[Edaily Reporter YUN GI BACK ] The SBS Friday-Saturday drama “Doctor X: The Age of the White Mafia” has been embroiled in controversy after depicting the May 18 Democratization Movement. The backlash is growing, with a petition calling for the show’s suspension appearing in the National Assembly, followed by a statement from some fans urging the production team to issue an explanation.

The controversy arose during Episode 6, which aired on the 24th. That episode depicted the story of Oh Sang-beom (played by Ha Seong-gwang), who sustained a gunshot wound to the head during the May 18 Democratization Movement in 1980. Having lost his older brother in childhood, Oh Sang-beom has long suffered from pain and guilt, with a bullet still lodged in his head. In the drama, the presence of the bullet—which could serve as evidence of helicopter gunfire—and the fictional former President Ji Du-seok expanded the narrative from a medical setting to a historical event from the past.
Following the broadcast, mixed reactions emerged online. While some praised the drama for portraying the wounds left by the democratization movement and the victims’ suffering, others criticized the somewhat abrupt manner in which historical events were incorporated during the adaptation of the Japanese original.
The controversy led to a petition to the National Assembly. According to the National Assembly’s Public Consent Petition system on the 25th, the “Petition to Suspend the Broadcast of the SBS Drama ‘Doctor X,’” registered the previous day, met the 100-signature threshold required for publication prior to release and is currently under review for publication.
The petitioner argued that historical elements with little direct relevance to the medical drama’s existing plot had been introduced. Furthermore, noting that while the Japanese original focused on a doctor’s abilities and conflicts within the medical field, the Korean version added storylines that could give rise to political interpretations, the petitioner demanded an investigation into the production process. They also called for the production team to be summoned as witnesses before the National Assembly and for a review by broadcasting regulatory agencies.
Some fans who have expressed their affection for the show also spoke out. In a statement released on the 25th, they demanded an explanation from the production team regarding the reasons for addressing the May 18 Democratization Movement and the adaptation process.
What the fans took issue with was not the historical subject matter itself, but rather the way it was integrated into the existing narrative. They pointed out that the character’s consistency had weakened as the protagonist, Gye Su-jeong (played by Kim Ji-won)—who had previously stood up to the hospital’s internal power structure through her exceptional medical skills—found herself at the center of emotional conflict surrounding the historical event in Episode 6.
In particular, they asked whether the production team had sufficiently considered the impact on survivors and bereaved families when reenacting gunshot wounds, helicopter fire, and the deaths of family members during the May 18th incident. Their point was that, given the dramatic use of actual historical events, it was necessary to explain the significance of these elements within the drama.
However, fans made it clear that they respect the production team’s freedom of expression in using historical events as material and do not assume there was any specific political intent.
Amid this, attention was also drawn to the fact that Lee Ok-kyu, the chief producer (CP) of Studio S, posted the drama’s poster along with the phrase “No fear” on her social media immediately after the broadcast. It remains unclear whether this post was a response to the controversy.
The debate surrounding “Doctor X”’s use of the May 18th incident as a theme appears to be evolving into a discussion about how to incorporate real history into a drama, creative freedom, and narrative persuasiveness. As praise for shedding light on historical wounds intersects with criticism that the show deviates from the conventional formula of medical dramas, all eyes are on what stance the production team will take.