''Suspicious Partner'' () is a 2017 South Korean television series starring

Ji Chang-wook Ji Chang-wook (born 5 July 1987) is a South Korean actor and singer. He rose to fame for playing the lead role of Dong-hae in daily drama series ''Smile Again'' (2010–2011), and had notable lead roles in television series such as '' Warrior B ...

and

Nam Ji-hyun Nam Ji-hyun (; born September 17, 1995) is a South Korean actress who successfully transitioned from being one of the industry's premiere child artists to an acclaimed lead, well-loved for her roles in ''Queen Seondeok'', ''Suspicious Partner' ...

, with

Choi Tae-joon Choi Tae-joon (, born July 7, 1991) is a South Korean actor, model and TV host. He first gained recognition for his villainous supporting role in the disaster-mystery drama ''Missing 9'' (2017). He has since taken on lead roles in melodrama ''E ...

and

Kwon Nara Kwon Na-ra () (changed her name legally to Kwon Ah-yoon (), known by her birth name Nara), is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as one of the original members of the South Korean girl group Hello Venus. Career Beginnings an ...

. It aired on SBS from May 10 to July 13, 2017, at 22:00 ( KST) on Wednesdays and Thursdays for 40 episodes. The show enjoyed modest viewership share, but it beat its

competitor Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

by topping the important 20-49 year old

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...

, as well as

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

, popularity, and brand reputation charts for consecutive weeks.

Synopsis

The series is about Noh Ji-wook (

), a prosecutor, and Eun Bong-hee (

), a prosecutor trainee, and how they work together on a mysterious case involving a sly psychopath murderer. They find out how deeply connected they are by their past. A forgetful killer can be a dangerous thing. Noh Ji-wook is a prosecutor who changes jobs to become a private attorney due to circumstances. Eun Bong-hee is a prosecutor trainee under Ji-wook while he was a prosecutor. Attorney Ji Eun-hyuk (

) is a longtime family friend of Ji-wook who betrayed Ji-wook by cheating with Ji-wook's ex-girlfriend. When a murderer strikes, Bong-hee suddenly finds herself as a suspect.

Cast

Main

as Noh Ji-wook **

Son Sang-yeon Son Sang-yeon (; born April 2, 2002) is a South Korean actor. He made his debut as a cast member in the 2016 Tooniverse variety show; Maknae Show 7 and has since starred in other variety shows, television series, web series, films, and a music ...

as young Ji-wook :A prosecutor in the Sunho District Prosecutors' Office who ends up switching professions to a private attorney in the aftermath of defending Eun Bong-hee, a defendant in which he was supposed to be her opponent. He harbors a trauma stemming from an event in his childhood involving his parents and first love. Bong-hee falls for him though he does not initially return the feelings. He comes to realize his feelings for her eventually and tries to win her over again. However, he started 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. *

as Eun Bong-hee **

Choi Myung-bin Choi Myung-bin (Korean: 최명빈; born on 15 April 2008) is a South Korean child actress. She made her acting debut in 2016, since then, she has appeared in number of films and television series. She is best known for her roles in historical d ...

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 suddenly becomes a murder suspect as her ex-boyfriend's dead body was found in her house in which she had no alibi, causing Jang Moo-young to keep coming after her and blames 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 but she is skeptical to accept his feelings as she was initially rejected by him. *

as Ji Eun-hyuk **Kwon Bin as young Eun-hyuk :A lawyer with complicated family relationships who had particularly harsh adolescence. Once best friends with Ji-wook, he is now despised by him but tries his best to get back to being best friends with Ji-wook. He has a friendly platonic relationship with Bong-hee in which the two support each other with each others' romantic relationships. *

as Cha Yoo-jung :Noh Ji-wook's ex-girlfriend who made an unforgettable mistake, a prosecutor who tries to win him back no matter what it takes. She harbours romantic feelings for Eun-hyuk which she confuses for friendship. She later becomes friends with Bong-hee and Na Ji-hae.

Supporting

People around Noh Ji-wook

Lee Deok-hwa Lee Deok-hwa (born May 8, 1952) is a South Korean actor. Career Lee Deok-hwa studied theater and film at Dongguk University, and made his acting debut in 1972. He and his father, movie star Lee Ye-chun starred together in the 1975 horror film '' ...

as Byun Young-hee :Ji-wook's adoptive father. The representative of a big law firm who later joins Ji-wook's newly opened firm. *

Nam Gi-ae Nam Gi-ae (Korean:남기애; born on 13 September 1961) is a South Korean actress in Chung-Ang University, Department of Theater and Film. She made her acting debut in 1998, since then, she has appeared in number of plays, films and television ...

as Hong Bok-ja :Ji-wook's adoptive mom. She is a good friend of Ji-wook's real mom and owns a pizza shop. She is also the archenemy of Bong-hee's mother. * Jo Seung-yeon as Noh Young-suk :Ji-wook's late father who was also a prosecutor. *

Jang Hyuk-jin Jang Hyuk-jin (Korean: 장혁진, born Jang Seok-hyeon on 16 August 1971) is a South Korean actor. He graduated from Seoul Institute of the Arts – Department of Theater. He is better known for '' Dr. Romantic'' (2016), ''Suspicious Partner'' ...

as Bang Eun-ho :Ji-wook's prosecutor-turned-lawyer's right-hand man. He considers himself to be the 'mother' of the group.

People around Eun Bong-hee

Yoon Bok-in Yoon Bok-in ( born on 16 December 1970) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1990 in theater, since then, she has appeared in number of plays, films and television series. She got recognition for her supporting roles in '' Su ...

as Park Young-soon :Bong-hee's mother who loves her daughter. 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 indulged in friendly banter. *

Hwang Chan-sung Hwang Chan-sung ( ko, 황찬성, born February 11, 1990), also known mononymously as Chansung, is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter and actor. He is a member of the Korean boy band 2PM. He made his debut as an actor in the 2006 comedy ...

as Jang Hee-joon :Bong-hee's cheating ex-boyfriend. He died in Bong-hee's house which pointed her as the prime suspect.

People at the Training Center

* Kim Ye-won as Na Ji-hae :Bong-hee's classmate and rival. She later becomes a prosecutor and eventually Bong-hee's friend. * Heo Joon-seok as Woo Hee-kyu * Shim Eun-woo as Hong Cha-eun

Extended

Dong Ha Dong or DONG may refer to: Places * Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China * Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India * Dong (administrative division) (동 or 洞), a neighborhood division in Korea Persons *Queen Dong (1623–1681), prince ...

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 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 her. Hyun-soo was eventually sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

for the murders he committed. * Kim Hong-fa as Jang Moo-young :Jang Hee-joon's father and the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Sunho District. 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). * 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 Park Gyu-young (; born July 27, 1993) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series ''It's Okay to Not Be Okay'' (2020), '' Sweet Home'' (2020), and '' Dali and Cocky Prince'' (2021). Early life and educat ...

as Park So-young :A girl from Jung Hyun-soo's past who committed suicide after a tragedy which traumatized her. *

Park Ji-a Park Ji-Ah (; born February 25, 1972), is a South Korean actress. She is a recurring actress in Kim Ki-duk's films, having appeared in five of his works from 2002 to 2008. Her performance in ''Breath'' was described as "terrific" by ''Variety'' a ...

as Park Seong-eun * Kim Kyung-jin as The guy who disturbed Bong-hee while drinking (Ep. 1) * Jung Yeon * Choi Hong-il 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 * Choi Ji-hoo * Lee Da-jin

Special appearances

* Jang Won-young as Ji Ha-cheol, pervert (Ep. 1–2, 21) *

Hong Seok-cheon Hong Seok-cheon (born February 3, 1971) is a South Korean actor, television personality, restaurateur and member of the dissolved Democratic Labor Party. He caused considerable controversy in his home country when he came out as gay in 2000, an ...

as Monk (Ep. 3) * Park Sung-geun as Flasher (Ep. 4) * Jo Jung-sik as News Anchor * Lee Shi-ah as Lee Na-eun, stalking victim (Ep. 6) *

Ji Il-joo Ji Il-joo (born November 7, 1985) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his role in the drama series ''Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo'' (2016–2017) and '' Hello, My Twenties!'' (2016) Directing In 2018, Ji is making his debut as a direc ...

as Jeon Sung-ho, stalker (Ep. 6) * Seo Dong-won as So Jung-ha (Ep. 21–22) * Jo Ah-ra as So Jung-ha's girlfriend (Ep. 22) *

Kim Ye-jun Kim Ye-jun ( ko, 김예준; born April 28, 2007), is a South Korean child actor. He is known for his roles in '' Misaeng: Incomplete Life'', ''Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo'', '' Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People'', '' Secret Mother'' and ''Art ...

as Kim Jae-hong (Ep. 32–33)

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 Ilsan New Town refers to a planned city occupying Ilsandong-gu and Ilsanseo-gu of Goyang. Ilsan is located northwest of Seoul. Like other satellite cities in the Seoul National Capital Area such as Bundang, Ilsan was planned in order to alleviat ...

Production Center in Tanhyun,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Both lead actors

and

starred in ''

Warrior Baek Dong-soo ''Warrior Baek Dong-soo'' () is a 2011 South Korean fusion historical/action television series starring Ji Chang-wook in the title role, with Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-bin, Choi Min-soo and Jun Kwang-ryul. It aired on SBS from July 4 ...

'' 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

Ratings

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{hancinema drama, Suspicious_Partner Seoul Broadcasting System television dramas South Korean romantic comedy television series South Korean thriller television series 2017 South Korean television series debuts Korean-language television shows 2017 South Korean television series endings Television series by Studio S