Joined by producer Kim Jung-wook, the duo teased the show’s twist on the talk format: instead of inviting stars to a studio, Lee and Kim shadow them as day-of managers, offering a close-up look at their real routines you’d only see if you were on the payroll.
Lee admitted he personally helped bring Kim on board. “I basically recruited him to 'Manager Seojin',” he joked, recalling a dinner with SBS variety producers where “the conversation just took off.”
Then came the zinger. “To me, Gwang-gyu is like that nagging pinky toe―you could live without it, but you can’t really cut it off, so you just keep nursing it. And no, not the big toe,” Lee quipped, sending the room into laughter.
Kim conceded the origin story was “partly true,” but couldn’t resist clapping back: “Why say it yourself? Isn’t a good deed supposed to be quiet? If I’m here, it’s because they needed me.”
He also cracked that Lee is “like a prickly sister-in-law”―someone finicky and hard to please. “You never know where Seo-jin will zig, so I keep things in line. He needs my care,” Kim said.
Even their job descriptions sparked bickering. “Honestly, Gwang-gyu doesn’t do much,” Lee teased. “He doesn’t really take initiative, so I pile on tasks. As a manager, he’s nowhere near the standard―can’t multitask, and besides driving, there’s not much. And even the driving’s shaky, which is wild considering he used to be a taxi driver. The stars nagged him about it, too.”
Kim countered with his own philosophy: “My motto is to be the easygoing, approachable manager. Seo-jin can feel intimidating―he’s got that ‘chaebol son’ aura. I’m the one people can relax around, vent to, even yell at if they need to.”
Still, beneath the snark, the bond is obvious. “Sometimes he seems crazy, but he’s my partner for life,” Kim said. “We fight, he gets under my skin, I get mad―and then I go home and miss him. Then I see him again and I’m mad again.” Lee, equal parts dry and devoted, summed it up: “A partner I don’t want―but my partner nonetheless.”
The first episode features comedian Lee Su-ji as their inaugural “client.” Next up are Jang Ki-yong and Ahn Eun-jin, leads of SBS’s new drama 'Accidental Kiss' Veteran actresses Sunwoo Yong-nyeo and Uhm Ji-won are also set to appear.
'Manager Seojin' premieres Oct. 3 at 9:50 p.m. KST on SBS.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)