Jang Geun-seok apologizes to his fans

ActorJang Geun-seokapologized to fans for his departure from the popular reality TV show "Fishing Village" on his official online fan community Sunday.

Jang and the show's production team decided to edit the actor out of episodes that have already been shot because of a tax issue he was recently involved in.

Local news outlets reported last week that Jang recently paid off 10 billion won ($924,000) in taxes he allegedly evaded. But Tree J Company, Jang's agency, released a statement refuting the reports.

"It is not a fault of Jang but a mistake made by his agency, and all the omitted taxes have been paid", the agency stated.

"Whatever the reason may be, my name was in the middle of the controversy and I wanted to say sorry for that", Jang wrote. "It was a challenge for me to shoot in the village and the time I spent there is valuable to me".

The actor also apologized for letting his fans down.

"I know you had high expectations for the show, so I feel so sorry for you and I feel so small", he said.

"I will take the time and will visitCha Seung-won,Yoo Hae-jinand all the production team to say sorry".

Jang was one of three hosts of the show, which is a spinoff of "Three Meals a Day", along with actors Cha and Yoo.

With the sudden departure of Jang, the show's first episode has been postponed to this Friday.

The production team of "Fishing Village" has decided to substitute Jang with actor Son Ho-jun.

Son left for Manjae Island, the location of the show, on Sunday.

Son debuted in 2007 and earned further recognition with the hit drama series "Answer Me 1994" in 2013.

BY SUNG SO-YOUNG [so@joongang.co.kr]