Park Hee-soon takes responsibility for Judge Lee Han-young with explosive acting.
The MBC new Friday-Saturday drama drama Judge Lee Han-young, scheduled to premiere on Jan. 2, 2026 (planned by Jang Jae-hoon, written by Kim Kwang-min, directed by Lee Jae-jin and Park Mi-yeon), is a justice-realization time-loop drama in which corrupt Judge Lee Han-young, who lived as a slave to a giant law firm, returns to 10 years ago and punishes great evil through a new choice.
Park Hee-soon plays Kang Shin-jin, chief criminal presiding judge at the Seoul Central District Court, who wields the law as a weapon to seize power. He is a character who takes others' "greed" as a weakness to establish his own sense of justice, and when the attention-grabbing Judge Lee Han-young (played by Ji Sung) appears, he extends a hand to him without realizing he is drinking a poison cup. Park Hee-soon is expected to maximize the drama's tension by perfectly portraying Kang Shin-jin, who spares no means or methods to achieve his goals.
Describing the appeal of Judge Lee Han-young as a "refreshing, satisfying progression," Park Hee-soon said, "I enjoyed the original webtoon, and I found the development in which the protagonist takes the initiative to overturn situations interesting."
About the character Kang Shin-jin, Park Hee-soon explained, "On the surface he appears meticulous and cold-blooded, but a complex inner world is hidden," and added, "I tried to convincingly portray Kang Shin-jin's sense of justice and worked to build confidence in the character." Interest is rising in how Park Hee-soon will portray the multilayered Kang Shin-jin, who joins forces with dark powers for justice.
Meanwhile, Park Hee-soon cited confidence, cold-bloodedness and drive as keywords to describe Kang Shin-jin. He said, "When he believes something is right, he pushes it forward as if everything is correct," hinting at his role in the story and his confrontation with Lee Han-young, raising curiosity about the broadcast.
Meanwhile, Park Hee-soon did not spare praise for the actors he worked with. "I decided to appear when I heard that actor Ji Sung was cast as the lead," he said, adding, "I was impressed by how thoroughly Ji Sung prepared before filming." About Won Jina (playing Kim Jin-ah), he said, "Although we did not have many direct confrontation scenes, her bold and confident presence was impressive."
Concluding the interview, Park Hee-soon defined Judge Lee Han-young as "a 'reconstruction of events' that goes back to the past to reexamine cases and creates new stories different from before." He said, "It will be fun to watch how past cases lead to different outcomes after the return," and added, "Please fully enjoy a drama that alternates between tension and relaxation."
[Photo] Provided by MBC
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