“The industry is expanding, but so is the probability of potential risks. It’s frustrating,” an insider said.
While K-content has gained global recognition and become a key national strategic industry and export driver, actor-related risks remain an unresolved challenge. A recent example is the uncertainty surrounding tvN’s highly anticipated drama 'Signal 2' after revelations about actor Cho Jin Woong’s past criminal record. The case highlights how a project involving hundreds of millions of won in production costs and hundreds of staff members can be thrown into crisis due to the issues of a single actor, raising concerns across the industry.
Growing K-content popularity increases actor salary
Following the domestic success of global online streaming services (OTT), the Korean drama industry has experienced rapid growth, with production costs, actor salaries, and creators’ market value rising sharply. According to industry sources, drama budgets have more than tripled compared to the pre-COVID era, with the increase in lead actors’ fees being particularly notable.
Actor Kim Soo Hyun earned 200 million KRW (approx. 135,436 USD) per episode for tvN’s 'It’s Okay to Not Be Okay' (2020), but his fee rose to 500 million KRW (approx. 338,517 USD) per episode in the following year’s Coupang Play series 'One Ordinary Day' (2021). He reportedly received a similar level of pay for Disney+’s 'Knock Off,' scheduled for release this year. Actor Lee Jung Jae earned over 1 billion KRW (approx. 677,369 USD) per episode—the highest in Korea—for 'Squid Game' Seasons 2 and 3 on Netflix.
The problem is that as actors’ fees soar, a corresponding responsibility framework has not been established. In a production environment highly dependent on lead actors, personal controversies can even result in the cancellation of an entire project.
A drama producer, referred to as A, explained, “Actors are literally the ‘face’ of a project. Even if hundreds of staff members contribute to production, the actor is the one who promotes the drama and immerses the audience in the characters. Naturally, dependence on a few lead actors is inevitable.”
“We Can Only Rely on Actors’ Conscience”… No Institutional Alternatives
While production companies and actors define rights and obligations through contracts, industry insiders agree that these contracts have limits in preventing risks. Given the hierarchical ‘producer-actor’ dynamic, it is difficult to enforce strong clauses holding actors accountable.
Drama producer B shared, “For lead actors, when you send a contract, the clauses often get revised. Even if we want to include responsibility-related provisions, if the actor requests changes, we have no choice but to accept them. In contracts, the actor is ‘dominant,’ and the production company is ‘subordinate.’”
Even clauses stipulating fines for “causing social controversy” face ambiguity—how far does “social controversy” extend, and how is the scale of damages calculated? It’s also challenging to account for losses, including both production costs and potential additional revenue.
Attorney Kang Jin Seok from ENT Law Office explained, “The contract is crucial, but the outcome can vary depending on whether it includes provisions holding the actor responsible for past actions, like in the Cho Jin Woong case. If contracts were drafted on equal footing, fair agreements would be possible, but in an industry with clear hierarchies, it’s difficult.”
Industry concern deepens because higher production costs mean greater potential losses, yet institutional mechanisms to manage these risks remain insufficient. Producer A said, “It’s practically impossible to verify everything from an actor’s school records to their criminal history. Ultimately, you have to trust the actor’s conscience and the management company’s ability to oversee them.”
Producer C emphasized, “Production companies need to cast more carefully, and management companies must responsibly manage their actors. For unavoidable incidents, there should be institutional discussions at the government level to secure minimum production costs after thorough review.”
SEE ALSO: Police investigate two Dispatch reporters over disclosure of Cho Jin Woong's juvenile record
SHARE
