Lee Chae-min

Lee Chae-min (born September 15, 2000) is a South Korean actor whose screen career began with the 2021 television drama High Class. In that mystery, set around an elite international school, he played secretary An, a supporting part in a story triggered by the disappearance of a student and the arrival of a former lawyer as a teacher. High Class established his television debut before he moved into larger youth and romance roles. He later appeared in tvN’s 2022 drama Love All Play, centered on competitive badminton, as Lee Ji-ho, a member of the Yunis team. Its story concerned sport. His wider recognition came through Crash Course in Romance (2023), tvN’s romantic comedy about former national handball player Nam Haeng-seon and star mathematics instructor Choi Chi-yeol. Lee played Lee Seon-jae, a high-school student at the center of the drama’s intense academy culture. Seon-jae is academically gifted but is burdened by the expectations of his mother, attorney Jang Seo-jin. His character’s friendship with Nam Hae-yi and uneasy home life provided a student perspective alongside the adult romance. The drama aired on tvN from January 14 to March 5, 2023, and was distributed internationally by Netflix. Lee was a Music Bank host. From September 2022 until May 2023, he co-hosted KBS2’s music program Music Bank with Le Sserafim’s Hong Eunchae. He followed Crash Course in Romance with a role in See You in My 19th Life (2023), based on Lee Hye’s webtoon. In this romance, Shin Hye-sun plays Ban Ji-eum, who remembers her previous lives. Lee portrayed Kang Min-gi, a figure linked to Ji-eum’s past and to the story’s questions about reincarnation and memory. In 2024, he led the tvN series The Midnight Romance in Hagwon as Lee Jun-ho. Jun-ho had been a pupil of Korean-language instructor Seo Hye-jin, played by Jung Ryeo-won. The Midnight Romance in Hagwon follows Jun-ho after he leaves a major company and returns to the academy world as a Korean-language instructor. His return places him professionally close to Hye-jin at the Daechi-dong academy. Lee also headed Netflix’s 2024 mystery series Hierarchy as Kang Ha, a transfer student at Jooshin High School. The plot follows Kang Ha as he enters the school attended by wealthy families and investigates the death of his brother. His role put him opposite actors including Roh Jeong-eui and Kim Jae-won. Together, these projects mark his progression from supporting television work to prominent leading roles.