Cha Tae Hyun playfully teased Yoo Yeon Seok about his chances at the year-end SBS Drama Awards, even after praising the success of his drama Phantom Lawyer.
On the August 25 episode of SBS variety show Whenever Possible, Cha Tae Hyun appeared alongside Jin Ki Joo and joined Yoo Jae Suk and Yoo Yeon Seok for a lighthearted conversation.
When the topic of awards came up, Cha Tae Hyun first praised Yoo Yeon Seok’s performance in Phantom Lawyer.
He said, “Our Yeon Seok did ‘Phantom Lawyer’ this year. He did really well, and I really enjoyed watching it.”
However, he quickly turned the compliment into a joke, saying, “But because of ‘Manager Kim,’ you can’t win this year.”
Yoo Yeon Seok immediately responded that he was not expecting the grand prize in the first place.
“I wasn’t even thinking about the Daesang,” he said.
Yoo Jae Suk then pointed out that Phantom Lawyer had performed well. Yoo Yeon Seok revealed that he had already received recognition through an internal SBS awards event.
That gave Cha Tae Hyun another opportunity to tease him.
“Doesn’t that mean they’re telling you not to come to the year-end SBS awards? Maybe they gave you the first-half Daesang because it would be difficult to nominate you later,” he joked.
The exchange remained light and playful, with the cast continuing to joke about awards and acting.
Despite Cha Tae Hyun’s teasing, Phantom Lawyer recorded a personal best nationwide rating of 10%, highlighting the drama’s strong performance during its run.
The comments were made in a casual variety-show setting and were presented as friendly jokes rather than a serious prediction about the SBS Drama Awards.
