'Defendant' retains top position in TV ratings; 'Hwarang' slides in popularity

"Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" nabbed the second position with viewership share of 12.3 percent

Defendant
A scene from SBS drama 'Defendant.' youtube.com/SBS Drama

In the TV rating race among the Monday-Tuesday dramas, the SBS legal series "Defendant" has gained the upperhand and is ruling at the top position. The MBC historical series "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" also received impressive ratings. Meanwhile, "Hwarang's" viewership ratings have gone down.

The legal series retained its position in the Monday-Tuesday primetime broadcast schedule. Ji Sung's drama's sixth episode received ratings of 15.3 percent and 18.3 percent, according to data from TNMS and Nielsen Korea, respectively, as cited by Soompi.

"Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" grabbed the second position with viewership share of 12.3 percent on it's forth episode which is the drama's highest TV rating till date.

However, the star-studded KBS series "Hwarang" saw a decline in TV ratings. The drama received 7.9 percent on its Episode 16 which is 0.7 percent less than that of episode 15.

In other news, the sixth episode of the legal drama reached highest ratings after a tense scene between Jung Woo (Ji) and Sung Kyu (Kim Min Suk) in which Sung Kyu stopped Jung Woo from committing suicide.

According to Nielsen Korea, as cited by South Korean news outlet Asiae, this nail bitting scene registered peak real-time ratings of 23.28 percent.

The story of "Defendant," which is also known as "Innocent Defendant," revolves around a successful prosecutor Jung Woo. His life changes after he was accused of murdering his own wife and daughter. Jung Woo was sent to prison for the crime he has no memory committing. The story is of the prosecutor-turned-prisoner who is being wrongly accused and therefore he tries to find out what really happened in order to save him from a death sentence and to clear his name.

The legal series "Defendant" airs every Monday and Tuesday on SBS.

This article was first published on February 9, 2017