SBS 연기대상 유력 후보는 역시 이제훈? '모범택시3' 인기 고공행진…시청률·화제성 모두 1위
With attention focused on the direction of the '2025 SBS Drama Awards' grand prize trophy, the most likely candidate being mentioned is actor Lee Je-hoon. At the center of this is the explosive popularity and achievements of SBS's Friday-Saturday drama "Taxi Driver 3."
The '2025 SBS Drama Awards,' which will air at 9 p.m. on the 31st, is expected to be a showdown of acting greats across genres, and Ko Hyun-jung, Han Jimin, Yoon Kye Sang, Lee Je-hoon and Park Hyungsik were named as grand prize nominees. Among nominees who captivated viewers in various genres such as thriller, melodrama and sports and revenge dramas, Lee Je-hoon's momentum stands out above all.
Lee Je-hoon plays taxi driver Kim Do-gi in "Taxi Driver 3," acting as a "dark hero of justice" who completes satisfying revenge on behalf of wronged victims. Leading the series from season 1 through season 3, he has proven his unrivaled presence with increasingly powerful charisma and immersive performances each season.
Popularity has been proven by numbers as well. According to a Korea Gallup survey of 1,001 people nationwide aged 18 and older conducted on the 16th through the 18th, "Taxi Driver 3" ranked No. 1 in "the program people watch most these days" with a preference of 4.5%. It followed season 1's (2021) No. 1 in the drama category and season 2's (2023) overall No. 1, reaching the top in season 3 as well and continuing the success legend of a seasonal drama.
Ratings are also soaring. Episode 12, which aired on the 27th, recorded a peak of 19.1%, 15.2% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 14% nationwide by Nielsen Korea, setting another personal best. In particular, the 20-49 ratings peaked at 5.57% with an average of 4.9%, ranking No. 1 among all programs aired in the second half of the year and proving overwhelming topicality.
In that broadcast, the curtain rose on an all-out war in which Do-gi and the "Rainbow dark heroes" confront a villain who commercialized fraud in used goods transactions, raising viewers' immersion. Each episode's real-life motivated incidents and the appearance of intense villains also add to the program's topicality.
In this way, "Taxi Driver 3" has secured both artistic merit and popularity and established itself as one of SBS's representative hit works. Expectations are rising over whether Lee Je-hoon, at the center of it, can seize his second SBS Drama Awards grand prize as the "god of justice."
Competition, of course, is fierce. Ko Hyun-jung proved her presence as the "god of thriller" with a suffocating serial killer performance in "The Mantis: Original Sin," Han Jimin showed the essence of adult melodrama in "Love Scout," Yoon Kye Sang alternated comedy and emotion as an eccentric director in "Try," and Park Hyungsik left a strong impression with an ambitious revenge drama in "Buried Hearts."
Nevertheless, the power of "Taxi Driver 3," a work that swept ratings, topicality and public preference and wrote the seasonal drama success legend, makes Lee Je-hoon emerge as the most likely grand prize candidate, industry evaluations say.
Whether Lee Je-hoon, the "god of justice," can once again be the star of the SBS Drama Awards will be revealed live at 9 p.m. on the 31st.
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