A body is found on the freeway, and the four suspects are South Korea's powerful elites. Choi Ja-hye, the most influential and famous female lawyer in the country, decides to take the case and defend Kang In-ho, per the request of her law school friend Geum Na-ra. However, In-ho was having an affair with the victim and was seen having an argument with her the day before the murder took place. As Ja-hye investigates the case with Dokgo Young, a detective with a dark past as a juvenile criminal, they realize that the case is not a simple murder but was born out of corruption and dark secrets among In-ho and his friends.
A hot-tempered detective. He has sharp analytical skills to follow the trail of a murder case. Throughout the series, he manages to solve the murder cases, but is unable to capture the socialites throughout the years for their wrongdoings.
A calm and successful CEO of an IT company, but turns to a have shady behavior when he attempts to cover up a mistake he or Hak-beom makes. He is currently being framed for murdering Ahn Hak-soo, a former police officer who owns a karaoke bar.[6] After Tae-seok's and Hak-beom's secret is revealed, he plans to silence anyone who gets in his way, especially Attorney Choi.
A professor in theology studies at Myungsung Foundation. He turns out to be an impulsive and abusive man who resorts to violence without thinking of its consequences. When things do not go on his way, he tends to displace his anger onto other characters or bribe them with money in the show.
The chief director at Taeha Corporation. He was in a relationship with Mi-jung during their younger times. After marrying Na-ra, he had an adulterous affair with Mi-jung for one year and became the co-founder of Mi-jung's wine bar. When Mi-jung was found murdered, he was framed and put into prison. Despite being bribed by his wife, Na-ra, their marriage become more estranged and his attempts to save the marriage becomes futile due to his wife's discovery of his affair with Mi-jung. Throughout the series, he was the one who knocked down a little girl when he was in high school. Unfortunately, he reluctantly followed Mi-jung's and the rest of his friends' suggestion to throw the girl into the sea.
In-ho's wife and a former lawyer who passed her bar examination. Mi-jung describes her as an innocent, devoted and beautiful wife of In-ho. After Mi-jung was murdered, she discovered In-ho's affair. Currently, she has an estranged relationship with In-ho.
A doctor and an associate with Tae-seok, Hak-beom and In-ho. Due to regrets and guilt he has gone through, he succumbed into drug addiction for years to forget the incident as well as stresses in workplace. When he witnessed Mi-jung's death and became his friends' accomplices, he decided to turn himself to the police. However, he was nearly murdered by both Tae-seok and Hak-beom. Despite running away from his mistakes and his friends, Na-ra managed to convince him to turn himself to the police, together with the evidences he had in the USB.
A detective working with Dokgo Young. He saved Jun-hee from car crash. He turns out to have an alliance with Ja-hye to expose Taek-seok and the rest of the socialites' corruptions.
Han Eun-jung as Yeom Mi-jung/Rachel Yeom (Ep. 1–2)
The victim of In-ho's case. She owned a wine bar, sponsored by In-ho. She had an affair with him for a year. After aborting his child, she planned to ruin In-ho's family by getting close to Na-ra.
The first script reading of the cast was held on November 15, 2017.[8][9]
Controversy
On February 7, 2018, it was reported that there was a large dispute on the set of the series on the 5th, between lead actress Go Hyun-jung and the series' director Joo Dong-min.[10] The following day, Go's agency officially announced that the actress would be leaving the team due to irreconcilable differences with the directing team concerning the production process.[11][12][13][14] The agency also denied the initial reports that her sudden departure was due to her physically assaulting director Joo; stating that "there was indeed a verbal conflict but reports of physical assault was nonsensical".[15][16] Meanwhile, viewers of the series flooded SBS website with comments blaming the producer for "abusing his power" and calling for director Joo to quit instead.[17][18]
Actress Park Jin-hee later replaced Go Hyun-jung for the role of Choi Ja-hye. She started filming on February 13 and first appeared on the sixteenth episode.[5]
^Originally scheduled to air for 32 episodes, the series was extended by two episodes in lieu of three preempts.
^ abIn order to circumvent Korean laws that prevent commercial breaks in the middle of an episode, what would previously have been aired as single 70 minute episodes are now being repackaged as two 35 minute episodes, with two episodes being shown each night with a commercial break between the two.[2]
^Jeong, Hee-yeon (January 1, 2019). [제56회 대종상]'기생충' 작품상 포함 5관왕 달성…이병헌·정유미 주연상(종합) [[Comprehensive]'SBS Drama Awards' Gam Woo-sung-Kim Sun-ah, Best Couple Award followed by'Joint Grand Prix']. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020 – via Naver.
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