Daniel Dae Kim, who, along with Grace Park, left CBS's "Hawaii Five-0" before its upcoming eighth season, says his decision was a matter of maintaining his sense of "self-worth."
It was reported last month that Kim and Park left the show over a lack of pay parity with fellow cast members Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but last week, CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl said that the network "made very lucrative offers to those actors," according to Deadline.
During a Q&A session on Sunday at a Television Critics Association event promoting the upcoming ABC drama "The Good Doctor" — on which he serves as an executive producer — Kim addressed the departure, saying, "I've known Kelly and Thom [Sherman, a CBS programming VP] for a while ... I know them and like them and am grateful to them for the words they said on their panel the other day."
"That said, it's possible to be grateful and respectful and still maintain a steadfast sense of your self-worth," Kim added.
Last month CBS released a statement in which it said the network "tried very hard to keep" Kim and Park on the show by offering them "large and significant salary increases." He agreed in a statement posted to his Facebook page that he and CBS were unable to agree to terms of a new contract, and he thanked his co-stars and fans.
"As an Asian American actor, I know firsthand 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 wrote. "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."
"The Good Doctor," starring Freddie Highmore of "Bates Motel" as a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome who joins a prestigious hospital's surgical unit, premieres Sept. 25 on ABC.