'The Devil's Plan' Winner Jung Hyun-kyu Apologizes Again Ahead of New Season

The winner of Netflix's "The Devil's Plan: Death Room" has apologized once more for the behavior that drew criticism during his run. Jung Hyun-kyu also explained why he chose to return for the show's new season.

Jung Hyun-kyu spoke on the morning of Nov. 5 at a press conference for "The Devil's Plan: Dead Again" (Deobeulseu Peullaen: Deudeu Eogein). The event was held at Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Seoul's Yongsan district.

Producers Jung Jong-yeon and Choi Yun-hee attended alongside the rest of the cast: Jang Dong-min, Hong Jin-ho, Ha Seok-jin, Oh Hyun-min, Jung Hyun-kyu, Nucksal, Seo Chulgu, Shindong, John Park, Jaejae, Stella Jang, Yoo Ri-sa, Kim Dong-jae, Lee Do, Jung Won-young and Hyun Kyung-ryul.

The new season brings back legends who have already won brain-game survival shows and puts them up against rising players. With a bigger playing field and twists no one can predict, only one winner will be left standing.

Jung Hyun-kyu won the previous season, "The Devil's Plan: Death Room," and took home 380 million won in prize money. However, his aggressive words and actions on the way to the win drew criticism.

One moment in particular set off the backlash. During a game, he asked Choi Hyun-jun, who studied math at KAIST, one of South Korea's top science and technology universities, "Can you even do arithmetic?" Some viewers also argued that other players, including Kyuhyun and Yoon So-hee, gave up too much to help him win. After the show aired, he looked back on his behavior and apologized.

At the press conference, he was asked why he decided to return despite the controversy.

"I did a lot of thinking after last season," Jung Hyun-kyu said. "Last season, I thought all that mattered was winning, no matter what it took. I was naive, and I think I played without thinking about the viewers watching."

"In that sense, I'm still reflecting on the harm I caused viewers and many others," he added. "I want to make up for that with a more mature attitude. I wanted to prove myself one more time this season, so I decided to take the challenge."

He named Jang Dong-min as his strongest rival this season.

"While doing 'The Devil's Plan,' I played games against a lot of players," he said. "But when it comes to survival shows, Jang Dong-min is the famous one. I wanted to go up against him myself, so I see him as my strongest rival."

Jang Dong-min has won survival programs five times in a row. That record makes the matchup one of the season's biggest storylines, as Jung Hyun-kyu tries to move past the criticism that followed his last win.

"The Devil's Plan: Dead Again" premieres Nov. 10 on Netflix. For a returning champion, this time the test is not only whether he can win again, but how he plays the game.