South Korean Blue Dragon Award Best Actor Yoo Ah-in (real name: Uhm Hong-sik) faced a major blow to his acting career in 2023 after being caught using drugs. Prior to the incident, he co-starred with another leading actor Lee Byung-hun in 'The Match', which was initially scheduled to be released on a streaming platform. However, due to Yoo Ah-in's drug scandal, resulting in Netflix terminating his contract, the project faced delays in its release. Now, it has been confirmed that the film will finally be released on the big screen. Director Kim Hyung-joo admitted, "If I have to re-edit a completed film, it seems unacceptable to me." This implies that all of Yoo Ah-in's scenes will be retained.
'The Match', known in Korean as '승부', features Lee Byung-hun as a top South Korean Go player, competing against another player portrayed by Yoo Ah-in. The film is considered to have dual protagonists, with both actors having substantial screen time. Without a reshoot, it's virtually impossible to remove Yoo Ah-in's scenes. Since the film can no longer be released on the streaming platform, the director and the production team decided to release it in theaters instead.
The film's trailer cleverly removes Yoo Ah-in's scenes, but the main film remains uncut. The director stated, "Trailers and promotional materials are inevitably exposed to an unspecified audience, so I took that into account and made edits, but for the main film, considering the story structure and initial planning intentions, I believe there is no point in re-editing a completed film." This could potentially be Yoo Ah-in’s last work in the entertainment industry.