KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — In an about turn, advertisers have started to reinstate South Korean actor Kim Seon-ho to promote their products.
Face mask brand Miima reposted advertisements that featured the 35-year-old on its official website and YouTube channel days after withdrawing them, The Korea Herald reported.
Canon Korea, which earlier removed Kim's images from its social media accounts following the alleged abortion scandal, also featured him again.
While it is unclear what made the advertisers change their mind, the portal said South Korean media outlet Dispatch had published a story whereby several people disputed the claims made by his former girlfriend and provided old chat messages that seemed to demonstrate Kim's concern about her condition.
A social media user who claimed to have known Kim from college also defended the actor and said he was not the sort of person, who would force someone to have an abortion.
The actor had recently starred in the romantic K-drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha as well as the work-romance series Start-Up (2020).
He admitted and publicly apologised for his actions on October 20 after his ex-girlfriend uploaded an anonymous post stating that her actor ex-boyfriend had manipulated her into getting an abortion under false pretenses and treated her badly once she had gotten the abortion.
In a related development, broadcaster KBS has come under fire for what viewers said was unnecessary programming concerning Kim.
This followed the screening of Entertainment Weekly Live by the station, which reported whether Kim could be in the soup for his alleged actions.
Many viewers felt the report was unnecessary as Kim had already stepped down from the KBS variety show 2 Days & 1 Night and his scenes had been edited out following the controversy.
An online petition posted to the KBS Audience Rights Centre on Friday called for the broadcaster to stop airing the episode.
As of Sunday, it has gathered more than 6,940 signatures.
Another petition to KBS, this one opposing Kim's withdrawal from 2 Days & 1 Night, has gained more than 41,870 signatures as of Sunday.
While KBS is required to respond to petitions that gain more than 1,000 signatures in 30 days, the broadcaster has yet to react.
