MBC’s Friday Saturday drama “Perfect Crown”, starring IU and Byeon Woo Seok, is facing a major legal review after a public petition demanding action against the drama reached 50,000 signatures.
According to reports, the National Assembly public petition related to the drama’s alleged historical distortion controversy met the required number of signatures just four days after it was registered. Under National Assembly rules, the petition will now be sent to the related committee for review.
The petition, titled “Petition Requesting the Suspension of Broadcast and the Removal of Content From Media Platforms Due to Historical Distortion and Northeast Project Controversy,” asks for “Perfect Crown” to be removed from VOD and OTT platforms.
The petitioner claimed that although the drama is set in a fictional version of South Korea, it uses “Chinese style clothing, etiquette, and vocabulary” in a careless way. The petitioner argued that this amounts to cultural and historical distortion.
The petition also claimed the drama “seriously violates public sentiment” and spreads a distorted image of South Korea’s cultural identity to global viewers.
The petitioner further asked for more than simple edits, calling for the drama’s removal from online platforms and stronger rules to prevent similar media controversies in the future.
Since the petition reached 50,000 signatures, the issue will now be reviewed by the National Assembly’s related committee. Depending on the review result, it may be brought to a plenary session or sent to the government for further action.
The situation is being compared to the 2021 drama “Joseon Exorcist”, which was pulled after only two episodes due to a similar historical distortion controversy. At the time, advertisers withdrew support, and SBS eventually canceled the broadcast and ended its broadcasting rights contract.
The controversy has also reached the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The ministry has reportedly started reviewing a complaint about the production funding support “Perfect Crown” received from the Korea Creative Content Agency.
“Perfect Crown” was selected under the Korea Creative Content Agency’s 2025 OTT content production support program. The agency is expected to evaluate the project in May, and if the drama is found not to meet the requirements, the support funds may be recovered.
[1]
