“Signal 2” May Go to Waste – Lee Je-hoon: Our Efforts Might Be Invalidated

After South Korean star Lee Je-hoon finished filming "Taxi Driver 3," he went through the customary round of media interviews, during which he inevitably was asked about the current status of "Signal 2."

"Signal 2" is the long-awaited sequel to the classic K-drama "Signal," finally set to come out after 8 years. The series has already wrapped filming and was preparing for release this year, but one of its leading actors, Cho Jin-woong, was revealed last year to have a troubled past as a juvenile delinquent. There were even rumors that after his debut he continued to act violently toward colleagues, with a long list of alleged wrongdoings. Cho Jin-woong promptly announced his retirement, seemingly walking away from the scandal. In past cases involving controversial figures, dramas would often choose to recast the role and reshoot, but since Cho Jin-woong's parts are so substantial and the drama is already finished, it's nearly impossible to redo everything. This has cast a dark shadow over the future of "Signal 2."

Regarding this, in an interview with Korean media on the 19th, Lee Je-hoon said that he knows a lot has happened recently. "I am also reflecting on how I should live in the future. But rather than say I must be more cautious because of this incident, I would say that I have always tried to act according to my instinctive sense of good and evil, formed since childhood. I have never thought about changing that, but with these incidents happening one after the other, as an entertainment industry professional, I do feel I need to be even more careful."

Korean media then asked: “Has the broadcast of ‘Signal 2’ been postponed due to the controversy around the main actor?” Lee Je-hoon replied: “When I think about the performances and all the hard work by everyone involved in the project, the fact that its value might be invalidated upsets me. This is a work that represents the efforts of many people, and there is sincerity within the series. I hope these things will not become blurred because of this.”