Good Manager

Good Manager is a South Korean television drama starring Namkoong Min, Nam Sang-mi, Lee Jun-ho, and Jung Hye-sung. It aired on KBS2 from January 25 to March 30, 2017 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (KST) for 20 episodes.

Synopsis
Kim Sung-ryong, a certified public accountant who becomes a middle manager at TQ Group company in order to embezzle a large sum of money, ends up fighting for his employees' fundamental rights.

Main

 * Namkoong Min as Kim Sung-ryong (Jiro Kim)
 * Kim Sung-ryong used to be a small-time accountant from Gunsan, a small city in North Jeolla Province, working for a mobster. He was investigated every year for accounting fraud and tax evasion but was proven innocent every time. Then, he got accepted to TQ as the chief of their accounting department.


 * Nam Sang-mi as Yoon Ha-Kyung (Hannah Yoon)
 * A strong and ethical woman. She is the assistant manager of TQ's accounting department.


 * Lee Jun-ho as Seo Yul
 * Seo Yul used to be an ace prosecutor until the chairman of the TQ group appointed him to be the Director for Finance.


 * Jung Hye-sung as Hong Ga-eun (Gail Hong)
 * A police officer working undercover as an intern of the Finance department, who was hired as a spy by a prosecutor.

TQ Group Business Operation Department

 * Kim Won-hae as Choo Nam-ho
 * Kim Kang-hyun as Lee Jae-joon
 * Jo Hyun-sik as Won Ki-ok
 * Ryu Hye-rin as Bing Hee-jin
 * Seo Ye-hwa as Je-ri
 * Kim Seon-ho as Sun Sang-tae

People at TQ Group

 * Park Yeong-gyu as Park Hyun-do (Dino Park)
 * Lee Il-hwa as Jang Yoo-sun
 * Seo Jeong-yeon as Jo Min-young
 * Jung Suk-yong as Ko Man-geun
 * Kim Min-sang as Lee Kang-shik
 * Hwang Young-hee as Uhm Keum-shim
 * Kim Jae-hwa as Na Hee-yong
 * Dong Ha as Park Myung-suk (Mario Park)

People at Seoul Central District Prosecutors

 * Jung Moon-sung as Han Dong-hoon
 * Nam Sung-joon as Lee Suk-soo

People at Gunsan

 * Lim Hwa-young as Oh Kwang-suk

Extended

 * Lee Sung-wook
 * Park Kwang-jae
 * Jeon Ye-seo
 * Nam Sang-baek
 * Choi Kyu-shik
 * Choi Jae-sub
 * Eom Ji-man
 * Jo Jae-won
 * Heo Sun-haeng
 * Lee Yoon-sang

Special appearances

 * Kim Eung-soo as Bae Deok-po
 * Lee Sang-hoon
 * Song Yeong-gil
 * Jung Kyung-ho as man blackmailing Kim Sung-ryong
 * Lee Si-eon as Prosecutor Park Yong-tae (Ep. 20)

Production

 * First script reading took place on December 15, 2016 at KBS Annex Broadcasting Station in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea.

Reception
Despite competing against big-budget drama Saimdang, Light's Diary in the same time slot and having no big-name stars, the drama managed to top ratings during its run and enjoyed explosive popularity. It received positive reviews for its punchy and satirical lines on the corrupt corporate owners and the society, which resonated with the viewers; and the multifaceted performance of lead actor Namkoong Min, whose perfect amalgamation of character creation and acting saves “Good Manager” from what could have been an average office crime comedy. Korea Times said that the drama "has the ability to tell uncomfortable stories (story of embezzlement cases, mass layoffs and other societal issues regarding fierce competition) in a witty way".

Ratings
In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Adaptation
It was announced on March 24, 2017 that KBS Media will publish a book titled "Chief Kim's Work Book" set to be released in April related to the drama that will contain great tips for work life. The book will feature the drama's best scenes, best lines, and all of the illustrated episode endings. The illustrations will be drawn by webtoon artist Yang Kyung-soo, who partnered with the drama to create the ending scenes for each episode. This project is the first collaboration between a drama and a webtoon.