Lee Soon-jae replaces disgraced 'Squid Game' actor O Yeong-su in new film

The scandals surrounding actor O Yeong-su, who is best known for his role in the Netflix hit ‘Squid Game’, have caused him to lose his role in the film ‘About Family’, to fellow veteran South Korean actor Lee Soon-jae! Here’s all about Lee Soon-jae, and what let up to being selected to replace O Yeong-su?

Lee Soon-jae is best known as South Korea’s oldest actor who is still active in the country’s entertainment scene, reports Maeil Business News.

Image: MBC

Lee Soon-jae was born on November 16, 1934, in Hoeryong, Hamgyeong Province, which is now part of North Korea. He moved to Seoul when he was four and has been based there ever since, reports The Chosun Ilbo.

Image: CJ Entertainment

Daum reports that Lee Soon-jae had been inspired by Italian films while growing up and was further inspired by viewing Shakespeare plays while in university. It was because of these influences that he decided to pursue acting during his second year at university.

According to the Segye Ilbo, Lee Soon-jae landed his first acting role while in university, where he acted in the play ‘Beyond the Horizon’. There, he was also working alongside people who are similarly known for being some of South Korea’s veteran actors, such as Yeo Woon-kay.

Image: Woo Sung Enterprises Co., Ltd

Lee Soon-jae struggled to find work as an actor in his early career after university. It wasn't until one day, in despair, that he appealed with renowned actor and director Lee Hae-rang for an opportunity to act and was given the chance to take the first step towards pursuing acting as a full-time job, according to The Financial Times.

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Lee Soon-jae then moved on from theatre to the small screen in 1961 in the KBS drama ‘Will I Become Human Too?’. Daum reports that more roles came to Lee Soon-jae eventually, and he became one of the most recognisable faces on TV then.

Image: MBC

Lee Soon-jae also moved to the big screen from the 1960s to 1970s, and one of his most notable films then was ‘Bun-rye's Story’ in 1971. However, he decided to focus on primarily being a TV actor in the 1990s and after, and this is what he is most known for to more contemporary audiences, reports MBC.

Image: Next Entertainment World

Other than his older works, Lee Soon-jae has managed to remain one of South Korea’s biggest acting juggernauts even at this age! Some of the works he is best known for include ‘Unstoppable High Kick!’, ‘Good Morning President’, and ‘Grandpas Over Flowers’.

Image: MBC

Other than acting, did you know that Lee Soon-jae is also quite the multitasker and multitalented actor? Koreaboo, Sports Donga, and The Korea Times report that he holds an insurance planning license, was once a politician, and is also a professor at Sejong University!

Image: CJ Entertainment

Daum reports that Lee Soon-jae was also awarded one of the highest merits a person can have in South Korea by being granted the second-class Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit by the South Korean government for his work as an actor.

Given the many accolades and merits achieved by Lee Soon-jae, it was natural that he would be one of the actors picked to replace O Yeong-su in one of his many pre-scandal projects.

Image: Netflix

Recapping O Yeong-su’s scandal, the actor of ‘Squid Game’ fame was accused and is currently sentenced to prison for the crime of s e x u al assault earlier this 2024, reports BBC News. This had also in turn affected the projects the now-disgraced actor was involved in, including the film ‘About Family’.

According to SBS, the production of ‘About Family’ was severely affected by O Yeong-su’s scandal, as the actor was playing quite the major character in the film, and the team behind ‘About Family’ had already finished production and shooting of scenes, only to be affected by O Yeong-su’s scandal.

The same SBS report states that the production team for 'About Family' had to reshoot scenes featuring O Yeong-su with a different actor. Many people recommended Lee Soon-jae to the Yang Woo-seok, director of 'About Family', and he approached him to discuss his replacement for O Yeong-su in the film.

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SPOTV reports that Yang Woo-seok had quipped that the choice of having Lee Soon-jae replace O Yeong-su was a “blessing in disguise”, as he was able to “fill in the void so well and left a big impression”. What was more interesting was that Lee Soon-jae has accepted and adapted to his new role in ‘About Family’ quickly after reading the script in two days!

‘About Family’ will be out in South Korean theatres on December 11.

Image: KBS