Daniel Dae Kim is breaking his silence about his decision to leave Hawaii Five-0 just days before season eight is set to go into production.
Kim, who has starred as Chin Ho Kelly on the hit CBS drama since the series' premiere in 2010, took to his Facebook page on Wednesday morning to confirm the reports that he is exiting Hawaii Five-0 amid salary disputes.
"By now many of you have heard the news, and I'm sad to say it is true," Kim writes. "I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week. Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren't able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue."
According to Variety, both Kim and Grace Park had been seeking pay equality with stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but were unable to reach satisfactory deals with CBS Television Studios, which produces the series. Sources say CBS's final offer to Kim and Park was believed to have been 10-15% lower than what O'Loughlin and Caan make in salary.
Park, who has yet to speak out on social media, also decided to leave Hawaii Five-0, and her character Kono Kalakaua, will not appear in the upcoming eighth season as well. Both characters' absence will be referenced in the season premiere.
Kim says that he feels "deeply thankful" to his Hawaii Five-0 crew, writers and everyone associated to the show and adds that his co-stars have "been nothing but supportive through this entire process." Kim also names Hawaii Five-0 executive producers Peter Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and thanks them for "their faith in me to bring Chin Ho Kelly to life."
He writes, "As an Asian American actor, I know first-hand how difficult it is to find opportunities at all, let alone play a well developed, three dimensional character like Chin Ho. I will miss him sincerely."
Kim continues, "I'll end by saying that though transitions can be difficult, I encourage us all to look beyond the disappointment of this moment to the bigger picture. The path to equality is rarely easy. But I hope you can be excited for the future. I am."
You can read Kim's full statement to his fans on his official Facebook page.