Kim Ji-won Trades ‘Queen of Tears’ for Medical Noir in New SBS Drama 'Doctor X: Mafia in White'

Kim Ji-won is back on Korean television for the first time in two years. The star of "Queen of Tears," which hit a peak rating of 24.9 percent, has chosen a medical noir as her return project. SBS will premiere the Friday-Saturday drama "Doctor X: Mafia in White" on Friday at 9:50 p.m. KST.

The network held a press conference for the show on Tuesday at SBS Hall in the Mok-dong area of Seoul. Lead actors Kim Ji-won, Lee Jung-eun, Son Hyun-joo and Kim Woo Seok attended with director Lee Junglim. SBS is heading into the second half of 2026 on the strength of its first-half hit "Agent Kim Reactivated," and is positioning "Doctor X: Mafia in White" as its next big swing.

The series follows Gye Soo-jung, a surgeon with genius-level skills who takes on the corruption inside Guseo University Hospital. It is a Korean remake of the Japanese TV Asahi series "Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia," which ran for seven seasons and became a mega-hit in Japan. The Korean version is being pitched as a satisfying medical noir with sharp payoffs.

Kim plays Gye Soo-jung, a genius surgeon dispatched to Guseo University Hospital through a doctor staffing agency. "She's a doctor who gets sent in from a medical staffing agency, and she stirs up the hospital with her own kind of energy," Kim said.

The project drew extra attention as her first role in two years. "I'm excited, but it's been a while, so my hands are actually shaking right now," she said. "During the break, I kept thinking about what I could show next. Then this script came to me. I love the director's previous work, and I thought I could learn a lot from these senior actors, so I really wanted to do it."

It is also her first time playing a doctor. "Every project feels like a new challenge," she said. "I thought a lot about what I could bring to a medical drama, and I learned the technical parts, like the surgery scenes, from real doctors. The crew prepared so much for the details on set that filming was easier than I expected."

Kim said she turned the pressure of carrying the show into drive. "I read the script wondering when I would get to do a project like this again," she said. "Rather than compare it to other medical dramas, I wanted to leave something behind as an actor. There was pressure, but that pushed me to want more from it."

Lee Jung-eun plays Jang Hee-sook, the head of the doctor staffing agency. "She helps skilled doctors use their abilities, and she makes money in the process," Lee said.

She pointed to the show's turning-point moments as its biggest draw. "If I were a viewer, I'd really enjoy the moments when the hero shows up and the whole situation flips," she said.

The dynamic between the two female leads is another selling point. "I'd been looking for a chance to work with Kim Ji-won," Lee said. "The directors and writers I'd worked with before had nothing but good things to say about her." Kim returned the compliment. "Just watching Lee Jung-eun on set made me happy," she said. "I learned so much from her as an actor. It was a set where I got both joy and growth."

Son Hyun-joo plays Boo Seung-kwon, a branch director trying to rebuild a collapsing Guseo University Hospital. "He's constantly thinking about how to balance old and new, and how the hospital can move forward," Son said. "After Gye Soo-jung shows up, he starts asking himself what kind of person the hospital actually needs."

It has been decades since he last wore a white coat on screen. "I played a doctor as a total rookie, and I still remember the lines," he said. "Decades later, I'm playing a hospital director. It feels different in a new way."

Kim Woo Seok plays Park Tae-kyung, a surgical intern whose life and values at the hospital shift after meeting Gye Soo-jung. "I'd watched these senior actors on screen and always wondered when I'd get to work with them," he said. "Being in the same project with them now feels incredible."

Director Lee Junglim said what sets the show apart is the mix of medical drama and noir. "At its core, 'Doctor X' is a medical drama," he said. "We added our own noir language to the elements of power, human drama and a genius doctor."

He also addressed concerns from fans of the Japanese original. "The original ran for seven seasons and is a great show, so I understand both the excitement and the worry from fans," he said. "We respected the basic structure and setup of the original, but reinterpreted it to fit a Korean sensibility."

Asked about ratings goals for the first week, Lee Junglim went bold. "I'll take my birthday and say 9.21 percent," he said. Son laughed it off. "That's way too high," he said. "Even 0.01 percent would mean a lot."

"Doctor X: Mafia in White" premieres Friday at 9:50 p.m. KST on SBS.