The Drug King

The Drug King is a South Korean crime drama set in Busan during the 1970s. Lee Doo-sam begins as a small-time smuggler dealing in luxury goods. After getting involved with a drug gang and helping move methamphetamine, he is drawn into the criminal underworld. Ambitious and quick-thinking, he builds a drug operation that produces and exports methamphetamine, and he comes to present himself as a respectable community figure while running his illegal business. A prosecutor, Kim In-goo, pursues him, and a lobbyist with useful connections, Kim Jeong-ah, joins his venture. The film is based on a true story.

Woo Min-ho directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Lee Ji-min. It is the second of the four features he has directed, following Inside Men and preceding The Man Standing Next and Harbin. Song Kang-ho plays Lee Doo-sam, with Cho Jung-seok as Kim In-goo, Bae Doona as Kim Jeong-ah, Kim So-jin as Seong Sook-kyeong, Kim Dae-myung as Lee Doo-hwan and Lee Sung-min as Seo Sang-hoon. Fifty-four cast members are credited.

Released on 19 December 2018, the film runs 139 minutes. It is classified as action, adventure, crime and drama. It holds a rating of 6.2 out of 10 on IMDb from around 3,600 votes, and 6.3 out of 10 on TMDB from about 170 votes. A critics' rating of 5.3 out of 10 from seven reviews places it somewhat below the audience scores.