Shortly after Lee Min Ho completed his mandatory military service, it was reported that he will soon begin filming for an upcoming TV project. His next show will have him play the characters of an emperor and a modern-day detective.
Lee was officially discharged from his military unit in later April. Then Hwa&Dam pictures confirmed it will produce a new K-Drama series titled “The King: The Eternal Monarch” with the actor headlining the cast.
The studio has yet to reveal more about the upcoming show’s plot, but it did confirm the overall story happens in a different timeline. The plot revolves around what the studio calls a “parallel universe.” It was also reported that Lee will play as Emperor Lee Gon and detective Chung Tae Eul. With these pieces of information, it can then be assumed that the actor’s persona will be traveling back and forth to two different eras.
The 31-year-old actor took a temporary leave from the limelight for almost two years to respond to the conscription. So it is not surprising that expectations are high for “The King: The Eternal Monarch.” The upcoming series, expected to be filmed this year and be released in 2020, will also pair Lee with another K-Drama star Kim Go Eun. Fans will most likely recognize her for her main character role in “Goblin.”
Aside from his new project, Lee has also made headlines recently after his agency MYM Entertainment announced that it will not let online trolls get away with their “malicious” comments. The company issued a statement last week warning so-called online trolls that they will be facing legal action for “groundless libel” under South Korea’s Act of Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection and Article 311 of the Criminal Law.
The state of well-being of Korea’s pop stars has been a serious and sensitive subject for years. And MYM Entertainment said in its statement that the malicious and reckless comments they observed and reported to them by fans have negatively affected Lee.
“This is an issue that has caused great mental stress and psychological damage to the artist, as well as to the fans who have witnessed this, “Lee's agency said. “Through illegal acts which have continued for years, and the reputation and image of our artist have suffered due to slanderous and hateful comments caused by false information.”
