Kim Soo-hyun Returns to Work After 16-Month Hiatus With 40+ Project Offers Already Waiting

Kim Soo-hyun officially returned to work this week with a new advertising campaign for Bench, the Philippines' largest clothing and lifestyle retail chain, marking his first confirmed public activity since he suspended his career in March 2025. The return follows a police conclusion in May that the core allegations against him were false and partly based on AI-fabricated material, a finding that appears to have cleared the way for his industry reactivation.

Bench founder Ben Chan posted behind-the-scenes photos from the campaign shoot on Instagram on July 14, writing "Reunited with your Bench family" and tagging Kim directly. In the images, Kim holds a bouquet of flowers and smiles in front of a large red balloon. Kim subsequently reposted the photos on his own Instagram Stories, his first activity on the account since February of last year. Miguel Pastor, creative director for Suyen Corporation, Bench's parent company, followed with a short video post on July 15, describing the shoot as "the start of a new chapter in his public career."

Kim's agency, Gold Medalist, had telegraphed the move on June 5 with a brief announcement that a Bench campaign was in preparation, though the full scale of his return was not confirmed until this week. According to industry sources, more than 40 scripts for films and dramas have already been submitted for his consideration, a volume that reflects how deliberately labels and production companies had been holding projects in reserve. Among the most closely watched is Disney+'s Knock-Off, a series Kim finished filming before his hiatus that has not yet received a confirmed release date. Whether its schedule will be announced soon appears to depend on how his return develops in the coming weeks.

The controversy that prompted his withdrawal began after the death of actor Kim Sae-ron in early 2025, when Kim Soo-hyun was accused of having dated her while she was a minor. His agency denied the allegation, stating the relationship began only after she reached adulthood. Several brand partners severed contracts at the time, and the Knock-Off release was postponed. Kim later filed a defamation complaint against Kim Se-ui, the operator of the YouTube channel HoverLab, who had spread the allegations. Kim Se-ui was subsequently indicted while in custody on charges including defamation and violations of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

One detail from the week's coverage that drew its own attention: actor Jung Hae-in quietly liked the Bench post announcing Kim's return. The gesture is small but carries some weight in context. Jung and Kim are close friends and 1988-born peers, a cohort that has circulated under the informal nickname 88z in Korean celebrity culture. When the controversy peaked last year, some fans pressured Jung to unfollow Kim on social media. He never did, and he maintained that stance through the full period of Kim's absence. A separate public figure noted in Korean media that Jung Hae-in was one of the few people in the industry who had not distanced himself during that difficult stretch. Jung is now preparing to appear in Netflix's upcoming series This Crappy Love.