Actor Hirofumi Arai, also known as Park Kyung Bae, has made his first public appearance since his conviction, marking a cautious return to acting.

Before becoming a South Korean citizen in 2005, Arai, a Zainichi South Korean whose family moved to Japan before 1945, had a special type of residency status. He started acting in 2001 and worked on many movies and TV shows before his career came to an end when he was arrested in 2019.

A past report from Japan Today says that Arai was arrested in February 2019 on charges of "forcible intercourse" after an incident with a female masseuse who had been sent to his house for an outcall in July. He was charged later that month and given a five-year prison sentence. After the victim and the defendant reached an agreement, the sentence was cut to four years.

Arai is back in the public eye after serving his time. Koreaboo said that he recently returned to the stage in a one-man play by Masaaki Akahori.

Arai said hello to people in the audience after the show. Reports said that some people had bad reactions during the meet-and-greet, and some of the pictures taken included people who were not famous. Arai then put out a public notice about the situation.

Arai asked the media not to publish pictures of people who weren't famous that he met at the event in the notice. He also talked about rumors about his professional future, saying that he would keep working if he could find work and would not if he couldn't. Along with the message, he sent a picture of himself with two other people.

Koreaboo also said that Arai said he has gotten a lot of job offers, even though he has a criminal record and the controversy surrounding his past actions. While the report showed that the responses towards him returning have been manyveryferent, there is a lot of dialogue in the Japanese entertainment sector regarding the same issues of responsibility for one's actions, as well as how do wonstructively rehabilitate someone who has committed an offense while giving them the opportunity to work again once they serve their sentence.

People are still very interested in what happens with Arai's return. Koreaboo calls the appearance a major turning point in his life and career after his conviction.