Who Is the Veteran Actor Commanding Attention in 'Teach You a Lesson'?

Veteran Korean actor Lee Sung-min is currently enjoying one of the most commercially and critically successful stretches of his storied career, and the numbers heavily back it up. His recent powerhouse run spans a top-tier industry film award, a major consumer popularity ranking, and a No. 1 Netflix series watched around the world.

Lee recently took home the prestigious Best Supporting Actor trophy in the film category at the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards for his role in No Other Choice. The monumental win marks his fourth overall Baeksang trophy, following his previous historic wins for the hit series Misaeng, The Spy Gone North, and Reborn Rich. Because the Baeksang Arts Awards are widely considered South Korea's equivalent to the Golden Globes—honoring excellence across film, television, and streaming platforms—sweeping four trophies across such distinct formats is an exceedingly rare industry feat.

Lee’s immense standing with the general public was further validated by a massive consumer poll. The veteran star captured first place in the "Most Influential Male Actor (Scene-Stealer)" category at the 2026 Brand Customer Loyalty Awards, a major consumer voting event that drew approximately 380,000 participants. Pairing elite critical recognition with this level of overwhelming public mandate underscores the profound trust Korean audiences place in his name.

That explosive popularity has seamlessly carried over to global streaming platforms. In the hit Netflix original series Teach You a Lesson, Lee commands the screen as Education Minister Choi Kang-seok. Domestic viewers online have showered his performance with high praise, with viral comments noting that "the entire gravity of the scene shifts the moment he walks in" and "this complex character only functions because of his immense acting caliber."

The series has performed spectacularly on a global scale. According to streaming analytics platform FlixPatrol, Teach You a Lesson captured the No. 1 spot on Netflix’s global TV shows chart, hitting No. 1 in 44 individual countries, including South Korea, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. This widespread footprint across Asia, Europe, and Latin America firmly establishes the series as a certified global blockbuster rather than a localized hit.

Lee has long been revered as one of the most reliable and bankable anchors in Korean cinema, having starred in multiple features that have crossed the coveted 10-million-ticket milestone at the domestic box office. Adding a global No. 1 Netflix series to his already legendary track record proves that his cinematic appeal translates flawlessly across all formats, from the big screen to international streaming.

Teach You a Lesson is now available for streaming in full on Netflix. Lee is set to follow up this global success with the upcoming JTBC drama God's Beads, scheduled to air in the second half of this year.