‘Hawaii Five-0’: Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park Depart Over Salary Dispute

Original Hawaii Five-0 cast members Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, who have played cousins Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua, since the reboot of the classic series began in 2010, are departing the series. According to Variety, the actors were seeking equal pay with stars Alex O’Laughlin and Scott Caan, but were unable to come to terms with CBS Television Studios.

“I will never forget meeting Daniel while still writing the pilot and being certain there was no other actor who I’d want to play Chin Ho Kelly,” executive producer Peter Lenkov said. “Needless to say, Daniel has been an instrumental part of the success of Hawaii Five-0 over the past 7 seasons and it has personally been a privilege to know him. Grace’s presence gave Hawaii Five-0 a beauty and serenity to each episode. She was the consummate collaborator, helping build her character from day 1. They will always be ohana to us, we will miss them and we wish them both all the best.”

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A CBS spokesperson said via a statement, “We are so appreciative of Daniel and Grace’s enormous talents, professional excellence and the aloha spirit they brought to each and every one of our 168 episodes. They’ve helped us build an exciting new Hawaii Five-0, and we wish them all the best and much success in their next chapters. Mahalo and a hui hou…”

Besides appearing on Hawaii Five-0, Kim and Park also crossed over as Chin Ho and Kono to Lenkov’s other CBS crime drama, MacGyver, during its freshman season.

While its too soon to know exactly how the pair’s departure will change the crime drama for its upcoming eighth season, Kim and his 3AD production company have already been moving into television producing lately with The Good Doctor, starring Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel) airing this fall on ABC.

Hawaii Five-0, Fridays, 9/8c, CBS