Lee Jung-jae is a South Korean actor and former model who has gained international fame for his role on the Netflix series “Chief of Staff” (2019) and “Squid Game” (2021-present).
Gatekeepers News reports that aside from his acting career, Lee is also a businessman, having launched a chain of restaurants in Seoul, as well as founding several businesses including the development company Seorim C&D. He owns several of his businesses with fellow actor and close friend Jung Woo-sung.
Early Life
Lee Jung-jae was born on December 15, 1972, in Seoul, South Korea. He enrolled at Dongguk University, and was awarded his master’s degree from the university’s Department of Theater & Film Art in the Graduate School of Cultural Arts, in August 2008. He made his first foray into theatre in December of that same year, taking on the titular role in Hamlet in Water. The play ran for four days at his alma mater’s Lee Hae-rang Theater.
Career
While working at an Apgujeong café, Lee was discovered by a designer named Ha Yong-soo. He spent several years modelling, then he shot to stardom after making his acting debut on the television series “Dinosaur Teacher” in 1993. In 1994, he played Han Joon on the TV series “Feelings” and appeared in his first film, “The Young Man.” Jung-jae played Baek Jae-hee on the SBS series “Sandglass” in 1995, then he appeared in the films “Albatross” (1996), “Fire Bird” (1997), “Father vs. Son” (1997), “An Affair” (1998), “City of the Rising Sun” (1999), and “The Uprising” (1999) and the television series “Snail” (1997) and “White Nights 3.98” (1998). In 2000, Lee starred in “Il Mare,” a time-travel romance that was remade as “The Lake House” (starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock) in 2006. He appeared in 2000’s “Interview” and “Asako in Ruby Shoes,” and in 2001, he played Jung Yong-ki in “Last Present” and Detective Oh in “The Last Witness.” After starring in 2002’s “Over the Rainbow,” Jung-jae co-starred with Lee Beom-soo in one of his most commercially successful films, 2003’s “Oh! Brothers.” In 2005, Lee starred as Kang Se-jong in the action film “Typhoon,” which brought in the equivalent of $26 million at the box office.
Jung-jae played Kim Ji-sung on the MBC series “Air City” in 2007, then he appeared in the 2008 film “The Accidental Gangster and the Mistaken Courtesan” and the 2009 MBC series “Triple.” In 2010, he starred in “The Housemaid,” an erotic thriller that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2012, he appeared in “The Thieves,” the sixth highest-grossing Korean film in history (grossing the equivalent of $86 million). In 2013, Lee narrated the television documentary “Contemporary Art, Bury the Boundary” and appeared in the films “New World” and “The Face Reader.” He starred in the films “Big Match” (2014), “Assassination” (2015), “Tik Tok” (2016), “Operation Chromite” (2016), and “Warriors of the Dawn” (2017), and he played the God of Death (King Yeomra) in “Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds” (2017) and “Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days” (2018). In 2019, Jung-jae starred as Jang Tae-joon on the JTBC series “Chief of Staff,” and he reprised the role in a cameo on “Delayed Justice” in 2021. He appeared in 2019’s “Svaha: The Sixth Finger” and 2020’s “Deliver Us from Evil.”
Lee was named a global ambassador for Gucci in November 2021.
In 2021, Lee Jung-jae began starring as Seong Gi-hun on the Netflix hit “Squid Game.”
Personal Life
In 1999, Lee was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) after colliding his BMW into a car in the adjacent lane. He was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 0.222%. As a result his driver’s license was cancelled. Lee was also charged with a DUI in 2002 which also resulted in the cancellation of his drivers license.
In January 2015, Lee confirmed that he was dating Im Se-ryung [ko], the former wife of Samsung’s chairman Lee Jae-yong. Lee had previously dated Kim Min-hee.
Net Worth
The actor has a net worth of $12 million.
