Lovelyz's Jeong Ye-in Linked to Severe Trauma Center Season 2 Role After Ha Young's Exit

Netflix says no casting decision has been made for the role left open in Severe Trauma Center Season 2, even as reports circulate naming Lovelyz member and actress Jeong Ye-in as the likely replacement. The vacancy itself is the context worth understanding: the role did not come free through ordinary scheduling but through a public controversy that ended Ha Young's involvement in the series entirely.

What happened with Ha Young

Ha Young played Cheon Jang-mi, a nurse who became one of the more prominent supporting figures in Severe Trauma Center Season 1, which landed on Netflix in January of last year and drew a substantial global audience. Her expected return for Season 2 was disrupted when it emerged that her great-grandfather was An Sang-ho, a physician who joined a pro-Japanese organization during the colonial period. The backlash among viewers was significant, and by September 1st Ha Young had announced her voluntary withdrawal from the sequel. Netflix confirmed the decision at the time, stating that it would respect the actress's position and that she would not appear in any future installments.

The production is now working to recast the role with filming targeted to begin in October, which leaves a narrow window.

Where Jeong Ye-in fits

Reports on September 23rd indicated that Jeong Ye-in had completed an audition with the production team and was in line to take on the Cheon Jang-mi role for Seasons 2 and 3. Both Netflix and Jeong's agency, Sublime, moved quickly to push back. Netflix said casting is currently under discussion and nothing has been finalized. Sublime was even more definitive, stating that no discussions have taken place.

The gap between those two statements is worth noting. Netflix's language leaves the door open; Sublime's does not. Whether that reflects a genuine disconnect or a routine precaution ahead of a formal announcement is unclear from what either side has said.

Jeong Ye-in debuted as a member of Lovelyz in 2014 and began her acting career in 2017 with a supporting role in tvN's Criminal Minds, where she played a younger version of Moon Chae-won's character. She has since appeared across a range of projects and is currently part of the cast of Tving's original baseball romance variety program Enemies in the Outfield, where she joined as the youngest member of the show's commentary team.

Severe Trauma Center stars Ju Ji-hoon and Chu Young-woo in a medical drama centered on a gifted trauma surgeon working to rebuild a neglected emergency unit. The series was among Netflix Korea's stronger performers last year, and the pressure to begin Season 2 production on schedule makes the casting timeline for Cheon Jang-mi more consequential than it might otherwise be.