So Ji Sub Returns to SBS After 13 Years

Actor So Ji-sub has returned to SBS with the Friday-Saturday drama "Chief Kim," his first SBS drama in 13 years since "The Master's Sun." The show recorded a high viewership rating of 9.5% from its very first episode. This marks the highest premiere viewership rating among all miniseries aired in 2026. The drama achieved a metropolitan area rating of 9.8% and a peak moment rating of 11.3%, securing the number one spot in its time slot and for weekly miniseries. Its 2049 viewership rating also averaged 3.9% and peaked at 4.93%, ranking first among all Friday programs and weekly broadcast programs, demonstrating success in both viewership and buzz.

The drama "Chief Kim" tells the story of Kim Bu-jang (played by So Ji-sub), an ordinary accounting team manager at a savings bank, who reveals his hidden past following the disappearance of his daughter, Kim Min-ji (played by Seo Soo-min). The tension escalates when, after enduring the humiliation of kneeling before the perpetrators who bullied his daughter, he finds that his daughter has also vanished. Particularly at the end of the episode, as Kim Bu-jang was tracking his daughter's whereabouts, his shirt was torn during a physical altercation, revealing a body covered in gunshot and stab wounds. The dramatic ending was completed with the revelation that he was "Codename 66," a legendary special agent with 17 North Korean infiltration missions.

From the first episode, So Ji-sub showcased a wide acting spectrum, freely transitioning between the role of a weak father in front of his daughter and a legendary special agent who awakens instantly when his daughter disappears. Marking a successful return to SBS after 13 years with his deepened acting skills and powerful action, anticipation is high whether his "Dad Universe," developed with Yoon Kyung-ho and Choi Dae-hoon, will become another hit following his previous work "A Wonderful New World."

"Chief Kim" is a "Dad Universe" revenge action drama about the world's most ordinary dad becoming the world's most dangerous man to find his only daughter, based on a webtoon of the same name. Nam Dae-joong, who directed films like "30 Days," wrote the script, and Lee Seung-young and Lee So-eun, directors of the drama "Voice 2," co-directed the series. So Ji-sub plays Kim Bu-jang, a father who raises his daughter alone while hiding his identity, delivering a powerful performance and intense action that oscillates between a normal family man and a character with a hidden past, raising expectations for future developments.

This is not So Ji-sub's first return to SBS. His debut was also in the 1997 SBS drama "Model," and he has since maintained a connection with SBS through numerous works such as "Secret Tears," "Glass Slipper," "Thousand Years of Love," "What Happened in Bali," "Ghost," and "The Master's Sun." Notably, "The Master's Sun" was highly acclaimed, recording a peak viewership rating of 21.8% in 2013. In the current drama "Chief Kim," he plays Manager Kim, an accounting team manager at a small and medium-sized savings bank and a former top-secret agent, showcasing various acting variations from the appearance of an ordinary father to unleashing his hidden charisma.