Lee Gunyoung (이건영)

A lead role in the JTBC weekend drama "Rookie Chairman Kang" brought Lee Jun-young renewed attention in 2026, as his portrayal of a young soccer player whose body is inhabited by the soul of a 72-year-old chaebol chairman pushed the series from a 3.8 percent premiere rating to 8.2 percent within four episodes — the highest viewership recorded for a JTBC weekend drama in 2026 at the time. The performance underlined a transition that has been years in the making: from idol group member to credible television lead.

Debut & Formation

Lee Jun-young built his initial public profile as a member of U-KISS, the South Korean boy group that maintained a sustained presence across the idol landscape through multiple lineup changes and an extensive discography. His work with the group gave him a platform that he has since parlayed into an acting career conducted largely on his own terms.

On Screen

The dual-role demands of "Rookie Chairman Kang" represent some of the more technically exacting work of his acting career to date. Playing Hwang Jun-hyun — physically a promising young athlete, internally a seasoned 72-year-old executive navigating a corporate succession battle — Lee Jun-young was required to project authority and world-weariness through a young man's physical register. Coverage of the drama noted the "immersion" his performance created, and the sharp ratings climb across the opening episodes was widely attributed in part to audience engagement with his lead work. Co-starring Son Hyun-joo, Lee Joo-myung, and Lee Sung-wook, the drama centered on a chaebol family power struggle, with Lee Jun-young's character gradually assembling allies and resources for a full-scale counterattack against those exploiting the confusion of the soul swap.

Prior to "Rookie Chairman Kang," he drew attention for his appearance in the Netflix series "You Have Done Well", in which he played a character described as IU's boyfriend — a role that raised his profile with streaming audiences and generated conversation around his casting.

Activities

Outside scripted drama, Lee Jun-young has maintained a public presence through variety programming. An appearance on the long-running food talk show "Please Take Care of My Refrigerator" in mid-2026 drew coverage for a candid admission about his eating habits — subsisting on instant noodles daily for a two-week period — offering audiences a more informal window into his daily life. He also appeared on the YouTube program "Guerrilla Ha Ji-young," where he spoke openly about the idol-to-actor pathway, citing Im Si-wan, Do Kyung-soo, and Park Ji-hoon as examples of the transition done well and expressing support for more idols pursuing acting careers. The remarks reflected a considered awareness of the professional terrain he himself is navigating.

A travel program appearance alongside actress Kim Ha-neul, "Narrow Mountain Path," also placed him in a lighter, lifestyle-oriented context early in 2026.

Standing

Lee Jun-young occupies a position that a number of his contemporaries have also sought: an idol-era foundation giving way to a sustained acting career evaluated on its own merits. The ratings trajectory of "Rookie Chairman Kang" and the visibility of his Netflix work suggest that the transition is progressing on credible terms, with the 2026 drama in particular offering the kind of ratings validation that tends to define an actor's broadened appeal to broadcasters and casting teams alike.