With only two episodes left until the finale, tvN‘s Monday-Tuesday drama ‘Parole Judge Lee Han Shin’ (directed by Yoon Sang Ho, written by Park Chi Hyung) has broken its own highest viewership ratings.

Episode 10 of ‘Parole Judge Lee Han Shin’, which aired on the 17th, recorded an average of 6.5%, a peak of 7.9% nationwide, and an average of 6% and a peak of 7.8% in the metropolitan area. This is its own highest viewership ratings. (Nielsen Korea, paid platform)

On this day, Lee Han Shin (played by Go Soo), Ahn Seo Yoon (played by Kwon Yu Ri), and Choi Hwa Ran (played by Baek Ji Won) made up their minds to bring down the Ohjung Group. Choi Hwa-ran, who was previously attacked by Ji Dong-man (Song Young-chang) and hospitalized, told Lee Han-shin, “Tell me how to destroy the Ohjung Group,” and Ahn Seo-yoon (Kwon Yu-ri), who saw the footage of Jimyeong-seop (Lee Hak-joo) killing his younger sister Ahn Da-yoon (Kim Ye-na), was troubled by how to reveal this. Lee Han-shin tried to get him paroled because the Ohjung Group was after his senior from his time as a prison guard, Cheon Su-beom (Cho Seung-yeon).

The teamwork between Lee Han-shin, Ahn Seo-yoon, and Choi Hwa-ran grew stronger through the ordeal. Choi Hwa-ran bribed people in the same prison to protect Cheon Su-beom, who was worried about Lee Han-shin’s safety in prison. Also, although they secured the crime scene footage of Jimin Seop, Lee Han-shin stepped forward, saying, “This time, I‘ll help you,” for Ahn Seo-yoon, who was worried because his face wasn’t clearly visible.

Lee Han-shin and Ahn Seo-yoon decided to use Jimin Seop‘s press conference to apologize for Ji Dong-man’s owner risk and to solidify his position within the Ohjung Group. As he pretended to reflect on his actions by kneeling in front of the gathered reporters, the footage of Ahn Da-yoon‘s murder was played behind him. Hwang Ji-soon (Nam Tae-woo), the office manager of Lee Han-shin’s law office, had switched the footage. Ahn Seo-yoon, who then rushed to the scene with her junior Kim Joo-mok (Na Hyun-woo) without the permission of the team leader, arrested Jimin Seop and Son Eung-joon (Kim Young-woong) on charges of Ahn Da-yoon‘s murder.


Choi Hwa-ran once again cooperated to get Cheon Soo-beom paroled. On the day of the parole hearing, Hwang Ji-soon and Choi Hwa-ran’s family members planned to lock Seo Dong-hoon (played by Kim Min-jae), a lawyer for the Oh Jung Group, in the sauna to prevent him from giving a disqualifying opinion. Seo Dong-hoon, who was unable to attend the hearing on time, sent documents proving Lee Han-shin and Cheon Soo-beom‘s friendship via Quick, so that he would be excluded from this hearing.

In a situation where two of the five judges could not vote, if Vice Minister of Justice Yoon Sang-hoon (played by Jung Wook) and Director of the Ministry of Justice’s Corrections Bureau Jung Wook (played by Park Jung-hak), who are both from the Oh Jung Group, gave disqualifying opinions, Cheon Soo-beom‘s parole would be thwarted by a majority vote. However, Lee Han-shin had already used Choi Hwa-ran’s financial power to bribe Jung Wook. In the end, Jung Wook gave a disqualifying opinion, and Cheon Soo-beom overcame the Oh Jung Group‘s obstruction and obtained parole.

However, the joy was short-lived, as an unexpected twist occurred. Lee Han-shin, who was leaving after the examination, was arrested on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act. Lee Han-shin’s bewildered expression, which we see for the first time, once again heightened the tension. Lee Han-shin‘s bewildered expression raised the tension of the drama to its peak and stimulated curiosity. Is Lee Han-shin’s arrest another conspiracy by the Oh Jung Group? Attention is focused on the remaining episodes.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter, projecthong@donga.com