The Art of Negotiation () is a 2025 South Korean television series starring Lee Je-hoon, Kim Dae-myung, Sung Dong-il, Jang Hyun-sung, Oh Man-seok, Ahn Hyun-ho, and Cha Kang-yoon. The series deals with the story of mergers and acquisitions between companies. It aired on JTBC from March 8, to April 13, 2025, every Saturday and Sunday at 22:30 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Viu in selected regions.
Synopsis The series depicts the exploits of a major corporation's M&A expert, known as a legendary negotiator, and his team.
Cast and characters Main Lee Je-hoon as Yoon Joo-no A legendary negotiator and leader of the M&A team. Kim Dae-myung as Oh Soon-young A lawyer specializing in negotiations for the M&A team. Sung Dong-il as Song Jae-sik The Chairman of Sanin Group. Jang Hyun-sung as Ha Tae-soo The CFO of Sanin Group and second-in-command. Oh Man-seok as Lee Dong-joon The CCO of Sanin Group and longtime close friend of Chairman Song. as Kwak Min-jung The manager of the M&A team. Cha Kang-yoon as Choi Jin-su The intern and youngest member of the M&A team.
Supporting Lee Kyu-sung as Lim Hyeong-seop A deputy manager of Sanin Group's human resources division. Park Hyung-soo as Kang Sang-bae A director of Yoomin Investment. as Han Ji-eun as Jo Bum-soo
Special appearances Yoon Je-moon as Lee Hoon-min (Ep. 1 & 10) CEO of Sanin Construction. Jang In-sub as Cha Ho-jin (Ep. 3-4) CEO of Cha Cha Games. Kwon Yu-ri as Song Ji-oh (Ep. 5-6) Song Jae-sik's daughter and CEO of Dado Resort. Jang So-yeon as Jeong Bon-joo (Ep. 9-10) Financing Officer of Green View Country Club.
Production Development The series is written by Lee Seung-young and directed by Ahn Pan-seok, who previously directed The Midnight Romance in Hagwon (2024), and B.A Entertainment and SLL and Drama House Studio co-managed the production.
Casting On May 14, 2024, Kim Dae-myung was reportedly confirmed to appear by his agency. On May 21, Lee Je-hoon was confirmed to appear as the lead. On June 12, Kwon Yu-ri was reported to make a special appearance. On July 11, Cha Kang-yoon had been cast as the lead.
In January 2025, the line up of actors were revealed namely Lee, Kim, Sung Dong-il, Jang Hyun-sung, Oh Man-seok, Ahn Hyun-ho, and Cha.
Viewership
+ Average TV viewership ratings Original broadcast date Average audience share(Nielsen Korea)Nielsen Korea ratings:
Nationwide Seoul 1 March 8, 2025 2 March 9, 2025 6.068% 6.349% 3 March 15, 2025 5.783% 5.535% 4 March 16, 2025 7.121% 7.298% 5 March 22, 2025 6.459% 6.398% 6 March 23, 20257.982% 8.320% 7 March 29, 2025 6.185% 6.171% 8 March 30, 2025 8.079% 8.758% 9 April 5, 2025 6.933% 7.064% 10 April 6, 2025 8.805% 9.545% 11 April 12, 2025 7.182% 8.030% 12 April 13, 2025 Average In the table above, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings. This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC, and EBS).
Accolades Award ceremony Year Category Nominee Result Asian Television Awards 2025 Best Drama Series The Art of Negotiation
References
External links