'Agent Kim Reactivated' Premiere Hits 9.5% as So Ji-sub Returns to SBS

SBS's new Friday-Saturday drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" pulled the highest premiere rating of any mini-series to air in 2026. The opening episode landed on a Friday night and set the early benchmark for the spring drama race.

The first episode of "Agent Kim Reactivated" aired Friday and drew a 9.5% national rating, 9.8% in the Seoul metropolitan area, and a peak moment of 11.3%. Among viewers aged 20 to 49, the show averaged 3.9% and peaked at 4.93%, ranking first across all programs that aired during the week.

The premiere introduced Kim Bujang (So Ji-sub), an accounting team manager at Sangsaeng Savings Bank raising his only daughter Kim Min-ji (Seo Soo-min) on his own. He lives as an ordinary father until a school bullying case involving his daughter forces him to reveal a past he has kept hidden.

Early in the episode, Kim is attacked without reason by a group of thugs on his way home late at night. He bows his head and says, "I'll apologize. I'm sorry," holding his temper to the end. The next morning, he carries on as if nothing happened, making breakfast for Min-ji and ironing her school uniform. With help from Jung Sang-ah (Son Naeun), he prepares a birthday gift for his daughter, showing a tender side as a father.

At school, Min-ji is being bullied by Joo Hye-ri (Yoo Jiahn) and her group. After hearing insults like "the smell of a single dad's house" and "the smell of a girl with no mother," she finally snaps and gets into a physical fight with Hye-ri. Called in to the school, Kim kneels and apologizes in front of Joohak Construction chairman Joo Kang-chan (Joo Sang-wook). Min-ji breaks down in tears and asks, "Why aren't you on my side?" She then leaves the house, saying, "I hate my birthday. It's the day Mom died."

Kim's longtime friends Sung Han-su (Choi Dae-hoon) and Park Jin-cheol (Yoon Kyung-ho) make a strong first impression. Sung runs a taekwondo gym, and Park volunteers with a Marine Corps veterans' association. Both show up once a year to mark Kim's military discharge anniversary, a steady ritual of friendship.

Over drinks, they push back on him. "How long are you going to live your life only looking at your daughter?" they ask, half teasing, half worried. The mood turns when local punks mock a T-shirt printed with Min-ji's face. Park loses control and goes at them. Sung tries to hold him back with his whole body, and the scuffle ends with police arriving on the scene. The sequence mixes the easy banter of real dads with loyalty and a clean burst of action.

When Min-ji doesn't come home that night, Kim heads to her school. He learns from Nam-hoon (Kael) that someone lured Min-ji to the school's back gate. On an empty lot near a demolition site, Kim finds bloodstains and a luxury hair tie belonging to Joo Hye-ri. He confronts Hye-ri and Sung Min-ho (Hwang Seong-bin). When Min-ho tears off his shirt, his body is covered with gunshot and stab wounds. The scene then reveals Kim's hidden past: a legendary special operations agent with the code name 66 and 17 confirmed missions sent into the North.

In the closing scene, Kim removes his glasses, takes down Min-ho in an instant, and asks, "Where's our Min-ji?" The episode ends on a full awakening.

The premiere also marks a notable return for So Ji-sub. He is back on SBS for the first time in 13 years, since "Master's Sun," which peaked at 21.8%. Attention now turns to whether "Agent Kim Reactivated" can write a new chapter in SBS ratings history.