Suspicious Partner () is a 2017 South Korean television series starring Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun, with Choi Tae-joon and Kwon Nara. It aired on Seoul Broadcasting System from May 10 to July 13, 2017, at 22:00 (KST) on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 20 episodes.
While the show, during some weeks, managed to outperform its competitor in some categories, such as the 20-49 year old demographic, as well as streaming, popularity and brand reputation charts, it enjoyed modest viewership, while its competitor topped the ratings in its time slot.
Synopsis The series is about Noh Ji-wook (Ji Chang-wook), a prosecutor, and Eun Bong-hee (Nam Ji-hyun), a prosecutor trainee. When a murderer strikes, Bong-hee suddenly finds herself as a suspect, and Noh Ji-wook then changes jobs to become a private attorney due to circumstances. The two work together on the case, finding out how deeply connected they are by their past.
Cast Main Ji Chang-wook as Noh Ji-wook (31 years old) Oh Han-gyeol and Son Sang-yeon as young Ji-wook A top-performing, tsundere, brainy prosecutor with the highest indictment success rate in the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office who ends up switching professions to a private attorney in the aftermath of defending Eun Bong-hee. He became a prosecutor to fulfill the unfinished dream of his father, who passed away while fighting crime. He has little interest in promotions or honor; his sole dream is to serve as an active prosecutor until retirement and then hang up his robe. He was scarred by an event in his childhood involving his parents. He then went through a traumatic betrayal involving his former best friend and his ex girlfriend. Bong-hee falls for him, though he does not initially return her feelings. He eventually does and tries to pursue her, however he starts to be swayed again by the fact that Bong-hee's father could have been the arsonist who set the fire in which his parents died. Nam Ji-hyun as Eun Bong-hee (27 years old) Choi Myung-bin as young Bong-hee A prosecutor trainee at Ji-wook's office, later lawyer who was a Taekwondo athlete in her youth. One day, she becomes a murder suspect as her ex-boyfriend's dead body was found in her house in which she had no alibi, causing District Attorney Jang Moo-young to keep coming after her and blame her for his son's death. She eventually falls for Ji-wook after he defended her. He eventually pursues her as he realizes his feelings for her. Choi Tae-joon as Ji Eun-hyuk (31 years old) Kwon Bin and Moon Woo-jin as young Eun-hyuk A lawyer, once best friends with Ji-wook, who is now despised by him because he had an affair with Yoo-jung. Kwon Nara as Cha Yoo-jung (31 years old) Ryu Han-bi as young Yoo-jung A prosecutor, who is Noh Ji-wook's childhood friend and ex-girlfriend.
Supporting People around Noh Ji-wook
Lee Deok-hwa as Byun Young-hee (62) Ji-wook's adoptive father, who was good friend of Jo-Wook’s father and is representative of a big law firm, Byun & Partners, who later joins Ji-wook's newly opened firm. He was a classmate with Chief Prosecutor Jang Mu-young in the Judicial Research and Training Institute, but they are also sworn enemies. Nam Gi-ae as Hong Bok-ja (58) Ji-wook's adoptive mom, who is a best friend of Ji-wook's mother and owner of a pizza shop. She is also the archenemy of Young-soon, Bong-hee's mother. Jang Hyuk-jin as Chief Bang Eun-ho (46) Ji-wook's prosecution investigation officer-turned-lawyer's paralegal, who he serves with utmost respect, but also scolds him like a strict older brother when it's necessary. He considers himself to be the 'hen mother' of the group. Jo Seung-yeon as Noh Young-seok (37) Ji-wook's late father, who died in fire. He was righteous prosecutor who wanted to be a legal professional without a single blemish until the moment of his death. He is the person Ji-wook respected the most and the role model in life he wants to emulate. Jin Hee Kyung as Kim Mi Yun Ji-Wook's late mother, who died in fire
People around Eun Bong-hee
Yoon Bok-in as Park Young-soon (56) Bong-hee's mother, who loves her daughter and remarried after the death of her husband. An indomitable mother who raised Bong-hee while working as a sports massage therapist. She works at a massage parlor where she befriends Ji-wook's mom and later ends up working for Ji-wook's mom. The two are frequently indulge in semi-friendly banter. Lee Do-yeop as Eun Man-su Bong-hee's father who died while trying to save Ji-wook and his family. He was earlier accused of murdering Ji-wook's parents until it was discovered that he was innocent. Hwang Chan-sung as Jang Hee-joon (28) A prosecutor trainee, who was a son of District Attorney and Bong-hee's cheating ex-boyfriend. A descendant of a prestigious legal family for generations. He died in Bong-hee's house which pointed her as the prime suspect.
People at the JRTI (Judicial Research and Training Institute)
Kim Ye-won as Na Ji-hae (29) Bong-hee's classmate and fellow trainee, who was Hee-jun's lover, later became his girlfriend after Bong-hee caught them. She later became prosecutor in Yu-jeong's office and quickly becomes friends with her. Heo Joon-seok as Woo Hee-kyu (33) Bong-hee's classmate and friend. Shim Eun-woo as Hong Cha-eun (30) A Judicial Research and Training Institute student who is hard to grasp—warm yet cold, seemingly close yet distant.
Extended
Kim Hong-fa as Jang Moo-young, 62 Jang Hee-joon's father and the District Attorney. They continuously persecute Ji-wook and Bong-hee by influencing the Bar Association, the Prosecutor's Office, the courts, etc. He believes in upholding the might of the prosecution even if it meant defaming common people, as shown when he falsely incriminated Bong-hee's father as the arsonist who caused the fire that killed Ji-wook's parents and also himself, releasing the gang-rapists of Park So-young after dismissing their rape charges on the bribery of the parents and forcing Ji-wook to indict and convict Bong-hee (who was actually innocent) for murdering his son. Upon discovering Hyun-soo's guilt of his son's murder, he tried to kill him unsuccessfully and this led to his downfall as he was dismissed from his post and arrested for attempted murder (and possibly his pre-existing corruption prior to his arrest). Dong Ha as Jung Hyun-soo A victim who was accused of murder which has similar vibe to Bong-hee's case, but has a mysterious identity that lies in him. He was in fact a serial killer who had earlier, out of revenge, murdered five of the six gang-rapists (including the victim of a murder he was accused of and first appeared in the show for) of his high school crush Park So-young, who committed suicide after this incident. He was also the real culprit who murdered Jang Hee-joon; in fact, his real target was Bong-hee, who unknowingly witnessed him killing two of the rapists, but he ended up killing Hee-joon, who was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he tried to make amends with Bong-hee for cheating on her. Hyun-soo was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders he committed. Jin Ju-hyung as Go Chan-ho A forensic investigator who went missing after being falsely incriminated for murder. He was actually one of the gang-rapists who raped Park So-young and was shown to be plagued with remorse (possibly) for the crime. He disappeared before he could meet up with Ji-wook to reveal something related to Hyun-soo, and was confirmed to be murdered by Hyun-soo when his body was discovered nearing the finale of the series. Four of his five accomplices - Lee Jae-ho, Yang Jin-woo, Kim Min-goo and Sung Jae-hyun - were earlier murdered by Hyun-soo while the final accomplice Min Young-hoon eventually surrendered and went to jail for the crime around the same time Hyun-soo was indicted the second time and finally sentenced. Park Gyu-young as Park So-young A girl from Jung Hyun-soo's past who committed suicide after a tragedy which traumatized her. Park Ji-a as Park Seong-eun Kim Kyung-jin as Guy who disturbed Bong-hee while drinking (Ep. 1) Choi Hong as Vice-chief of Prosecutor (Ep. 1–4) Kim Ki-nam as Prosecutor who works with Jung Moo-young (Ep. 8) Seo Jin-wook as Forensic expert who testified in court (Ep. 4) Jo Won-hee as Judge
Production The early working titles for the drama were Beware This Woman and Suspicious Romance. The first script reading took place April 4, 2017 at SBS Ilsan Production Center in Tanhyun, South Korea.
Both lead actors Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun starred in Warrior Baek Dong-soo in 2011.
Original soundtrack
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Chart performance
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Remarks KORGaon "How About You"(Cheeze) 2017 48 KOR: 48,205+Cumulative sales for "How About You":
Part 4 "Breathing All Day"(Bumkey) 93 KOR: 17,997+ Part 6 "—" denotes that the song did not chart in that region.
Ratings Original broadcast date Title Average audience share Nielsen Korea TNmS Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul 1 May 10, 2017 Hope for the Future 6.3% 6.5% 6.1% 7.4% 2 6.8% 6.9% 6.8% 8.2% 3 May 11, 2017 Take It 6.3% 7.0% 4 7.2% 7.7% 7.0% 7.9% 5 May 17, 2017 Restraining Order 6.6% 6.8% 6.9% 8.5% 6 8.0% 8.5% 7.4% 8.2% 7 May 18, 2017 Reunion and Reunion 6.8% 6.9% 6.6% 8 7.4% 7.8% 9 May 24, 2017 Humanity Becomes Hostage 6.8% 7.2% 6.5% 6.9% 10 8.3% 8.7% 7.4% 8.2% 11 May 25, 2017 The Beginning That Hasn't Begun 7.1% 7.9% 6.1% 6.8% 12 7.8% 8.5% 6.5% 6.6% 13 May 31, 2017 Alibi 7.5% 8.2% 6.9% 7.7% 14 9.3% 10.0% 7.9% 9.0% 15 June 1, 2017 Untruthful Truth Game 8.4% 8.6% 7.2% 8.3% 16 9.3% 9.6% 7.8% 8.9% 17 June 7, 2017 Eun Bong-hee's Prime 8.4% 9.1% 7.3% 7.5% 18 9.8% 10.2% 7.7% 8.1% 19 June 8, 2017 Truth vs. Secret 8.0% 8.5% 7.3% 7.3% 20 9.6% 10.2% 8.3% 8.4% 21 June 14, 2017 In This Limited World 7.7% 8.3% 7.0% 8.2% 22 9.1% 9.8% 7.8% 8.7% 23 June 15, 2017 48 Hours Later 7.8% 8.2% 6.9% 7.6% 24 9.4% 9.8% 7.6% 8.1% 25 June 21, 2017 Attributable Reasons 9.0% 10.3% 6.6% 6.7% 26 7.8% 8.5% 27 June 22, 2017 The Memory of That Day 8.4% 8.8% 7.5% 7.9% 28 9.7% 10.4% 8.0% 8.1% 29 June 28, 2017 Postponement 6.7% 7.2% 6.1% 7.9% 30 8.6% 9.5% 6.7% 8.0% 31 June 29, 2017 The Discovery of a Memory 7.7% 8.4% 6.3% 7.3% 32 8.6% 9.1% 6.8% 7.8% 33 July 5, 2017 Testing the Waters 7.2% 7.8% 6.9% 7.5% 34 9.2% 9.8% 7.2% 7.4% 35 July 6, 2017 Return 8.0% 8.5% 7.3% 8.8% 36 9.2% 9.9% 7.9% 37 July 12, 2017 In Court 7.2% 7.4% 6.9% 7.7% 38 9.2% 9.4% 8.0% 8.7% 39 July 13, 2017 Return to the Daily Life 8.5% 9.0% 8.6% 9.5% 40 9.5% 10.2% 8.9% Average In the table above, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings. NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref. 2017 Korea Drama Awards Excellence Award, Actress (Drama) Nam Ji-hyun 25th SBS Drama Awards Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama Ji Chang-wook Excellence Award, Actor in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama Choi Tae-joon Excellence Award, Actress in a Wednesday–Thursday Drama Nam Ji-hyun Best New Actress Kwon Nara Best Supporting Actress Kim Ye-won Best Couple Award Ji Chang-wook and Nam Ji-hyun
Adaptation The series got the dorama adaptation, which was aired on MBS and TBS across Japan, with Disney+ streamed the series globally. An Indian adaptation in Hindi language was titled A Legal Affair was also confirmed to aired on JioCinema.
Notes
References
External links