Squid Game Season 2 has become the flavour of the season. But, as much as it is trending, it is also grabbing eyeballs for wrong reasons. After T.O.P’s exclusion from the Netflix show’s promotions, actor Park Sung-Hoon’s “mistaken” Instagram upload created furore on the internet.

Such cases have left many pointing fingers at the global hit’s casting that incudes a slew of actors mired in either legal cases or some kind of scandal that has plagued their celebrity image in the past.

List of all the Squid Game (seasons 1 and 2) actors with controversial past.

1. Lee Jung-Jae

The show’s lead actor who plays Seong Gi-Hun aka Player 456 was found guilty of multiple DUIs and assault cases in the past. In 1999, Jung-Jae was detained for driving under influence and crashing his BMW into a car in the adjacent lane. His blood alcohol content was found to be 0.22 per cent (South Korea limit is 0.05 per cent). Later, in 2002 there was another similar case of DUI. His license was revoked both the times.

In the meantime, he has allegedly been found guilty of assaulting a man and a woman in separate incidents causing them injuries. He was around 25 to 30 years-old when all these cases were reported. Earlier in 2024, Jung-Jae was embroiled in a legal dispute with the CEO of Raemongraein, a drama production company he acquired.

2. Lee Byung-Hun

Another central character in the show, Byung-Hun who plays the Front Man, and Player 001 in Squid Game Season 2, had a lawsuit filed against him by his former girlfriend Kwon Mi-Yeon in 2009. She claimed he deceived her into a sexual relationship with a false promise of marriage, even causing physical and emotional harm. She even called him a chronic gambler and sought 100 million won in damages. TV host Kang Byung-Kyu disrupted Byung-Hun’s shooting set of K-Drama Iris with gangsters after rumours spread that “Kang was behind the feud between Lee and Kwon.” Byung-Hun counter sued and ultimately won the case that held Kang and Kwon for extortion. The actor was also cleared of gambling charges in 2010.

Later in 2014, GLAM’s Dahee and model Lee Ji-Yeon demanded money from Byung-Hun for a compromising video where he was allegedly making lewd comments towards them which they secretly recorded. Both women were sentenced to prison and GLAM got disbanded.

3. O Yeong-Su

Player 001 from Squid Game Season 1 was charged of sexual misconduct for allegedly assaulting a woman in 2017. He was accused of inappropriately hugging, making lewd comments, and kissing the victim across multiple incidents. He was indicted in 2022, and in 2024, sentenced to an eight-month suspended prison term, along with an order to attend 40 hours of classes on sexual violence.

4. T.O.P

Former BIGBANG member T.O.P played rapper Thanos aka Player 230. Just like his character who’s into substance abuse, T.O.P was “prosecuted without detention” in 2017 in the midst of his mandatory military term, for using marijuana. His name popped up after it was revealed that ex-trainee Han Seo-Hee smoked with him. T.O.P apologised and even got suspended from police duty. He was hospitalised after being unconscious in barracks due to suspected anti-anxiety medicine overdose of prescribed benzodiazepine. T.O.P received two years of probation and was transferred from the police department to complete his military term as a public service worker. After getting discharged in July 2019, he withdrew from his K-pop group in May 2023.

5. Lee Jin-Wook

In July 2016, Jin-Wook was accused of sexual assault by a 33-year-old friend. She claimed that the actor, who plays Kyung Suk aka Player 246 in the show, went to her apartment to install blinds at night. She later accused him of rape after they drank together. The court rejected her claim calling it consensual considering that she offered him a shower and a clean shirt. Jin-Wook was cleared of the charges in 2016 after the accuser claimed the allegations were false. He counter sued her and sent her to jail.

6. Song Young-Chang

7. Park Sung-Hoon