‘Squid Game’ Season 2 star Lee Jung-jae’s reported asking salary to make him the highest-paid Korean actor

Malay Mail
Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae is set to become South Korea’s highest-paid actor if his reported season two salary is agreed on.

The 50-year-old actor is reportedly asking Netflix to be paid RM4.6 million for each of the 13 episodes of the second season, Dispatch reported.

This will earn him over RM60 million in total compared to his reported RM1.2 million pay for each of the nine episodes in the first season of Squid Game according to Lifestyle Asia.

Netflix allegedly ‘could not overlook’ Lee’s request as the actor plays an important role in the series' first season which earned over RM4.2 billion in streaming revenue.

His reported season two salary will make him the highest-paid K-drama actor, dethroning Kim Soo-hyun who was paid RM1.97 million per episode for 2021’s One Ordinary Day.

Lee is set to return as Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game season two alongside a star-studded cast featuring Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Sung-hoon, Yang Dong-geun, and former BIGBANG member T.O.P.

Squid Game season two is expected to premiere in 2024, according to a Vanity Fair interview with series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk.

Meanwhile, Lee is also set to join a galaxy far far away in the upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte set to release in 2024.