SBS’s Thursday drama, "The Killing Vote," concluded its 15-week run without a ratings rebound until its final episode.

On November 16th, the show aired its last episode, leaving it with an open ending by resetting the national death penalty vote.

The episode recorded a nationwide viewer rating of 3.1% and 2.9% in the Seoul area. Originally planned as a Mon-Tue drama, "The Killing Vote" was temporarily suspended after the conclusion of "The Secret Romantic Guesthouse."

As a result, SBS moved the show to Thursday, airing only one episode per week, starting from August 10th.

The first episode started strong with a rating of 4.1%. However, the show experienced three consecutive delays due to the broadcast of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 KBO League playoffs, resulting in significant drops in viewership.

After two weeks of cancellations on September 28th and October 5th, episode 8 fell to the 2% range.

While the rating did increase slightly later on, it never surpassed 3% until the final episode. Thus, the rating of the first episode ultimately became the drama's highest rating record. "The Killing Vote" generated high anticipation as the comeback project of actress Lim Ji Yeon, who gained popularity through her roles in "The Glory" and "Lies Hidden in My Garden."

Additionally, with the inclusion of veteran actors like Park Hae Jin and Park Sung Woong, the drama was expected to be well-crafted. "The Killing Vote" is an intense genre drama that features characters with both good and evil qualities, brutal murders, and conveys heavy messages.

The most important mission was to create high immersion and maintain it until the end. However, the broadcasting plan of releasing only one episode per week hindered viewers from fully enjoying the show due to the long waiting time.

Despite its poor ratings performance, the drama received favorable reviews for its fresh material and the cast's passionate acting performances.

For Lim Ji Yeon, "The Killing Vote" may be seen as a regrettable project, but it demonstrated her versatility by breaking away from her villain image and portraying a righteous police officer.

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BTS’s Jungkook is showing once again why he’s called the “record-breaking king” of K-pop.

On April 24, Spotify revealed that Jungkook’s hit solo debut track “Seven” ranked 81st on the Weekly Top Songs Global chart (April 18–24).

This marks an incredible 93 weeks in a row on the chart, setting a new all-time record for any Asian solo artist. It’s another huge milestone for Jungkook—even while he’s currently serving in the military!

And “Seven” isn't done yet. The song has reached 2.3 billion streams, making Jungkook the fastest artist in Spotify history to hit 100 million, 900 million, 1 billion, and even 1.1 billion streams with a single track. He’s now both the first and the fastest Asian soloist to do this. Fans are loving the song just as much now as when it was first released!

His solo album ‘GOLDEN’ is also still riding high. It placed 59th on Spotify’s Weekly Top Albums Global chart during the same week, continuing a 77-week streak. That makes ‘GOLDEN’ the longest-charting album by an Asian solo artist in Spotify history. With over 5.5 billion total streams, the album is proving to be a nonstop hit.

Jungkook’s global power doesn’t stop at songs and albums. On Spotify’s Weekly Top Artists Global chart, he ranked 180th, marking his 100th week in a row on the list as a soloist. He’s staying strong on the charts even while away from the spotlight.

His reach goes far beyond Spotify, too. On Billboard, “Seven” has stayed on the Global 200 chart for 91 weeks, and on the Global Excl. U.S. chart for 92 weeks. His album ‘GOLDEN’ has been on Apple Music’s Worldwide Albums chart for over 500 days, and on the European Albums chart for over 400 days.

Adding it all up, Jungkook’s Spotify profile (which includes all his credited songs) has now passed 8.7 billion streams, making him the first K-pop solo artist to achieve this.

Even during his military service, Jungkook’s voice continues to comfort fans and break records. Whether it’s through the cool, emotional feel of “Seven” or the bright energy of ‘GOLDEN’, fans around the world keep listening—and the numbers prove it.

Jungkook’s history-making run is far from over. And with fans cheering him on, his star will only shine brighter.

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