UPD 11.09.2026: Choi Yun Ji has stepped down from the upcoming drama Iseop's Romance.

Lee Jong Suk has pulled out of a romantic drama just two months after his split from IU. He abruptly announced his departure from the series «Iseop's Romance» (이섭의 연애), in which he was set to star opposite Choi Yun Ji. The project is paired with another drama from the same universe, «A Casual Lie» (태연한 거짓말, A Calm Lie), featuring Lee Joon Hyuk in the lead. Lee Jong Suk was also expected to appear in that project.

Read more: Lee Jong Suk and Lee Joon Hyuk to Star in Two Dramas from the Same Universe

What prompted the star to make this choice remains unclear. His agency has cited scheduling conflicts as the official reason.

His romance with IU lasted four years, and their friendship goes back even longer. The couple officially break up two months ago. It was widely assumed that Lee Jong Suk would now throw himself fully into his career and make a screen comeback, but this move has come as a surprise.

Lee Jong Suk has now officially turned down the lead in the chaebol rom-com «Iseop's Romance», a project he had been involved with from the earliest stages of development. The drama would have marked his first return to traditional romantic fare since the 2019 series «Romance is a Bonus Book».

For now, however, the star appears to have little interest in chaebol-style passion, even though the dramas are being positioned as blockbusters and would most likely have performed well both domestically and internationally.

This November, Lee Jong Suk has a major project lined up with «The Remarried Empress», a fantasy series centred on kings and princes. A 2027 drama, «Paradise», co-starring Park Ji Hyun, is also in the works, with the actor set to play an investigative journalist. Nothing is known about any other projects the star may have.

Sources: 1, 2