Review | K-drama The Auditors review: Shin Ha-kyun is the Sherlock Holmes of corporate corruption
- K-drama Auditors follows Shin Cha-il (played by Shin Ha-kyun) and his squad as they tackle corporate corruption which goes right to the top
![Shin Ha-kyun as audit chief Shin Cha-il in a still from K-drama The Auditors. Lee Jung-ha and Jin Goo co-star.](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/13/1f962b98-8ac8-477c-8860-41f3653d259b_53e5d568.jpg?itok=D5bs9dt5&v=1723538369)
This article contains spoilers.
3.5/5 stars
Lead cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Jung-ha, Jin Goo
Latest Nielsen rating: 9.54 per cent
Largely avoiding flash and melodramatic flourishes, The Auditors has been one of the most surprising K-drama successes of the year.
After beginning with modest ratings, the show steadily built a committed audience in Korea until it ended its 12-episode run just shy of the vaunted 10 per cent ratings mark during its thrilling finale, making it the fifth-highest-rated cable show of the year there to date.
The show has a theme ubiquitous in contemporary Korean drama: corporate corruption. K-dramas are designed to mirror life, ergo office fraud must be a fact of life in South Korea.
Whether that is truly the case is beside the point. Bad bosses and untrustworthy colleagues are a means to an end. They create a relatable and “unfair” obstacle for protagonists to overcome.
It is hard not to be sold on a story that champions the beleaguered average office worker when they are confronted with inept and corrupt management. Who has not been frustrated by a boss before?
![Jin Goo as the JU Construction CEO’s brother Dae-woong in a still from The Auditors. Jin Goo as the JU Construction CEO’s brother Dae-woong in a still from The Auditors.](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/13/425191ad-180d-45cf-ad9c-f07e3033e16d_724b2f18.jpg)
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