A poster for "Doctor X: Mafia in White." [SBS]
A poster for "Doctor X: Mafia in White." [SBS]

The SBS Friday-Saturday drama series "Doctor X: Mafia in White" has been drawn into controversy after depicting the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, with protest comments flooding lead actor Kim Ji-won's social media.

Episode 6, which aired Saturday, featured a patient named Oh Sang-beom (played by Ha Seong-gwang) who was shot in the head in Gwangju in 1980 and has suffered seizures and hallucinations for 46 years. In the latter half of the episode, a fictional former president named Ji Du-seok — widely seen as evoking Chun Doo-hwan — is transferred to the same hospital, unfolding a narrative that calls the May 18 uprising to mind.

After the broadcast, Kim Ji-won's Instagram comments filled with messages asking why the May 18 movement was being brought up and criticizing her for appearing in what some called a left-leaning drama. Defenders also weighed in, questioning why people were targeting the actor's personal account.

A petition calling for the suspension of "Doctor X" was also posted on the National Assembly's public consent petition board.

The petitioner took issue with the addition of May 18-related content not found in the original source drama, demanding a review of the production process and a halt to broadcasts. The petition gathered the 100 signatures required for public listing within a single day.

Viewer reactions have been divided, however, with some offering positive assessments of the show for shedding light on the suffering of May 18 victims.

Meanwhile, Episode 6 set a new ratings record for the series, drawing 19.5 percent nationwide household viewership according to Nielsen Korea. The peak per-minute rating reached 21.3 percent.

A post by the show's chief producer shortly after the broadcast also drew attention. Lee Ok-gyu, chief producer at Studio S, which produced "Doctor X," shared the drama's poster on Saturday alongside the words "no fear."

Lee did not separately explain what the phrase meant.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com