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Will Byeon Woo Seok get paid less than 220K USD for Solo Leveling live action? Netflix allegedly caps actors' fees
Recently, Han So Hee was reported to have joined Byeon Woo Seok in the highly awaited series adaptation of Solo Leveling.
Byeon Woo Seok was announced as the lead star Sung Jin Woo in the K-drama series adaptation of the popular web novel Solo Leveling. The announcement was met with a lot of positive reactions from the fans of the actor as well as the story, who have long been waiting for the release of a live-action version. However, according to a latest report from OSEN, the actor may not get paid as handsomely as previously imagined, as studio giant Netflix is said to have enlisted a stricter capping on the fees paid to its talents.
Byeon Woo Seok and other Korean actors’ fees for Netflix projects under scrutiny
As per the report, the OTT platform has instructed its team to lower the salaries given to the Korean actors of their scripted and unscripted projects, including limited series and films. Previously believed to be much higher, it has now been capped at around 400 million KRW (about 290,000 USD) to 300 million KRW (about 220,000 USD) per episode. While the number is nowhere near small enough to be called a low salary, the expected payment for Byeon Woo Seok’s role was much higher than this.
The 220K-290K USD appearance fee for Lee Jung Jae for Squid Game is said to have been charged at 245K USD for the first season of the famed show. However, following its vitality reports, it claimed that the actor demanded a whopping 1 million USD payment per episode, eyeing a massively bigger cheque. The amount was never confirmed by the studio or the actor himself, but the estimates left fans surprised.
Addressing Byeon Woo Seok’s possible fees for the project, a source familiar with the situation is said to have remarked that it would be difficult for him to earn more than 300 million KRW (220K USD) due to the concerned policy.
A spokesperson from the OTT platform commented on the alleged capping, saying, “Appearance fees are not simply based on the number of episodes but more reasonably reflect the actual time and contribution of creators and cast. Netflix does not enforce a uniform cap. Instead, fees are flexibly negotiated with partners, considering the nature of the project, role, and production period.”
