‘Squid Game’ Director Hwang Dong Hyuk Apologizes After Being Criticized Regarding the Phone Number Issue
Squid Game PD Hwang Dong Hyuk broke his silence regarding the issue surrounding the top rating Netflix series.
In an exclusive interview by a South Korean outlet, the 50-year-old director finally addresses the allegation regarding the leaked phone number and bank account seen in the psychological thriller drama.
Squid Game Director Apologizes for the Phone Number Controversy
After the K-series made waves worldwide, fans got curious about the phone number written on the calling card that was given to the participants.
In Squid Game episode1, Gong Yoo, who took on the role of the salesman, gave Seong Gi Hoon (Lee Jung Jae) a calling card with a logo at the front and a contact number at the back.
He mentioned that they need to call the phone number written if they wish to participate in the game.
It appears that the eight-digit number featured in the series was an actual number and belongs to a female business owner.
In her complaint, the owner mentioned that she received countless calls and messages 24/7 since Squid Game was released.
"Since the airing of 'Squid Game,' I receive so many texts and calls 24 hours a day that my daily life has become difficult," she told Korean media outlet Money Today.
With this, PD Hwang Dong Hyuk took on the responsibility and apologized for causing such a huge controversy and mentioned that he did not expect that this would create such a massive fuss.
In addition, he also explained what prompted him to include the number and thought that it was "non-existent."
"In fact, I wrote it because it was a non-existent number. I used it because it was a safe number. That's why this situation happened, and I'm really sorry that I didn't check it in detail until the end."
Moreover, he also reiterated that the production team is "trying to solve the problem right now" between the owner.
After the news complaint made it to the headlines, Netflix aired its stance, stating that there's nothing they can do about it.
It was followed by another official statement saying that the streaming giant and the production company behind "Squid Game," Cyron Pictures, "are aware of the problem and are working to solve it."
READ MORE: 'Squid Game' Actor Lee Jung Jae Starstruck by BLACKPINK's Jennie + Reveals Why He Became an Instant Fan of the Group
Squid Game Director Spoke About the Allegation for Exposing a Personal Bank Account
Netflix Squid Game was also criticized for exposing a bank account, apart from the leaked phone number.
It came after the author of an online community post claimed that the account number featured in the nine-episode K-series does exist, raising that the personal detail was stolen without the owner's permission.
However, in his interview, PD Hwang Dong Hyuk addressed the claims and revealed that the account number is owned by one of the production team's friends.
Unfortunately, due to the issue, the director revealed that they are planning on "cleaning up that account because we didn't know what else would happen."
Squid Game stars Lee Jung Jae, Park Hae Soo, Jung Ho Yeon, Wi Ha Joon, and more is a story about 456 participants who were cash-trapped and needed money to cover up their ballooning debt.
In hopes of covering up their debts, the participants joined the game with the goal of winning the cash prize of 45.6 billion won.
