Daniel Dae Kim breaks silence over 'Hawaii Five-0' exit: 'The path to equality is rarely easy'

Hawaii Five-0 will be missing two of its main characters next season.

Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park have left the show after failing to reach a new agreement with CBS Studios on their contract renewals, according to a Variety report.

Sources told Variety that Park and Kim had been "seeking pay equality" with stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan, but were unable to reach a satisfactory deal with the studio that produces the show.

CBS' offer to the two actors was reportedly "10 to 15%" lower than the salaries of their white co-stars, according to Variety.

In a Facebook post on his personal page, Kim alluded to the pay dispute while explaining his departure to fans.

"I will not be returning to Hawaii Five-0 when production starts next week. Though I made myself available to come back, CBS and I weren’t able to agree to terms on a new contract, so I made the difficult choice not to continue," he wrote, later adding: "I’ll end by saying that 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. I am."

Fans were quick to voice their displeasure via social media, while praising Kim and Park's decision.

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The network had earlier confirmed that both Kim and Park would not be returning for the eighth season of the show, without discussing the details behind their departure.

"They [Kim and Park] will always be ohana [Hawaiian for family] to us, we will miss them and we wish them both all the best," said executive producer Peter Lenkov in a statement.

Laura Prudom contributed to this report