Kim Ji-won returns as a surgical dark hero in 'Doctor X'

Kim Ji-won is set to return to screens as a "medical dark hero."

According to SBS, Kim will appear in the network's new Friday-Saturday drama series "Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia," premiering Oct. 9, playing Gye Su-jeong — a surgical genius known as the "mad surgeon of the operating room" who dismantles systemic corruption through sheer skill and an uncompromising will.

"Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia" marks the first medical-genre entry in the SBS Cider Universe, helmed by director Lee Jeong-rim, who previously directed "VIP," "Revenant" and "You Are the Killer."

In the series, Gye Su-jeong is a surgeon dispatched from a medical staffing agency to fill a vacancy in the surgical department at Guseo University Hospital. Obsessively focused on surgery and nothing else, she earns the nickname "the mad surgeon of the operating room." At a hospital rife with corruption, she is set to upend the existing power structure by cutting out the rot through skill alone.

First-look stills of the character released Wednesday show Kim draped in an all-black leather coat, immediately commanding attention. The solitary, detached air conveyed by her expression heightens anticipation for what promises to be a bold transformation — Kim's first foray into medical noir.

Images of Kim inside the operating room are equally striking. She is shown bearing down on a procedure with a relentless, zero-tolerance gaze, her commanding presence making the tension palpable even for viewers watching from outside.

The production team said Kim embodied the character from the very first day of filming. "From her vocal tone to her eyes to her mannerisms, Kim Ji-won was Gye Su-jeong from the start — it's impossible to imagine anyone else in the role," the team said. "Watch for the birth of a medical dark hero."

"Doctor X: Age of the White Mafia" premieres Oct. 9 at 9:50 p.m. on SBS.