"Prime Minister and I" Ratings Fall Slightly, "Empress Ki" Continues to Lead Monday-Tuesday Line Up

Despite the mostly positive response to Lee Bum Soo and YoonA‘s “Prime Minister and I,” it continues its third-place position for its second episode, with MBC’s “Empress Ki” continuing its domination of the airwaves. 

According to ratings agency, Nielsen Korea, ratings for the December 10 broadcast of MBC Monday-Tuesday drama “Empress Ki” Episode 14 recorded a 19.5% viewership nationwide, a slight drop of 0.7% from Monday’s Episode 13 20.2% rating.

While ratings have wavered slightly, “Empress Ki” has retained its first place ranking since its premiere. SBS and KBS’ ambitious new drama offerings have been unable to overcome the huge momentum that “Empress Ki” has picked up.

The combined viewership of “Kind Words” and “Prime Minister and I,” the two dramas sharing the same time slot as “Empress Ki,” is currently lower than that of “Empress Ki” on its own.

Tuesday’s episode of “Empress Ki” saw Ki Seung Nyang (Ha Ji Won) reuniting with Wang Yoo (Joo Jin Mo), despite Ta Hwan’s (Ji Chang Wook) declaration of love for her.

SBS’ “Kind Words” recorded a nationwide rating of 8.3% for its fourth episode, up 1.5% from the third episode’s rating of 6.8%, while KBS 2TV’s “Prime Minister and I” recorded a 5.4% rating for its second episode, slightly down from its premiere rating of 5.9%.

With “Kind Words” and “Prime Minister and I” off to a fresh start, and “Empress Ki” slated to be a 50-episode sageuk vehicle, it will be interesting to see how the viewership battle unfolds.