'PROBONO' Seong Yeo-jin left a deep impression on viewers by imprinting a weighty presence through restrained acting.
tvN 'PROBONO' is a human courtroom drama about a petty, success-obsessed judge who inadvertently becomes a public-interest lawyer and is confined to a corner office of a mega law firm, a public-interest team with zero revenue, triggering chaotic events. Seong Yeo-jin plays Judge Gu Ji-won in the series, firmly holding the story's weight with solid charisma and delivering strong performances.
On the 5th and 6th episodes aired on the 20th and 21st, the story of the PROBONO team handling the divorce suit of international marriage woman Kaea (played by Jung Hae-rin) unfolded. Deciding to divorce because of her husband's morbid jealousy and violence and repeated suspicions of infidelity, Kaea was actually a person who carried deep trauma from being sexually assaulted by her father-in-law. As that fact came to light the case seemed to be concluded, but when the father-in-law raised Kaea's past childbirth history as an issue and filed an annulment suit, the trial entered a new phase.
It was later revealed that Kaea had been kidnapped, confined and sexually assaulted in her hometown as a child and endured an unwanted childbirth, shocking many, and the PROBONO team, including Kang Da-wit (played by Jung Kyungho), appealed in court for consideration of the circumstances that prevented Kaea from disclosing her past wounds before marriage.
Judge Gu Ji-won, who had valued law and principle and the fidelity between spouses, made the PROBONO team even more tense because of his principled tendencies. However, against all expectations, he said it would be excessively harsh to impose on the plaintiff, who was a victim of a crime, the duty to disclose her wounds herself, recognized the divorce and ruled that it was possible to maintain her residency status, delivering a profound resonance.
Especially in the final moment when the plaintiff's victory was declared, the scene in which Judge Gu Ji-won, who had shown no emotion throughout, smiled for the first time left a deep aftertaste. The moment of certainty that someone's life had been protected in the name of the law, that smile condensed and revealed why Judge Gu Ji-won had spent so much time in the courtroom, his warm heart and his conviction as a judge, moving viewers.
In this process, Seong Yeo-jin portrayed Judge Gu Ji-won without exaggeration yet never lightly, raising the drama's immersion. Minimizing unnecessary gestures and creating courtroom tension solely through the direction of her gaze and the depth of her eyes, she convincingly conveyed the weight of the one delivering judgment. In particular, with precise diction, a soft but firm tone, and restrained gestures, she dominated the courtroom atmosphere and presented a performance perfectly suited to the judge character.
Even in scenes of emotional appeals, Seong Yeo-jin firmly maintained the character's center with unwavering posture and breath. Her calm charisma, which naturally draws attention without raising her voice, fully revealed her deep acting prowess and earned viewers' trust.
In a narrative where emotions could overheat, Seong Yeo-jin kept the courtroom's center and enhanced the story's persuasiveness with a weighty but not excessive, solid but not sharp performance, raising the overall completeness of the work. Having once again proven her presence through Judge Gu Ji-won, anticipation grows for what projects she will meet viewers with next.
[Photo] tvN
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