He was arrested in 2019 on charges of forcible sexual intercourse for roughing up a female employee of a dispatch massage parlor at her home in 2018. Although a settlement was reached with the female victim, actor Hirofumi Arai was sentenced to four years in prison in 2020. The year before the incident, the “Antsuku” actress enjoyed a sushi date with Hirofumi Arai. She updated her new account, X, with the following message: “If you have time, please come and see me on your favorite day. Please come and play on the day of your choice,” he announced. Arai is resuming her entertainment activities for the first time in seven years, albeit on the stage, but she has been met with controversy, perhaps because of the strong image of “sexual assault” that remains in her mind. Around the same time, the Korean theatrical world also reported news of a Korean actor who attempted to return to the stage after a past sexual assault. On November 11, KOREA WAVE, which mainly distributes current affairs and entertainment news in Korea, reported on the trouble that occurred over the cast of “The Father,” a play that was scheduled to be performed in November. On November 5, a comment and a photo of the performer in question were posted on a social networking site, and the post quickly went viral. The actor calling himself “Lee Hoon-young,” who was scheduled to appear on stage, was actually “Lee Myung-haeng,” who was accused of sexually assaulting a stage staff member in 2018. In other words, he had “changed his name” and was trying to appear on stage under the radar.
The decision was made to drop him just one day after he was discovered.
An entertainment writer familiar with the Korean entertainment scene explains. According to the stage production, the casting was done through an open audition, and the actors were selected based on their profiles, video screening, and final interviews. After the casting was discovered on social media, a meeting was immediately held and an apology was made, with the comment that “no violence can be justified in the name of art. The decision was made to drop “Lee Hoon-young” after just one day.