Hayoung Controversy Leaves Sbs Drama Facing Production Uncertainty

Hayoung’s New Drama Is Nearly Finished, but SBS Still Has a Difficult Decision to Make

SBS’s upcoming legal drama We Have a Chance is approaching a critical stage of production as the controversy surrounding lead actress Hayoung’s family history continues to cast uncertainty over the project.

On August 26, reports claimed that filming could conclude on September 3 and that Hayoung was expected to complete her remaining scenes. The production team, however, did not confirm either the date or the actress’s filming schedule.

A representative said the team continues to take the matter “seriously” and is discussing its response with the relevant parties. The representative also emphasized the practical need to minimize harm to the numerous cast and crew members involved, adding that essential remaining schedules were still being coordinated.

That wording is significant. SBS has neither announced Hayoung’s removal nor guaranteed that she will remain in the finished drama. For now, the network’s public position is that no final decision has been disclosed.

Hayoung’s SBS Drama Remains in Limbo Despite Reported September Wrap / News1

Why changing course is no longer a simple decision

We Have a Chance was announced for SBS’s 2027 lineup, with Lee Je-hoon and Hayoung leading the Korean adaptation of TV Asahi’s 2018 Japanese drama Legal V: Ex-Lawyer Shoko Takanashi.

According to SBS, Lee plays Kwon Baek, a former star attorney who lost his license following a bribery scandal and later returns as the manager of an unconventional law office. Together, its mismatched employees take on cases considered nearly impossible to win.

The drama’s comic legal-mystery format places its central characters at the heart of the story, making any late production change potentially complicated. Replacing a lead actor after a substantial amount of filming could affect completed scenes, other performers’ schedules, post-production and the work already carried out by a large production staff.

That appears to be the dilemma behind SBS’s carefully worded response. The network is not dealing only with public sentiment toward one performer. It must also consider the consequences of any decision for a production that was already well underway when the controversy emerged.

The controversy began with Hayoung’s account of her family history

The issue developed after Hayoung spoke publicly about coming from four generations of doctors. She said her great-grandfather, physician Ahn Sang-ho, had studied Western medicine in Japan, opened an early Western-style medical practice in Seoul and treated Emperor Gojong.

Online discussion subsequently turned to historical records concerning Ahn. Hayoung’s agency, Bistus Entertainment, initially described allegations involving his activities during Japan’s colonial rule as unfounded.

The agency changed its position the following day. It said further examination had confirmed that Ahn’s name appeared on a 1916 list of council members for the Taisho Friendship Association, also known as the Taisho Industrial Friendship Association.

The Academy of Korean Studies’ Encyclopedia of Korean Culture identifies the organization as a pro-Japanese group established in Seoul in 1916. The agency apologized for responding before conducting sufficient verification.

Hayoung later issued a handwritten apology, saying she had only recently learned about the historical record and offering her sincere apologies as a descendant. The confirmed record concerns her great-grandfather’s membership in the organization. It does not establish that Hayoung herself participated in or endorsed those actions, an important distinction when reporting the controversy.

Hayoung’s SBS Drama Remains in Limbo Despite Reported September Wrap / News1

A production problem with no easy answer

The debate surrounding We Have a Chance illustrates a recurring problem in Korean entertainment: a controversy can expand beyond the individual at its center and place an entire production under pressure.

Viewers and advertisers may expect a network to respond decisively, particularly when an issue involves the history of Japanese colonial rule, which remains deeply sensitive in South Korea. At the same time, a television drama represents the work and employment of actors, writers, directors, technicians and production personnel who had no role in the controversy.

SBS’s reference to minimizing harm to the cast and crew signals that these competing responsibilities are part of its deliberations. Completing the existing filming schedule would not necessarily settle how Hayoung appears in the final broadcast, just as finishing production would not automatically mean the controversy has been disregarded.

What happens next

As of August 26, three details remain unconfirmed: whether filming will officially end on September 3, whether Hayoung will complete every remaining scene, and whether SBS will make any changes before the drama’s planned 2027 broadcast.

The network has said that confirmed decisions will be communicated through official channels. Until then, reports about Hayoung’s departure, replacement or guaranteed continuation should be treated as speculation.

The immediate question is not simply whether the production can finish filming. It is whether SBS can protect the work already completed while addressing a controversy that has become inseparable from public discussion of the drama.