BIOGRAPHY KANG-IN

Kim Young-woon (born January 17, 1985), better known by his stage name Kang-in, is a Korean pop singer, actor, MC, presenter, and a member of the super boy band Super Junior. His name 'Kang-in' (Hanja: 強仁), meaning strong benevolence, was given to him to complement his personality. Currently, Kang-in will not be joining Super Junior for their fourth album. Kangin officially enlisted and began his two year military service on July 5, 2010.

Musical career

See also: Super Junior's musical career

Kang-in was scouted by a talent agent and was recommended to sign up for SM Entertainment's talent competitions. In 2002, Kang-in won first place on the fourth annual SM Youth Best Contest and won the best outward appearance award and signed a contract with SM Entertainment.

Along with Hero, U-Know and future band mate Heechul, SM Entertainment placed them in a small project music group called Four Seasons, with each of the four members representing the four seasons of the year. The prospective group never came through; both Hero and U-Know were chosen to join another all-male singing group TVXQ, which debuted in December 2003. With two members gone, the idea of Four Seasons dropped. Kang-in and Heechul were then placed in Super Junior along with ten other trainees under the same company. This project group managed through well, and they debuted two years later in November 6, 2005 under the name Super Junior 05, the first generation of Super Junior.

In early 2006, SM Entertainment was beginning to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation, Super Junior 06, with Kang-in still as an undergraduate member of Super Junior. However, plans changed when the company added in a thirteenth member Kyuhyun, and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. The group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as Super Junior. The re-polished group hit it big after they released their first CD single "U" the following summer in 2006, which became Super Junior's most successful single in the music charts until the release of "Sorry, Sorry" in March 2009.

During his career with Super Junior, Kang-in was put into two subgroups, smaller groups that is branched off of the larger Super Junior group. In February 2007, he was placed in the trot-singing Super Junior-T. A year later, he became a member of Super Junior-Happy.

Television and acting career

Before debuting as a Super Junior member, Kang-in went by his birth name as a stage name. He debuted as a host and an actor before being in Super Junior 05. After debut with Super Junior, kangin became a regular in MBC variety show for celebrity named 'Image Survival' till February 2006. In 2006, Kangin also frequently acts as MC for SM artists such as DBSK and Boa fanmeeting and MC for EBS TV channel. In 2006 and 2007, he also goes on many variety show as guest and sometimes as a regular for a short time such as Love Triangle, KBS Star King, KBS vitamin and MBC driving school with leetuk as regular. Active in television appearances and hosting, Kang-in earns the highest salary in Super Junior.

Five days after Super Junior 05's debut performance, Kang-in became the MC of Mnet's M!Countdown along with Leeteuk and Shindong. The trio stayed as the hosts throughout the remaining year until Kang-in was replaced by Eunhyuk in mid 2006 due to his busy schedule for hosting EBS Reckless Radio and MBC's music program, Show! Music Core. Kang-in also became the television host for two of MBC's popular entertainment programs, Sunday Sunday Night Dong-An Club and Nothing is Impossible. For Mnet channel, kangin starred in 'Band of Brothers 2008' with Heechul, Jay and Jungmo. For MTV channel, in 2008 kangin was a MC for 'Class Up'. In 2008, Kangin was one of 4 MCs for SBS 'Change' variety show. From December 2008 to May 2009, Kang-in and actress Lee Yoon-jiplayed as a low-income college couple for the popular MBC reality show We Got Married. This was the first MBC variety show kangin did as a regular after the crisis between MBC variety show producer and SM company regarding Kangin job as host in SBS Super Junior Exploration of Human Body in 2007.In 2009, Kangin with other few Super Junior members hosts television show for charity named 'Miracle' but kangin was withheld from all his activities after his DUI case.

Holding a strong contract with MBC radio, Kang-in left Reckless Radio in June 2007 to host MBC's Good Friend Radio with Cho Jungrin. In April 2008, Cho's hosting spot was replaced by Taeyeon. Kang-in's last day of hosting the program was on April 19, 2009.

Kang-in made a brief cameo appearance in the 2002 SBS drama, A Man and a Woman and in the 2006 MBC sitcom, Rainbow Romance as himself. In 2007, he made a guest appearance in the MBC drama Billie Jean, Look At Me. Kang-in's silver-screen debut was in the Super Junior film Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, premiered in summer 2007. In 2008, Kang-in was chosen to take the role of 'Kang Soo' in the Korean language film, Hello Schoolgirl.

From September 9 to November 9, 2008, Kang-in, along with band mate Heechul, debuted as musical actors through the musical, Xanadu. Xanadu was a 1980's musical film starring Gene Kelly andOlivia Newton John. Xanadu has also been reproduced to a Broadway musical. Heechul and Kang-in, along with Choi Sungwon, performed the same character, Sonny, according to their time slot, and auditions and casting picks will be chosen in a process through reality television.

Kang-in was also casted to take the role of 'Hotae' for MBC's cable comedy drama, Romance Zero. With a total of sixteen episodes, the drama ended in late May 2009 with acceptable reviews and ratings.

Controversies

MBC conflict

A time-slot dispute occurred between SM Entertainment and MBC when SM insisted to have Kang-in stay on SBS's Explorers of the Human Body instead of MBC's Sunday Sunday Night Dong-An Club, in which Kang-in was a regular host. MBC decided to temporarily ban Super Junior from appearing in any future performances on MBC.Kang-in was replaced by T.O.P of Big Bang as the MC ofShow! Music Core.Kang-in could also no longer host MBC variety shows Nothing is Impossible and Sunday Sunday Night Dong-An Club until the conflict was resolved.MBC also demanded to receive an apology from SM Entertainment if SM artists should continue to perform on shows hosted by the channel. After Kang-in left Nothing is Impossible and Sunday Sunday Night Dong-An Club, both shows cancelled due to low ratings, though Kang-in's departure had nothing to do with this, as ratings were already low. Kang-in's radio program with MBC, Good Friend Radio, however, continues to air since it was not related to his work conflict. A week later, MBC announced that they invited Super Junior to film an exclusive MBC segment, "Giving Children a New Life" despite their previous decision to ban Super Junior. The entertainment director for MBC claimed that the ban on Super Junior was never official, but just a decision made by the programs' producers.

Assault case

On September 16, 2009, Kang-in was arrested for his involvement in a fight between two men that took place outside of a bar in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. An eye-witness reported that two men entered a room where Kang-in and his friend were present and began arguing heatedly.Kang-in left the bar, but the two men followed him outside and began displaying acts of violence. Another witness reported that Kang-in tried to stop the fight.A nearby surveillance camera caught the brawl, and it was immediately reported to the police.Kang-in was brought into interrogation to aid investigation along with four other suspects. One of the suspects insisted that Kang-in assaulted him,but it was later proven that Kang-in only reacted for self-defense.

Kang-in was dropped from being the main model of Andre Kim's fashion show as a result. After Kang-in's appearance in Super Junior's Super Show 2 concert in Hong Kong, all of Kang-in's future schedules became temporarily postponed.