Actor Lee Jung-jae denies ties with former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon beyond going to same school

Actor Lee Jung-jae, left, and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon pose in front of a restaurant, in a photo that circulated online in November 2023. Captured from an online community

Actor Lee Jung-jae clarified that his ties with former ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon were limited to a single meal as high school alumni. Both attended Hyundai High School in Seoul, and a past photo of them dining together at a restaurant had previously sparked public interest.

Lee met with reporters at a cafe in Seoul on Jan. 2 to discuss Netflix’s "Squid Game" Season 2 and other topics.

When Han’s name came up, Lee said, "When well-known people meet, there's bound to be curiosity about 'why,' but as high school alumni, all we did was have one dinner together. There was no professional collaboration, no assistance offered, not even a single word exchanged beyond that."

He continued, “After dinner, as we were leaving the restaurant, they (restaurant owners) handed out kimchi. They had just prepared fresh kimchi that day and were kind enough to give us some. I was so grateful. I suggested, ‘Let’s take a picture holding it.’ I handed my camera to a staff member, and they took a photo. Apparently, there were Han Dong-hoon fans there who also took photos and posted them on their blog, and that’s how the photo got out.”

Lee added, “It wasn’t intentional or about showing off our meeting. When I found out the photo was out, I wondered how it happened. After some digging, I found out about the blog. They had been following Han Dong-hoon, taking pictures of him inside and outside the restaurant. I want to clear up the misunderstanding — it wasn’t us who made the photo public.”

In November 2023, the photo of their gathering led to Artist United (formerly Wider Planet), of which Lee is the largest shareholder, to be labeled a "Han Dong-hoon-themed stock," temporarily boosting its share price.

Last month, financial authorities investigated Wider Planet over allegations of insider trading, though Lee stated, "I am not the subject of the investigation."

Lee also addressed another issue involving Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the ruling PPP, who had mentioned a drinking gathering with Lee and actor Jung Woo-sung.

“I don’t know why he (Yoon) said that,” Lee said. “From what I recall, we did have drinks once, but it wasn’t a private meeting. It was a gathering of 30 to 40 people working in the entertainment industry — people involved in film, drama and music production. It wasn’t a specific drinking session with the three of us.”

Lawmaker Yoon previously appeared on actor Kim Seung-woo’s YouTube channel, where he said, “I drank with actors Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae. After about 10 rounds of bomb shots, Lee said he couldn’t drink anymore, but Jung and I went up to 26 rounds.”

Actor Lee Jung-jae poses during a production press conference for Season 2 of the Netflix series "Squid Game" at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Dec. 9. Yonhap

The second season of "Squid Game" has been dominating global viewership. In its first week of release, it topped Netflix’s non-English TV show rankings for the fourth week of December, recording 488 million hours of viewing time.

According to FlixPatrol, a global streaming ranking site, the series also topped Netflix charts in all 93 countries where viewership was tracked.

Lee reprised his role as Seong Gi-hun, returning to the brutal survival game in an attempt to put an end to it.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.