Manager Kim, which has become a hot topic after rising to sixth place in SBS Friday-Saturday drama ratings history after only three broadcasts, has hit a reef.
SBS's new Friday-Saturday drama Manager Kim (writer Nam Dae-joong, directors Lee Seung-young and Lee So-eun, planned by Studio S, produced by Studio S, Fantagio) is a father universe revenge action drama about the "most ordinary" father who becomes the "most dangerous" man to get back his only daughter.
The third episode, which aired on the 3rd, recorded a 19.6% average in the Seoul metropolitan area, an 18.8% nationwide average and a peak momentary rating of 23% according to Nielsen Korea, breaking its own record once again. After only three broadcasts, it achieved the feat of ranking sixth in SBS Friday-Saturday drama ratings history for both metropolitan area and nationwide ratings. This was achieved following The Penthouse (30.6%), The Fiery Priest (24.7%), Taxi Driver 2 (21.8%), The Penthouse 3 (21.0%) and Stove League (20.8%), and in just three episodes it continued an overwhelming box office run that put it shoulder to shoulder with SBS's representative hits.
Manager Kim, which was on the verge of surpassing 20% in just three episodes, has continued an unmatched run, sweeping 2026's top mini-series ratings across all channels, the top spot in its timeslot and the top spot among all channels and genres for the week, while recording steep increases by setting a new personal best rating each episode, but it has encountered the unexpected reef of "Ilbe allegations."
The reef Manager Kim encountered is not related to the cast or the content of the work but to webtoon writer Park Tae-joon's "Ilbe allegations." Amid Ilbe surfacing as a social issue recently due to controversies such as Starbucks's mockery of the May 18 Gwangju democratization movement and Baejaego's mockery cheer for May 18, content for which Park Tae-joon was previously suspected has been resurrected.
Writer Park Tae-joon was accused of using Ilbe-style expressions that caricatured the late President Roh Moo-hyun by showing the "Rock owl" sign and "5 minutes 23 seconds" in episode 533 "Busan 03" of the ongoing webtoon "Lookism." In response, Park Tae-joon denied it, saying, "No matter how uneducated and deficient a person I am, I am neither great enough nor brave enough to do such a thing with the photo of the deceased." However, he was again embroiled in allegations that he used expressions from far-right communities that are used to mock former President Moon Jae-in.
Meanwhile, problems arose as Park Tae-joon's webtoon was reported to be the original work for Manager Kim. However, Park Tae-joon is not the original author of Manager Kim. It is one of the series known as the "Park Tae-joon universe," and while it is true that the work belongs to Park Tae-joon's comic company The Grem Entertainment, the story was handled by writers Toy and Man's Story, and the artwork was drawn by artist Jung Jong-taek. Park Tae-joon was only credited as the production supervisor of the webtoon, but misinformation that Park Tae-joon is the original author of Manager Kim has spread.
Manager Kim, which had been doing well, faced a crisis that could halt its momentum as Park Tae-joon's "Ilbe allegations" were resurrected. Attention will focus on whether these misunderstandings can be cleared up and whether it can continue to set new peak ratings and sustain its box office run.
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