Reports claimed that Kim Soo Hyun adjusted his appearance fee in "Queen of Tears" despite the drama production having a big budget.

Keep on reading to know what happened.

Kim Soo Hyun Lowered His Talent Fee in 'Queen of Tears' To Ease the Burden of Production Costs

Amid the ongoing success that "Queen of Tears" is receiving, Kim Soo Hyun has become one of the center of discussions lately, particularly about his appearance fee.

According to a report, the male lead is paid approximately 221k USD (300 million won) per episode. It is also known that this has been reduced significantly.

Kim Soo Hyun received 370k USD (500 million won) per episode when he starred in the previous Coupang series "One Day," which was released in November 2021. When it was reported that he received an appearance fee of 590k USD (800 million won) per episode, officials of the drama immediately provided a statement.

"Queen of Tears" officials explained "800 million per episode is an absurdly inflated amount," they continued, "Kim Soo Hyun actually reduced the amount a lot compared to his previous work."

Before the drama began, it was reported that "Queen of Tears" total production cost was around 30 million USD (40 billion won). If calculated at 800 million won, Kim Soo Hyun's talent fee alone amounts to approximately 9.5 million USD (12.8 billion won), which is equivalent to one-third of the total production cost.

The heartthrob's per-episode appearance fee appears to be lower than his previous works to ease the burden of production costs in the recent difficult drama industry.

K-Actors Reportedly Demand High Appearance Fees

Beginning in 2024, several reports claimed that the demand for actors' talent fees in drama had increased. Local OTT companies say that even 300 million won per episode is a burden.

An official from the industry elaborated that the appearance fee of a leading actor was 100 to 200 million won.

Meanwhile, foreign OTT such as Netflix and Disney Plus have skyrocketed the prices of leading domestic actors. It has been said that the fee for lead actors in Netflix and Disney Plus is known to be more than twice as high as that of broadcasting companies.

They are casting good actors and accepting projects with their powerful financial power. It was also reported that lead stars who appeared in a recent Disney Plus production received 296k USD (400 million won) per episode.

There are rumors that award-winning actor Lee Jung Jae who will return in Netflix's "Squid Game" is paid 739k USD (1 billion won) per episode.

Production company representatives explained that famous actors are demanding 1 billion won in appearance fees, putting actors hundreds of millions of ransom on the chopping block.

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Shai San Miguel wrote this.