'Manager Kim' Happy Ending concludes, achieving a personal best rating of 23.0%

The SBS Friday-Saturday drama ″Chief Kim″ came to an end with its final episode aired on the 25th. The drama concluded with a happy ending that combined the desperate fight and reunion of three fathers who gave up everything to protect their families, along with touching moments and laughter. The final episode recorded nationwide ratings of 23.0% and 23.4% in the metropolitan area according to Nielsen Korea, with a peak momentary rating soaring to 27.1%, setting a new personal best. ″Chief Kim″ ranked first among all channels in the same time slot for 10 consecutive episodes and achieved the highest ratings among mini-series broadcast in 2026. The 2049 demographic rating also averaged 7.4%, reaching a peak of 8.42%. In the episode, Chief Kim (played by So Ji-sub) faced the final trap set by Joo Kang-chan (played by Joo Sang-wook) together with Sung Han-soo (played by Choi Dae-hoon) and Park Jin-chul (played by Yoon Kyung-ho). Joo Kang-chan kidnapped Tae-hoon and Da-bin, the children of Sung Han-soo and Park Jin-chul, and forced the three friends to stand in the ring, cruelly demanding, ″Choose whether to kill your friend or your child.″ He then ordered the two men to defeat Chief Kim, saying, ″If 660,000 die, the children will live.″ Chief Kim threw himself into the fight, saying, ″You have to defeat me for the children to live,″ while Sung Han-soo and Park Jin-chul fought with clenched fists filled with rage. However, this was part of Chief Kim’s prepared counterattack strategy. The two attacked the iron bars to bring them down, then joined forces with Chief Kim to overpower Joo Kang-chan and his gang. Following this, the corruption and illicit deals of Joo Hak Construction were exposed, leading to the downfall of those involved. Lee Eung-ryeong (played by Lee Jae-yong) was stripped of all information and repatriated to North Korea by Kang Seong (played by Kim Sung-kyu), and Joo Kang-chan also paid the price for his crimes at the hands of Geum Ippal (played by Jo Bok-rae). After completing all his missions, Chief Kim faked his death and returned to his daughter Min-ji. The father and daughter reunited at the columbarium, holding back tears as Chief Kim said, ″I won’t leave again,″ and Min-ji broke down in tears in his arms. They promised to live again under new names and identities. Sung Han-soo and Park Jin-chul helped the Kim father and daughter move and shared a meal together, continuing their unwavering friendship. In the final scene, Chief Kim was shown visiting Lee Do-gyu to interview for a new job at the company ’BaekhoManpower.’ As the three walked together, Min-ji’s narration played: ″All fathers in the world are probably ordinary people. They work for their families, fear their wives, and sometimes have smelly feet when they come home from work,″ followed by, ″It’s hard to believe, but my dad is just an ordinary middle-aged man. Of course, as long as he doesn’t mess with me.″ Meanwhile, ″Chief Kim″ started last month on the 26th with a 9.5% rating and continued its success by surpassing 20% with 21.6% by the fourth episode. The highest rating was recorded in episode 8, aired on the 18th, with 23.1%. The follow-up drama ″Chaebol X Detective 2″ is scheduled to air on August 7th at 9:50 PM.