With His Legal Troubles Behind Him, Kang Ji Hwan Is Up For "Romancing Games"

Now that his legal troubles are behind him, actor Kang Ji Hwan is ready to focus on his career. A few weeks ago the actor's ongoing dispute with his former agency, S. Plus Entertainment, was finally decided in court.

When the star of "The Incarnation of Money" tried to leave S. Plus Entertainment, the agency charged him with breach of contract. They claimed he owed them a few more months on his contract. While he was signed with them he could not work for a few months, due to a problem he had with Jambo Entertainment, the agency that previously represented him. Eventually the Seoul courts denied S. Plus Entertainment's claims that Kang owed them anything.

But the case was complicated by rumors about their disagreement.

Rumors surfaced that Kang physically assaulted his manager at his former agency and behaved badly toward members of the staff. The actor denied having any problems with his manager and sued the agency for defamation, saying they purposely spread the rumors to tarnish his reputation.

"It is unfortunate that people make up such false and vicious reports," he said at the time. "The reports are ludicrous."

He recently won the defamation case. The courts found that S. Plus Entertainment had to pay Kang Ji Hwan damages for spreading false rumors that might negatively affect his reputation.

As a result of these conflicts, he decided not to sign with another agency but rather to found his own.

"I am working on founding my own agency so that I can focus solely on my career without any distraction," said the actor.

Fortunately, his ongoing legal battles have not damaged his career in a significant way.

Last year the actor played an overzealous detective in "Detective Cha," a gender-reversal spin on the Sandra Bullock movie "Miss Congeniality." He was a cop who thought little of his personal appearance until he had to go undercover as a runway model to catch a criminal.

In his new film, "Romancing Games," he plays a thief who knows how to steal a woman's heart. And the woman whose heart he will steal is a police officer.

As an actor Kang Ji Hwan is also known for playing the man who inspired Yoon Eun Hye to tell lies in the drama "Lie To Me." He played Lee Cha Don, the leading character in the weekend series "The Incarnation of Money." Kang's first drama was "Summer Scent" and his film debut was in "Host and Guest." He is appeared in the comedy film  "My Girlfriend Is An Agent," which later inspired the drama "Level 7 Civil Servant."