A Seoul court has written off 17 billion won ($15.2 million) owed by comedian-turned-director Shim Hyun-rae after his latest movie failed to recover production costs, according to court officials Sunday.

The 55-year-old director of "The Last Godfather" (2010) fell into heavy debt after the film disappointed at the box office.

In the English film, which was shot in the U.S., Shim plays the orphaned love-child of a 1950s mafia boss, played by the famous American actor Harvey Keitel, and is called to New York to take over the family business.

In January, Shim, the head of Yonggu-Art Entertainment, received a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, after being sued by former employees who demanded unpaid wages and severance pay.

Following the court decision, Shim applied for personal bankruptcy with the Seoul Central District Court in January.

After looking into his assets and property, the court earlier this month allowed the former comedian to benefit from the state-run personal credit recovery program and wrote off his debt considering his contribution to the South Korean film industry.

Once an iconic slapstick comedian in Korea during the 1980s, Shim delved into film production in the 1990s, but to mixed results.

After directing "Yonggari" (1999) -- the most expensive Korea movie ever produced at that time -- he fell victim to fraud in the U.S. and faced several lawsuits.

After the long ordeal, he made an impressive comeback with "Dragon Wars: D-War" (2007) and he was praised for overcoming adversity. (Yonhap News)