New Employee Chairman Kang Ends at 13.6% as 32-Track OST Featuring Kang Seung-yoon and THE VANE Is Released

JTBC's Saturday-Sunday drama New Employee Chairman Kang closed out its 12-episode run with a peak rating of 13.6% for its final episode. The day after the finale, SLL released the drama's original soundtrack compilation album at noon on the 6th, featuring music by Kang Seung-yoon, THE VANE and CLOSE YOUR EYES.

The final episode of New Employee Chairman Kang, which aired on the 5th, reached 13.6% according to Nielsen Korea's nationwide paid-household ratings. The drama had begun its run at 3.7% for its first episode, then continued to climb steadily as word of mouth among viewers built over the broadcast period.

The series is based on a web novel of the same name. It had drawn attention from the production stage because it was the next work by writer San Kyung, who wrote JTBC's Reborn Rich. Reborn Rich, a drama about power struggles and revenge within a chaebol chairman's family, previously recorded a peak rating of 26.9%, also based on Nielsen Korea's nationwide paid-household standard.

New Employee Chairman Kang was naturally compared with the earlier hit because it also deals with a chaebol succession structure and a second-life premise. The drama tells a second-life story centered on Kang Yong-ho, the chairman of Choi Sung Group, who is called a god of business and is forced into an unwanted second life after an accident. Its core follows Kang Yong-ho, played by Son Hyun-joo, after he enters the body of Hwang Jun-hyun, played by Lee Jun-young, and starts over as a new employee while retaining the experience and judgment he accumulated over decades.

Within the story, Hwang Jun-hyun pulls Kang Bang-geul, played by Lee Joo-myoung, into the center of the succession structure while also unsettling the board by appearing to join hands with Kang Jae-kyung, played by Jeon Hye-jin. The relationships among Kang Jae-sung, played by Jin Goo, Kang Bang-geul and Kang Jae-kyung continue to shift, creating tension across the drama's succession conflict.

In the latter part of the series, the narrative develops a mystery surrounding the truth behind Kang Yong-ho's accident. Each time the culprit appears to have been identified, another figure emerges, and the full story behind the hospital-room incident and hidden secrets surrounding Choi Sung Group are revealed through a series of twists. The characters' quick back-and-forth exchanges and comic situations help adjust the rhythm of the otherwise weighty succession storyline.

SLL released the New Employee Chairman Kang OST compilation album on various online music platforms at noon on the 6th. The album consists of 32 tracks in total, including three previously released vocal songs and 29 score tracks that filled scenes throughout the drama.

The vocal tracks include Kang Seung-yoon's main theme song Jikjin, THE VANE's intro theme song Pay Me In Noise, and CLOSE YOUR EYES' I'm Runnin'. Jikjin expresses an unstoppable drive and presence, while THE VANE's track carries a powerful intro and high energy. CLOSE YOUR EYES' song captures the change and challenge of a character running toward a new life.

The score tracks led by music director Ha Geun-young convey the tension of the fierce power structure and mission execution, along with playful irony and a comic rhythm. New Employee Chairman Kang was directed by Go Hye-jin, written by Hyeon Ji-min, and co-produced by SLL and Corpus Korea.

The acting ensemble by Lee Jun-young, Lee Joo-myoung, Jin Goo and other cast members also raised the drama's overall polish. Lee Jun-young played Hwang Jun-hyun, Lee Joo-myoung played Kang Bang-geul, and Jin Goo played Kang Jae-sung, portraying the changing relationships among characters inside the succession structure.