Jung Woo-sung's ad drought lasted three years — until Bithumb signed him

In November 2024, allegations about Jung Woo-sung's private life swept Korean media and social platforms. The actor's last ad campaign had been for NHN Hangame in 2022; by the time the allegations broke, brands had already stopped hiring him. A documented review found he held zero ad contracts from 2023 to 2025 — a drought that the scandal froze into a wall.

The cost was silent rather than contractual: no brand tore up an agreement and no penalty fee was ever reported. Companies simply declined to renew, and for three years one of Korea's biggest actors had no commercial presence at all — an absence that no formal termination would have made louder.

On 3 September 2025, crypto exchange Bithumb — fighting for market share and preparing a KOSDAQ listing — unveiled Jung Woo-sung as its new model, his first ad contract in three years. Bithumb's Q1 2025 advertising spending had already jumped about fivefold year on year; the actor signing made the campaign unmissable.

The return made the round trip: Bithumb paired him with actress Jeon Jong-seo in a campaign built around the comeback. After three years without a commercial, Jung Woo-sung was back on billboards — and the exchange that ended the drought became part of the story.