Renowned producer-director Kim Jae-hyeong, 72, resigned from the directorship position of SBS drama "The King and I" on Jan. 5.
Executives said Kim has been suffering from pancreatitis since last August and remains unwell after hospitalization. The codirector of "The King and I", Son Jae-seong, has been doing most of the soap opera's directing in his absence.
Kim is a director specializing in historical dramas. Having joined KBS in 1961, He directed many epic dramas including the first Korean epic drama "Gukto Malli" (Nation 4,000 Kilometers) (1964), "Tears of the Dragon" (1996) and "Women Rule" (2001).
He won the Best Producer of the Year in 1998 for "Tears of the Dragon". Due to Kim's advanced age, "The King and I" is likely to be his last directing work of Kim. He also is a chair-professor in Creative Writing at Dongguk University.
"The King and I" is Kim's 248th production and recorded an audience rating of more than 20 percent for the first few episodes. However, ratings have dropped recently to around 10 percent due to competition with MBC's "Yi San". In December, the cast and crew of the drama were involved in an assault case because the scripts came out too late.
Director Lee Jong-su, 61, will take over Kim's position from Jan. 11. Lee was head of SBS drama department and directed SBS's "Jang Hee-bin" (1995) and "Snow Flower" (2006).
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