‘The Second Signal’ Set for Dec. 7 Premiere in Bold Move, One Year After Cho Jin-woong Controversy: ‘This Is Not an Endorsement of His Misconduct’

AI replacement hits its limits… “We should respect the creative team’s efforts and the work’s value”

tvN’s new Monday-Tuesday drama ‘The Second Signal’, whose broadcast was put on hold amid controversy over a cast member’s past, will finally reach viewers. tvN issued an official statement on the 6th, announcing, “After much deliberation, and with caution, we have decided to schedule ‘The Second Signal’ as a regular Monday-Tuesday drama, premiering at 10 p.m. on Dec. 7.” The high-profile production, whose broadcast had been in doubt, has now been confirmed after lengthy deliberations, drawing attention across the television industry.

The decision to air the series comes about a year after actor ‘Cho Jin-woong’ announced his retirement from the entertainment industry, following revelations in December 2025—while postproduction was underway—that he had been subject to ‘juvenile protection measures’ during his school years. As the fallout spread at the time, the production team postponed the release indefinitely while discussing how to proceed. tvN explained the decision, saying, “The past wrongdoing of a particular cast member is not something a broadcaster can take lightly. However, we concluded that ‘The Second Signal’ is not the creative work of just one person, and that the work’s quality and the efforts of its many production staff members should be considered separately from controversy surrounding an individual cast member.”

The production team also explored adopting advanced postproduction technology to minimize the controversy. tvN said, “We examined various video-editing technologies and even tested ‘AI-based actor replacement,’ but clear limitations emerged in naturally recreating the actor’s performance and the drama’s cohesive narrative, so the plan was ultimately scrapped.” The broadcaster added, “Airing the series is in no way intended to endorse or justify the cast member’s actions,” reiterating its awareness of its social responsibility as a broadcaster.

To help viewers stay immersed, episodes 1 and 2 will air ‘back-to-back’ on the premiere date, Dec. 7. Some scenes featuring the cast member at the center of the controversy have been cut or edited in episode 1, without compromising the overall narrative. A ‘special 20th-anniversary production’ for tvN, the series is the official sequel to the acclaimed 2016 genre drama. It follows detectives as they investigate long-unsolved cases, connected by radio transmissions between the past and present. ‘Kim Hye-soo,’ ‘Lee Je-hoon,’ and ‘Cho Jin-woong,’ stars of the original series, will return to bring the story to its conclusion.