Petition calls for 'Doctor X,' which covers 5.18, to be taken off air; production CP says "No fear"

[Financial News]  A National Assembly petition calling for the broadcast of SBS’s Friday-Saturday drama 'Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia' to be halted was filed after content related to the 5.18 Democratization Movement appeared in the series. The petitioner said it was inappropriate to include a political issue in a medical drama and called for scrutiny of the production process.
According to the National Assembly’s Electronic Petition System, the petition titled 'Petition to Halt the Broadcast of SBS Drama Doctor X,' filed on the 24th, had secured the 100 preliminary supporters required for it to be made public, as of the 25th. It is now under review for public release.
In a post written on the 24th, the petitioner took issue with a scene related to the 5.18 Democratization Movement in episode 6 of the drama. He claimed, "Episode 6 of 'Doctor X' included content related to 5.18 that had absolutely nothing to do with the plot, making many viewers frown."
The petitioner also opposed using the 5.18 Democratization Movement as material for a drama. He said, "5.18 is undeniably a 'political issue,' with political disputes continuing in some areas, including differences in perspective between the ruling and opposition parties, and with left- and right-wing views also differing to some extent," and claimed, "While no one would dispute, broadly speaking, that it is a painful part of history, it is difficult to understand the out-of-the-blue use in a drama of 5.18, which remains subject to political debate over specific details."
The petitioner called for the drama’s production team to be summoned as witnesses to the National Assembly so that the production process could be examined, and for the relevant broadcasting review bodies to examine the content as well.
The scene in question appeared in episode 6 of 'Doctor X,' which aired on the 24th. In the drama, Oh Sang-beom (played by Ha Seong-gwang) is shot in the head during the 5.18 Democratization Movement and suffers from pain and hallucinations for the rest of his life. The story of Oh Sang-beom, who also lives with the guilt of having lost his older brother as a child, explores the suffering of victims of 5.18.
Lee Ok-gyu, the chief producer (CP) at Studio S in charge of the drama’s production, posted the words "no fear (not afraid)" alongside a poster for the drama on social media (SNS) on the 24th, the day it aired. However, Lee did not separately explain what the phrase meant.


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter