How Much Will Jo Jin Woong Owe In Penalties As His Criminal Past Threatens tvN’s Biggest Sequel?
Ties are being cut with actor Jo Jin Woong, whose legal name has since been revealed as Jo Won Joon, after he acknowledged his dark past and announced his “retirement.”
At this point, only tvN remains at a crossroads, discussing the fate of its fan-favorite, highly anticipated K-Drama sequel, The Second Signal.
K-Drama’s Most Anticipated Sequel Is Rocked By Male Lead’s Massive Scandal
On December 6, 2025 (KST), SBS announced that Jo Jin Woong’s narration for its documentary, War On Gangs, had been completely replaced. It is speculated that SBS moved especially quickly to remove Jo Jin Woong as the voice of the four-part program that deals with transnational crime organizations to not lose viewership and trust in the channel.
We re-recorded the narration and are also taking necessary measures regarding Part 1, which already aired. Beginning with Part 2, scheduled for December 7, Jo’s voice will be entirely removed.
— SBS
KBS also took immediate action, setting a documentary on its official YouTube channel to “Private.” The documentary, Special Envoy Jo Jin Woong: Bringing General Hong Beom Do Home, in which Jo Jin Woong had appeared, remained public until December 5, but it has since been quietly hidden following reports about the actor’s past criminal record.
As for tvN, though, things are looking a bit more complicated. The Second Signal, a long-awaited second season to the 2016 hit Signal that peaked at 15% ratings, is (or was supposed to be) headlined by Jo Jin Woong alongside the original cast members Kim Hye Soo and Lee Je Hoon.
It was considered the channel’s biggest release for the first half of 2026. But both the channel and the viewers realize that Jo Jin Woong’s past now clashes with the show’s thematic emphasis on “justice, conscience, responsibility, and humanity.”
So what will happen?
According to legal experts, Jo Jin Woong may be facing at least ₩2.00 billion KRW (about $1.36 million USD) to [kr]50 ok[/krw] in penalties for violating the morality clause in his contract.
Typically speaking, K-Drama leads now agree to a rate that is two to three times their appearance fee, should they cause a scandal and impact production. That said, if estimating Jo Jin Woong’s per-episode earnings to be around ₩100 million KRW (about $67,900 USD), he would have made ₩800 million KRW (about $543,000 USD) for the eight-episode season. Hence, the base penalty alone would range from ₩1.60 billion KRW (about $1.09 million USD) to ₩2.40 billion KRW (about $1.63 million USD).
Plus, if the production team has to replace Jo Jin Woong and reshoot the completed series, the costs alone could reach tens of billions of won—expenses that could legally be demanded from the actor. With courts increasingly siding with production companies in cases where actors derail projects through misconduct, Jo Jin Woong may be on the hook for a substantial payout.
Read more about Jo Jin Woong’s past here:
Bone-Chilling Report Of Jo Jin Woong’s Alleged Crimes From 1994 Resurfaces Online
