Actor Lee Byung-hun’s scandal is playing havoc with the release schedule of his movies, industry officials said.

According to industry reports, the scandal coupled with the scheduled release of the latest Terminator movie -- in which he plays an evil terminator -- is fueling the dilemma for local distributors over the timing of his Korean movies.

(Paramount Pictures)

Lotte Entertainment is set to distribute “Terminator Genisys,” but the timing of the Hollywood movie will push back the release of “Memories of the Sword,” a local film the company has invested in.

Although the company had planned to release the movie by end-2014, it was postponed following Lee’s scandal.

Last year, Lee was involved in a blackmail case in which a model and a member of a Korean girl group demanded a large sum in return for a video showing him in an inappropriate situation with one of them.

In addition to Lotte Entertainment, Showbox is said to be contemplating the right time to release another film with Lee in the lead.

In the film, “The Insiders,” Lee plays a lackey of corrupt politicians who then turns on them.

With the Terminator film scheduled for a summer release, Showbox is said to be weighing whether to release “The Insiders” before or after the Hollywood film.

According to the local film industry, releasing it before the new Terminator film will leave “The Insiders” open to the aftereffects of Lee’s scandal, while releasing it after the U.S. film would result in the film overlapping with “The Memories of the Sword.”

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)