itself has also dampened audience interest significantly after the latest episode. You can read more about it here.