Actor Kim Seon Ho has made his return to domestic advertising for fashion brand Beanpole, appearing in a new campaign about seven months after disappearing from the brand’s Korean promotions amid a controversy surrounding his one-person agency and taxes.
According to industry sources on September 9, Kim Seon Ho will serve as the lead and ambassador for Beanpole’s new 2026 Fall/Winter (FW) campaign, “INTO YOUR ESSENTIALS.”
Beanpole also teased Kim Seon Ho’s new campaign on the same day with the message, “Who will be Beanpole’s new face?”
A campaign video featuring Kim Seon Ho was also quickly shared among fans through word of mouth.
Kim Seon Ho’s return to Beanpole’s domestic advertising comes about seven months after the controversy surrounding his one-person agency and tax payments emerged in February.
At the time, Beanpole made a teaser video for Kim Seon Ho’s “2026 Spring Collection,” which had been posted on the brand’s official social media accounts on February 3, private. The full advertisement, which had also been scheduled for release that day, did not appear either.
The move led to speculation within the industry that advertisers were beginning to distance themselves from Kim Seon Ho. However, Beanpole continued featuring the actor in its Chinese advertising campaigns.
Kim Seon Ho’s agency, Fantagio, explained in February that the actor had established a corporation in January 2024 for his acting activities and theater production, stressing that “the corporation was absolutely not established for the purpose of intentional tax avoidance or tax evasion.”
The agency also explained that Kim Seon Ho had returned the corporate credit card expenses, family salaries, and company vehicle, and had paid additional personal income tax on the relevant settlement amount on top of the previously paid corporate tax.
Kim Seon Ho is preparing for several upcoming projects, including the Disney+ series Portraits of Delusion, in which he stars opposite Suzy, and tvN’s upcoming drama The Congressman Sends My Condolences, where he will appear alongside Kim Yun Seok. In The Congressman Sends My Condolences, Kim Seon Ho will play Cha Jae Rim, a ninth-grade civil servant who becomes entangled in the political world after crossing paths with six-term National Assembly member Koo Young Jin (Kim Yun Seok), who has become a ghost.
Sources: Daum