Cho Jin-woong to replace Lee Sun-kyun in upcoming drama

Actor Cho Jin-woong [YONHAP]

Actor Cho Jin-woong is set to replace Lee Sun-kyun in the upcoming drama “No Way Out,” after the latter has been implicated in a drug investigation and dropped out of the project.

Cho is currently considering appearing in “No Way Out,” according to the actor’s agency Saram Entertainment on Tuesday.

“No Way Out” is about an extremely violent criminal being released from prison and a bounty of 20 million won ($14.8 million) being put on him. Lee was set to appear as a police officer who must protect the criminal from those hunting him, but was removed from the initial cast list after news broke about his involvement in a drugs investigation.

Yum Jung-ah, Yoo Jae-myung, Kim Moo-yul and Lee Kwang-soo are set to appear in “No Way Out.” The drama is also Taiwanese actor Greg Hsu’s first Korean project.

Lee debuted in 2001 through an MBC sitcom and has played leading roles in many acclaimed films and shows, including the Oscar-winning 2019 film “Parasite.” He is set to appear in two upcoming films, which have already wrapped up filming, "Project Silence" and "The Land of Happiness.”

Another upcoming project for Lee was the second season of “Dr. Brain” on Apple TV+. Whether the actor will be pulled from “Dr. Brain” is also still unconfirmed, with Apple TV+ unable to be reached for comment.

To find out more about Cho Jin-woong, visitCeleb Confirmed!

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]