K-SNAPP

'Judge Lee Han-young' Soars With Cathartic Takedowns, Hitting a 13.4% Ratings Peak

Explosive popularity

Ratings, Judge Lee Han-young, Drama, MBC, Ji Sung, Won Jin-a, Lee Jang-won, Lee Han-young, Web novel, Webtoon
Photo: MBC

The drama Judge Lee Han-young is captivating viewers with exhilarating takedowns of the powerful.

In episode 7 of MBC's Friday–Saturday drama Judge Lee Han-young, which aired on the 23rd, Lee Han-young (played by Ji Sung) uncovered additional crimes committed by Chu Yong-jin (played by Lee Jang-won), the main culprit behind the Nam-myeon District sinkhole case. He also proposed a joint operation to Kim Jin-a (played by Won Jin-a), sketching out a blueprint to wipe out entrenched corruption.

The episode scored 12% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 11.4% nationwide (Nielsen Korea, household ratings), once again breaking its own record and powering its unstoppable ratings run.

In particular, the moment when Judge Lee Han-young, during the sinkhole trial, watched the evidence video and declared, "The district office employee's actions constitute violence and extortion," surged to a nationwide minute peak of 13.4%, according to Nielsen Korea.

Meanwhile, Judge Lee Han-young is based on a web novel of the same name and was also serialized as a webtoon. The story follows a corrupt judge who lived as a slave to a mega law firm, returns to ten years earlier, and, with new choices, delivers justice by taking down the powerful— a time-reset revenge drama.