Breakout K-drama ‘Doctor X’ faces calls to halt broadcast over Gwangju episode

The medical series comes under fire for incorporating the May 18 pro-democracy movement into its sixth episode

A petition demanding that the breakout K-drama “Doctor X: Mafia in White” be taken off the air has been filed with the National Assembly following criticism of the show's portrayal of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising.

Filed on the National Assembly’s website, the petition calls for a review of the drama’s production process and a suspension of its broadcast over concerns about its portrayal of a politically sensitive chapter in South Korean history.

The controversy centers on the series’ sixth episode, which aired Saturday. In it, the drama’s protagonist attempts to remove a bullet that has remained lodged in a patient’s brain for 46 years. The patient sustained the injury after being shot by gunfire during the violent suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Gwangju in May 1980.

The petitioner argued that incorporating the May 18 events into a fictional medical drama unrelated to politics could make viewers uncomfortable, criticizing the production for introducing politically sensitive material into the storyline.

The 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising was a pro-democracy movement that took place from May 18 to 27 in opposition to Chun Doo-hwan’s military rule. It ended when troops and tanks entered Gwangju on May 27 and violently crushed the resistance.

As criticism of the episode mounted, the drama’s chief producer, Lee Ok-gyu, posted the series’ poster on social media Saturday, accompanied by the words “no fear.” He offered no further explanation.

“Doctor X: Mafia in White” stars Kim Ji-won as Gye Soo-jung, a brilliant but unconventional surgeon who challenges corruption and entrenched power structures within hospital administration.

The series is a Korean adaptation of the popular Japanese medical drama franchise “Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon,” which ran for seven seasons and helped establish lead actor Ryoko Yonekura as a household name.

For Kim, the series marks her return to television two years after the global success of “Queen of Tears,” the hit romance drama in which she starred opposite Kim Soo-hyun.

“Doctor X: Mafia in White” made a strong ratings debut on SBS, with its first two episodes securing nationwide ratings of 11.4 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively. The episodes posted the highest miniseries premiere ratings in Korea for 2026, and the series reached a record-high peak rating of 21.3 percent with its sixth episode.