The star is set to become the highest-paid Korean actor if his reported salary for season two is agreed on.
South Korean media outlet Dispatch recently reported that actor Lee Jung-jae, the star of Squid Game, is asking to be paid $1 million per episode for the second season of the hit Netflix show.
According to Dispatch, “Netflix cannot afford to overlook Lee Jung Jae’s request. Lee Jung Jae asked Netflix, seeking a substantial guarantee of over 1 million dollars per episode, which means his appearance fees will amount to a staggering total of over 13 million dollars (given the 13 episodes).”
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The first season of Squid Game, which was released in 2021, reportedly generated almost $900 million with nine episodes. If the second season meets the same success, that means Lee, reprising his role as the main character Seong Gi-hun, would simply be asking for 1% of that value.
Only 28 days after its initial release, the Korean show pulled in 1.65 billion hours of viewing time, making it Netflix’s most-watched series with 111 million viewers.
As of now, there has been no confirmation from Netflix or the actor regarding his final paycheck. But if his request is approved, this would make him one of South Korea’s top-paid actors.
Production for Squid Game 2 is set to begin later this year. Earlier this month, the complete cast for the new season was announced. Season one stars Lee, Lee Byung-hun, Wi Ha-joon, and Gong Yoo will be joined by Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-Neul, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, Park Gyu-young, Jo Yu-ri, Kang Ae-sim, Lee David, Lee Jin-uk, Choi Seung-hyun (also known as T.O.P of Big Bang), Roh Jae-won, and Won Ji-an.
Banner image via Instagram @from_jjlee.
