Actor Jisung announced his return to MBC after 10 years through The Judge Returns.
On the afternoon of the 2nd, at MBC Golden Mouse Hall in Sangam, Mapo-gu, Seoul, an MBC production presentation was held for the new Friday-Saturday drama The Judge Returns (planned by Jang Jae-hoon / written by Kim Kwang-min / directed by Lee Jae-jin, Park Mi-yeon / produced by OH Story, Slingshot Studio). The production presentation was attended by director Lee Jae-jin along with actors Jisung, Park Heesoon, Won Jina, Tae Won Seok, Baek Jin-hee and Oh Se-young, who talked about the show.
The Judge Returns, which premieres today (the 2nd), is a justice-implementing return drama about a corrupt judge, who lived as a slave to a giant law firm, returning 10 years earlier and choosing a new path to punish great evil. The Judge Returns features a solid cast including Jisung, Park Heesoon and Won Jina, and is the work of director Lee Jae-jin and director Park Mi-yeon—who demonstrated stylish directing in The Banker, The Spy Who Loved Me and Motel California—and writer Kim Kwang-min, drawing much attention even before broadcasting.
Director Lee Jae-jin introduced The Judge Returns, saying, "I think it is a story about justice. Although he is called a corrupt judge, rather than being a complete corruption, he compromised with reality as he lived, and although he appears to be moderately fair, he is a judge with a leash. At the moment he regrets, thinking 'I should not live like this' and tries to come to his senses, he faces death. He gets an opportunity to overturn his regrets, reflects, and moves forward to change the world — that is the story."
The cast introduced their roles directly. First, Jisung said, "I play Lee Han-young, who lived in reality as a servant judge at Haenal Law Firm and issued unjust rulings that caused social turmoil and wounds. While trying to correct the right course, he meets death, and then, faced with an unbelievable reality, he lives a new life."
Park Heesoon said, "I play chief judge Kang Shin-jin. He is a cold-blooded person who spares no means or method for his sense of justice," and Won Jina said, "I play prosecutor Kim Jin-a, who assists Lee Han-young and works with him as a partner. Although it begins with her father's death, she is a hot-blooded prosecutor who cannot stand injustice."
Tae Won Seok plays kind loan shark and Lee Han-young's friend Seok Jeong-ho; Baek Jin-hee plays the cute legal affairs reporter Song Na-yeon; Oh Se-young plays Haenal Law Firm's youngest daughter and Lee Han-young's wife from his previous life Yoo Se-hee; and Hwang Hee plays the rigid prosecutor Park Cheol-woo of the Chungnam District Prosecutors' Office.
Because it is a courtroom piece, a dense line-by-line delivery is expected, so did the cast have their own routines? Jisung said, "It was an honor to act with Won Jina. The charming Won Jina showed the role of Kim Jin-a, and during script readings and conversations on set we discussed our drama's central themes of 'values' and 'different thoughts,' because the differences between Lee Han-young and Kim Jin-a clash. We then prepared each scene carefully and importantly."
Won Jina also said, "First, I was honored to be able to work closely with the excellent senior actor Jisung through this drama. I think the drama has a different tone from typical courtroom pieces. I thought there would be many courtroom scenes, but there were more scenes where we run outside and engage in power struggles. Instead of a serious weight, we discussed whether we could go in a direction that provides exhilaration and lifts the mood while filming." Jisung said, "To find the right justice, Jin-a and I struggle together."
Notably, Jisung returned to a judge role five years after the tvN series The Devil Judge. He drew a line, saying, "In deciding on The Judge Returns, I didn't feel burdened by doing a judge role again after The Devil Judge."
Jisung said, "The tones of the two works were different, and there were parts I could fully play in this other work, so I decided. The Judge Returns is not a political or courtroom drama but can be seen as a story of Lee Han-young's emotions. Through the character Lee Han-young, the work allows deep reflection on what we want and what is right or wrong. If in his previous life he was darkness full of injustice and corruption, then this is the journey of the Lee Han-young who loved that darkness moving forward to establish a new justice and parting with that darkness."
The Judge Returns is based on a web novel of the same name, and the adaptation to drama raised curiosity about the parts that were changed. Director Lee Jae-jin said, "The original web novel is interesting and has many fun stories, but when compressing it there were characters to be organized and characters to be kept alive. We considered how to make those parts enjoyable for viewers. Wanting to create differences that won't upset the original fans, we tried to portray Lee Han-young a bit more diversely. If the original focused on events, we adapted it to expand on how the character's emotions change."
Regarding casting Jisung as Lee Han-young, he said, "Seong sunbae (senior) is reputed to be very good at original acting. It was the same in Kill Me, Heal Me, and I always thought he was good at playing multifaceted characters. Inside his heart is the future from 10 years ago, while his present has a young body, so there is dual acting. I thought Jisung was the actor who could show that well."
The Judge Returns is one of MBC's anticipated works for 2026 and a competitor to the currently very popular Taxi Driver 3. Asked whether that was a burden, director Lee Jae-jin said, "I can't say it's not a burden. There is a burden, and if there were things we were disappointed with last year, I hope this creates a new opportunity."
The director said, "Taxi Driver is doing well, so there is pressure. I think the two dramas have different charms. I watch it secretly too, and I'm thinking about what the different charms are and what differences we can offer. People who enjoyed 'MoTaek' may come to our show, and for those who don't like it we will try to be accessible." He added, "Genre-wise there are many complex parts; I think our drama's strength is that viewers can taste various flavors."
Asked about desired goals and ratings, Jisung said, "Honestly, I'm not thinking about awards. I hope many people love this work that we made with our best efforts. If I think only of myself, I'd like about 50 percent. Then I'll do anything they ask." Director Lee Jae-jin showed confidence, saying, "The dream is big, but modestly even double digits… but I think it will happen."
Additionally, through this work Jisung returns to MBC for the first time in 10 years since Kill Me, Heal Me. Jisung confessed, "When I think of MBC, Kill Me, Heal Me comes to mind. In that sense, I wanted to make this well, and while filming there is an MBC color. We filmed energetically, and I hope the results meet expectations."
Regarding why he chose The Judge Returns, Jisung said, "When I looked at my sync rate with The Judge Returns, I considered my lack of return ability and estimated my sync rate at 50 percent. I wanted to act a courageous Lee Han-young so much that I wanted to resemble that side of him. Our drama places honest weight on the fact that there is no single correct answer to what is right."
He continued, "So when you listen to Kang Shin-jin, the axis of evil, it seems his words are right. But Lee Han-young is a judge. His rulings affect society. Even if it's a society within a drama, I chose this role with the thought that Lee Han-young could offer warmth to all viewers."
Park Heesoon also spoke about his new charm, laughing, "Earlier I met the MBC president, and he asked how I could take such a bad role. I don't think he's ever seen me play a villain." He added, "Through this work I thought a lot about justice. Because Kang Shin-jin lived a difficult life from childhood, he tried to make a better society but came to spare no means to realize his own sense of justice. I thought if I don't understand that justice well I can't express it, so I researched and pondered how to portray it. I'm not sure if I expressed it well, but I think I pondered it to the end."
Meanwhile, the MBC new Friday-Saturday drama The Judge Returns premieres at 9:40 p.m. on the 2nd.
[Photo] Reporter Min Kyung-hoon
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