So Ji-sub Tops Industry Poll After ‘manager Kim’

The actor received 30 votes in JoyNews24’s survey, following a performance that paired a father’s desperation with demanding action.

So Ji-sub’s performance as a father forced back into a dangerous former life has earned him the leading position in JoyNews24’s annual industry poll, with the actor receiving 30 votes for best drama actor of the year following SBS’s “Manager Kim,” also known as “Agent Kim Reactivated.”

According to the publication’s November 5 results, Lee Jun-young placed second with 17 votes, while Kim Go-eun and Kim Ji-won tied for third with eight each. The ranking follows a summer run in which “Manager Kim” combined action spectacle with a rescue story built around a missing daughter, and So’s explanation of that balance offers a more revealing perspective on the performance than the vote totals alone.

So Ji-sub poses at the production presentation for SBS’s “Manager Kim” in Seoul on June 25, 2026. / Kwon Hyun-jin, News1

What the Industry Vote Shows

JoyNews24 conducted its anniversary survey from October 15 to 21 among 142 entertainment-industry professionals, including agency and broadcaster employees, film and television producers, and entertainment reporters. It is therefore an industry survey with a defined professional participant group, rather than a nationwide public vote or the result of an awards jury.

The published figures give So a 13-vote advantage over Lee. His total was approximately 1.76 times the runner-up’s, our calculation using the reported 30 and 17 votes, making “nearly twice” more accurate than saying he received double the support.

That distinction does not diminish his first-place finish, but it does keep the size and nature of the result clear. The poll establishes that he received the most votes in this group; it cannot establish what every viewer thought or identify one universal reason for the choice.

An Ordinary Father With an Extraordinary Past

Adapted from the webtoon of the same name, “Manager Kim” follows a single father whose daughter Min-ji disappears after becoming involved in a school-violence incident. His outwardly ordinary working life conceals a past as a highly trained operative, setting up the contrast between the parent he wants to be and the dangerous skills he must use.

At the drama’s June production presentation, reported by News1, So explained that both the action and the father’s story influenced his decision to accept the role. That early explanation matters because it places the emotional premise at the beginning of his involvement, rather than treating it as a theme attached after the drama became successful.

In his later written interview, he again emphasized the father’s responsibility and desperation. According to JoyNews24’s interview, he wanted the character’s everyday scenes and action sequences to feel markedly different, while keeping the desire to protect his daughter visible throughout the transformation.

Why the Contrast Matters

Our reading of those remarks is that the performance depends on continuity beneath a dramatic change in behavior. The office worker and the formidable former operative have to remain recognizable as the same person, with the rescue providing a reason for the shift rather than simply an opportunity to display combat skills.

That gives the premise two kinds of tension: whether he can overcome the immediate danger, and what protecting his daughter demands of him. The contrast between vulnerability and capability helps explain the character’s appeal as a dramatic construction, although the poll does not prove that respondents selected him for this particular reason.

The wider discussion also connects with the appetite for protagonists who confront powerful opponents, a theme reflected in our coverage of Kim Ji-won’s “Doctor X”. So’s character gives that recognizable structure a family-centered motivation.

Choi Dae-hoon, So Ji-sub, Son Na-eun, Yoon Kyung-ho and Joo Sang-wook, from left, pose at the “Manager Kim” production presentation on June 25, 2026. / Kwon Hyun-jin, News1

The Ratings Behind the Recognition

The audience figures provide a separate measure of the drama’s reception. SBS reported that episode eight recorded a 23.1 percent nationwide household rating, citing Nielsen Korea, while Yonhap reported a 23.0 percent nationwide rating for the finale.

The peak and finale are therefore different figures, and neither is interchangeable with the industry poll. Our earlier coverage followed the drama’s opening momentum; the November survey now adds a later assessment from entertainment professionals after the broadcast run had finished.

In the JoyNews24 interview, So expressed gratitude for the response and discussed the possibility of returning, while stressing that nothing had been decided about a second season. For now, the confirmed development is the poll result, with any continuation remaining a possibility rather than an announced production.

Editor’s Note: The ranking comes from JoyNews24’s survey of entertainment professionals. Television ratings cited here refer to nationwide household ratings, not the percentage of all Koreans who watched.