Jang Dong-joo Retires Amid Hacking Threats

Actor Jang Dong-joo has announced his retirement from acting after confessing to hacking and financial damages. This marks his retirement 14 years after his 2012 role in the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' and hacking and financial damages are speculated to be the background for his retirement.

After gaining attention for 'School 2017,' Jang Dong-joo built his acting career by appearing in numerous plays, dramas, and films. He particularly delivered an impressive performance in the 2019 OCN drama 'Class of Lies,' and subsequently continued his active career with roles in the films 'Honest Candidate' and 'Count,' and the dramas 'Night of the Night' and 'Trigger.'

On October 31st of last year, Jang Dong-joo caused concern among many when he went incommunicado, leaving only the message "I'm sorry" on his social media. His agency located him after four hours and stated, "It's not a bad situation."

Approximately 20 days later, on November 20, 2025, Jang Dong-joo explained via social media, "Due to various circumstances overlapping, I needed time to reorganize myself for a while." He added that he started acting at the young age of 15 and had been running non-stop, neglecting to look after his own condition and mental state.

Following this, after experiencing various events including parting ways with his agency, Jang Dong-joo revealed in January that he suffered severe damages from a mobile phone hack, leading him to sell his house and fall into billions of debt. He explained that he borrowed money to protect his privacy and contact list stored on his phone, ultimately taking on a substantial amount of debt.