Lee Sun-bin and Kim Myung-soo's KBS historical drama 'Maehwa, Dal' faces programming review amid production company probe

KBS is preparing to hold a programming review for Maehwa, Dal (working title) as early as July 23. Sources close to the process say the outlook is bleak.

The Joseon-era fictional historical drama stars Lee Sun-bin and Kim Myung-soo. It won selection as an outstanding work in KBS's mini-series script competition and has been with production company Ascendio for approximately four years.

"KBS's recent drama programming standards have become much more conservative than before," one KBS official said. "The larger the project, the more strictly we evaluate the actor's ticket power and programming competitiveness. Internally, there is not an optimistic view of this review."

A second official was blunter: the project has drifted without direction for several years, and if programming doesn't materialize this time, regaining momentum won't be easy.

Ascendio's legal troubles compound the problem. Special Prosecutor Min Jung-gi's team conducted search and seizure on Ascendio and related company Wellbiotech as part of an investigation into alleged stock manipulation involving Sambu Construction, with investigators continuing to confirm facts regarding related shareholders. At the 2025 National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee audit, Democratic Party member Choi Min-hee raised questions about Ascendio's verification as an outsourced production company for Maehwa, Dal. KBS President Park Jang-beom responded that he "was not briefed on this."

(The production company's legal exposure is exactly the kind of risk that would have been a footnote a few years ago.) One broadcasting official noted the shift: "In the past, the focus was on work quality and casting, but recently we also look at the production company's business stability and production execution capability."