Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim and Korean-Canadian actress Grace Park are leaving the CBS series "Hawaii Five-O" after negotiations over pay issue failed.
Variety reported that that two asked CBS Television Studios to have the same pay as Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan but the network offered them about 10 to 15 percent lower.
With this, the two decided not to return for the TV show's eight seasons.
In a Facebook post, Kim explained to fans what happened.
"Sorry for the delay in hearing from me, but like you I'm sure, my July 4th holiday was busy with friends and family. I'm back now and didn't want to let any more time go by without reaching out," he wrote. "By now many of you have heard the news, and I'm sad to say it is true. I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week."
He added that "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."
Kim thanked "our crew, writers and everyone associated with the show – and especially the cast, who have been nothing but supportive through this entire process. They and the crew have been my second family for seven years and I wish them nothing but success for season 8 - and beyond."
He also expressed gratitude to "Peter Lenkov, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and everyone at CBS."
"I will always be grateful for their faith in me to bring Chin Ho Kelly to life. 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," he said.
Chin Ho, he said, "was a representative of a place my family and I so dearly love."
"It has been nothing short of an honor to be able to showcase the beauty and people of Hawaii every week, and I couldn't be prouder to call these islands home. To my local community, mahalo nui loa," Kim said.
He thanked fans for their support and messages, and said that he has new projects lined up after "Hawaii Five-O."
"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 about the future. I am. 5-0 continues on after one of its strongest seasons. I've got new acting projects on the horizon, and as a producer, my company, 3AD, has its first show, THE GOOD DOCTOR, set to air this fall on ABC. I hope you'll tune in. There's a lot to look forward to and I'll be sure to share it with you," he ended.
In a Twitter post, Lenkov explained that "both actors chose not to extend their contracts."
"CBS was extremely generous and proactive in their renegotiation talks. So much so, the actors were getting unprecedented raises, but in the end, they chose to move on. No one wanted to see them go–they are irreplaceable," he said.
