Lee Sung-min has officially joined Netflix’s Solo Leveling live-action series as Go Gun-hee, the president of the Korean Hunter Association and an S-rank Hunter. The casting was reported by Xportsnews on July 9, confirming the veteran actor will star opposite Byeon Woo-seok and Han So-hee in Netflix’s biggest K-fantasy adaptation yet.
Filming for Solo Leveling is currently underway in Korea, with Netflix rounding out a stacked ensemble for the global webtoon phenomenon. Lee Sung-min steps into one of the most respected elder roles in the franchise, adding major dramatic weight to the Sung Jin-woo saga.
Lee Sung Min Solo Leveling casting confirmed
Lee Sung-min will play Go Geon-hee, also romanized as Go Gun-hee, the chairman of the Hunter Association who oversees all ranked Hunters in Korea. In the original web novel and webtoon, Go Gun-hee is an S-class Hunter himself, a calm authority figure who becomes one of the first high-level figures to recognize Sung Jin-woo’s unusual growth.
He will work directly alongside Byeon Woo-seok, who leads the series as Sung Jin-woo, the infamous E-class Hunter known as the world’s weakest who awakens during a life-threatening dungeon crisis and levels up into the strongest Hunter alive.
The casting marks an immediate follow-up to Lee Sung-min’s global Netflix breakout. The actor headlined Netflix’s True Education last June, a series that earned strong viewership both in Korea and internationally. Choosing Solo Leveling as his next Netflix project puts him at the center of two back-to-back global tentpoles.
He also has JTBC’s The Beads of God, plus the films Ode to My Father, Gulf of Aden, and Vampire lined up, with Solo Leveling now added as his marquee streaming return.
Who is Go Gun-Hee in Solo Leveling?
Go Gun-hee is pivotal to Solo Leveling’s Hunter world-building. As chairman of the Korean Hunters Association, he is the public face of Hunter regulation, dungeon gate management, and S-rank operations.
Despite his age, he remains one of the few true S-rank awakenings in Korea, with immense raw power that even younger guild masters respect. In the story, Go Gun-hee becomes a quiet mentor and protector for Sung Jin-woo, spotting his potential long before the major guilds do, and shielding him from political infighting inside the Association.
The role demands gravitas and physical presence, which is exactly why Lee Sung-min’s casting has landed so well with Korean fans overnight. He brings the elder-statesman credibility the Hunter Association chairman requires, while still selling the character’s hidden S-rank combat strength.
Solo Leveling Netflix cast stacking up
Netflix’s Solo Leveling live-action is shaping into one of the streamer’s most ambitious K-drama productions to date. Byeon Woo-seok leads as Sung Jin-woo, coming off the global success of Lovely Runner and 20th Century Girl.
Han So-hee co-leads, widely expected to play Cha Hae-in, Korea’s only female S-rank Hunter, reuniting with Netflix after My Name and Gyeongseong Creature.
The confirmed supporting lineup now includes Kang Yoo-seok as Yoo Jin-ho, Jin-woo’s loyal D-rank partner; Kang Mi-na as Sung Jin-ah, Jin-woo’s younger sister; Cha Woo-min as Baruka, the Ice Elf leader; and now Lee Sung-min as Go Gun-hee.
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The series is co-directed by Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo, and produced by Kakao Entertainment and Sanai Pictures for Netflix, with a world-class global VFX team handling the dungeon sequences.
Filming underway, 2027 release eyed
Solo Leveling tells the story of Sung Jin-woo, an E-class Hunter mocked as the weakest in all of Korea, who survives a near-fatal double dungeon and is chosen by a mysterious System that allows him alone to level up. From there, he rises quest by quest into humanity’s strongest Hunter.
The web novel by Chugong launched on KakaoPage in 2016 before becoming a record-breaking webtoon in 2018. The franchise has since surpassed 14.3 billion cumulative views worldwide, with the A-1 Pictures anime adaptation sweeping nine categories at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, including Anime of the Year.
Netflix announced the live-action in July 2025. Filming began in May 2026, with a seven-episode first season currently in production. With heavy dungeon CGI still ahead in post, industry trackers expect a late 2027 to early 2028 premiere window.
With Lee Sung Min Solo Leveling now official, Netflix has locked its most important authority figure. The addition of a Baeksang-winning veteran opposite Byeon Woo-seok and Han So-hee gives the adaptation the dramatic anchor fans were waiting for, and signals Netflix is treating Go Gun-hee’s arc with full weight in season one.
