Characters / Hyena

Jung Geum-ja

Played by: Kim Hye-Soo

• Amoral Attorney: Geum-ja often uses illegal methods to obtain evidence or information for her cases.
• Big Eater: Downplayed. She is seen eating Once an Episode and claims that she eats "just about anything."
• Dark and Troubled Past: Geum-ja was an orphan before being adopted by the Jungs. Unfortunately, her adoptive father is a physically abusive alcoholic and beats her adoptive mother to death during one of his drunken fits. Years later, Geum-ja is still shaken by the abuse and trauma she experienced.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Geum-ja comes off as a selfish, money-obsessed, cold-hearted bitch in the first few episodes of the series. Through Hidden Depths, we see the lengths she had to go through to survive her abusive childhood, and she gradually warms up to Hee-jae as they grow closer.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: As the resident Jerk with a Heart of Gold, she often asks Hee-jae to stop worrying about her and stop pitying her.
• Drink-Based Characterization: In contrast to Hee-jae, Geum-ja prefers soju - which matches her humble upbringing and no-nonsense attitude.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Happens when Geum-ja is triggered by news of her father's release, and then later after he shows up in her office.
• Guile Hero: Geum-ja doesn't hesitate to charm and manipulate others – fellow lawyers, clients, and witnesses – to gain information to win her cases. Her penchant for illegal activity is what gets her hired at Song & Kim and starts to rub off on the members of Team H.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Geum-ja comes off as selfish and money-hungry at first but has a few Pet the Dog moments throughout the series.
  • Although she gets Son Jin-su acquitted, she blackmails him with his knowledge of the illegal information sale to ensure that he doesn't retaliate against Kim Yeong-jun.
  • She's extremely protective of Park Ju-ho due to their childhood together and seems saddened that she caused him to lose his job on the police force. She gives him money and hires him as a PI to make up for it.
  • When at a restaurant, Geum-ja sees a husband hitting his wife and child. She stands up for them and threatens to report the husband to the police.
  • Baek Un-mi comes to Geum-ja with claims about her mother's abuse with the understanding that her mother will finally be held accountable. At first, it seems like Geum-ja will just use her as leverage against Gnosis and not press charges. Even though she doesn't move forward with legal charges, Geum-ja does engineer a public confrontation in front of the press allowing Un-mi to expose the truth and destroy her mother's clean reputation.
  • Ji-eun reveals that Geum-ja saved her life when she was younger by taking her to the hospital when she Attempted Suicide by overdose.
• Large Ham: Kim Hye-soo seems to be having fun hamming it up as the high maintenance fiancée at the White Hotel.
• Meaningful Name: "Geum" means "gold" - which is fitting considering Geum-ja chose this name when reinventing herself.
• Only in It for the Money: Geum-ja claims that her only motivation in becoming a lawyer is the money. Hidden Depths reveal that her real motivation is to better understand the law so she doesn't become a victim again.
• Physical Scars, Psychological Scars: She has some burn scars over one shoulder as a souvenir of her abusive childhood.
• Power Hair: When pretending to be Hee-sun to seduce Hee-jae, Geum-ja has a longer, flowy, feminine haircut. After the First-Episode Twist is revealed, she switches to her natural jawline-length cut which better displays her cutthroat nature.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Geum-ja is the red oni to Hee-jae's blue oni. She is willing to break rules, take risks, manipulate people, and she's headstrong and unpredictable.
• The Rival: Hee'jae's main rival. They are opposing counsel in their first few interactions with each other. They have oppositional approaches to their cases and have a difficult time learning how to work together on Team H.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Geum-ja favors tracksuits and sneakers when working at Choong Law, highlighting her pragmatic and down-to-earth personality. When she starts working at Song & Kim, she starts wearing more tailored suits and heels to blend in with the upper-class lawyers – although she still wears vibrant colors that distinguish her. After she's fired, she switches back to her trademark tracksuits and sneakers.

Yoon Hee-jae

Played by: Ju Ji-Hoon

• The Ace: He's a proficient litigator with family connections in the legal field. He's also the youngest partner at Song & Kim and becomes a rising star after winning a high-profile case.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Hee-jae resorts to drinking when feeling conflicted about the lengths he must go to to follow Pil-jung's orders.
• Nepotism: Hee-jae gets accused of climbing the ladder quickly at Song & Kim because his father and Song Pil-jung are close.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Geum-ja is the red oni to Hee-jae's blue oni. He is more proud, cultured, and generally follows orders and the law.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Hee-jae wears understated and neutral-colored suits in black, grey, navy, or tan during his time at Song & Kim, signifying his loyalty to the firm and support of Mr. Song's goals as one of their top lawyers. Once he's fired, he starts wearing more patterns and bright colors to signify his freedom and individuality. The final scene of the series has him wearing a bright, baby blue suit.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Hee-jae is fond of expensive, well-tailored suits. Even in the few instances in which he's not wearing a suit, he still has a clean cut and neat look.
• Three Successful Generations: Hee-jae comes from a line of successful judges. His grandfather was a Supreme Court judge, and near the beginning of the series, Hee-jae's father wins an appointment as Supreme Court judge. Hee-jae's brother is also a judge. Hee-jae breaks from this tradition by becoming a lawyer at Song & Kim.
• Wine Is Classy: As part of his Drink-Based Characterization, Hee-jae prefers red wine and takes pride in recommending and describing specific variants.

Song Pil-jung

Played by: Lee Kyoung-Young

• Bad Boss: It becomes increasingly evident that Pil-jung only cares about his goals and will throw anyone who gets in his way under the bus.
• The Chessmaster: Song Pil-Jung will do whatever it takes to pass the Inheritance Tax Act. He aligns himself closely with Chairman Son to keep control over Issume, even covering up Seo Jeong Hwa's murder to help him. He supports Ha Jun-ho's appointment as the new CEO of Issume because he's easy to control. And as soon as Geum-ja is no longer useful and Hee-jae stops following his orders, he has them fired even before a decision is reached on their bar association hearing.
• Converse with the Unconscious: Pil-jung does this when he visits his comatose wife in the nursing home.
• Evil Mentor: He acts as a sort of mentor to Hee-jae at Song & Kim. At least until Hee-jae and his father directly oppose his goals. Then, he swiftly proceeds to attempt and eliminate both - by driving Hee-jae's father to suicide and then firing Hee-jae.

Ga Gi-hyeok

Played by: Jun Suk-Ho

• Best Friend: Gi-hyeok is one for Hee-jae. They confide in each other and often drink together after work. Hee-jae even forgives him after Gi-hyeok's testimony to the Korean Bar Association gets Hee-jae and Geum-ja suspended.
• Knowledge Broker: Although he's won zero cases, Gi-hyeok is well connected, "knows everything and everyone," and is a pro at schmoozing people for information.
• The Mole: Becomes one for the team at Choong Law by feeding incriminating information about Pil-jung back to Hee-jae and stealing Pil-jung's DNA to prove he killed Jeong-hwa.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Gi-hyeok shares this role with Yumi.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Yu-mi and Gi-hyeok after they get together. Yu-mi gets him a cake with candles after he makes partner, and she happily congratulates him and feeds him food at the restaurant.

Lee Ji-eun

Played by: Oh Gyeong-Hwa

• Attempted Suicide: It's implied that Ji-eun attempted suicide when she was young after her mother ran away and abandoned her and her siblings.
• The Reliable One: She's Geum-ja's right-hand woman and is shown to be just as crafty and guile as her boss. She's always the first to jump to Geum-ja's aid and is her closest confidant. Frequently seen supporting and taking care of others.
• Ship Tease: With I-jun. He asks her out to dinner.
• Shipper on Deck: Ji-eun drunkenly confesses to Hee-jae that she's "rooting for you two!"

Boo Hyeon-a

Played by: Park Se-Jin

• The Conscience: Hyeon-a is usually the first to question whether something is fair or legal. Ji-eun describes her as Song & Kim's Don Quixote, and the only lawyer there who takes pro bono cases.
• Distaff Counterpart: Hyeon-a is one for Hee-jae since both come from pedigreed families and are rising stars at Song & Kim.

Kim Chang-uk

Played by: Hyun Bong-Sik

• Bizarre Taste in Food: Chang-uk's favorite dish is pork rinds. The other characters complain about his taste in food and ask him to try something else so they can stop eating at restaurants that only serve pork rinds.
• The Smart Guy: A "genius" who has never lost any of his cases, Chang-uk is a walking encyclopedia who can quote definitions and laws verbatim.

Na I-jun

Played by: Jeong Ji-Hwan

• Can't Hold His Liquor: Usually gets drunk after one shot and makes a fool of himself.
• The Cutie: He's the least experienced in Team H; when first recruited, he's worked at Song & Kim for less than a year and has only been in charge of organizing meeting minutes. Unlike his teammates, he can't hold his liquor at all and easily falls for Son Jin-su's gaslighting.
• Ship Tease: With Ji-eun. He asks ask her out to dinner.

Park Ju-ho

Played by: Hong Ki-Joon

• Big Brother Instinct: For Geum-ja. He is extremely protective of her especially after her father gets released from prison. He threatens her father to stay away from her and later recruits Hee-jae's help to try and find a way to send her father back to prison.
• Friend on the Force: He funnels police info to Geum-ja that she wouldn't be able to get through official channels.

Kevin Jung

Played by: Kim Jae-Chul

• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Kevin seems like a nice guy, until he reveals his true colors and asks Geum-ja to deliver incriminating information on Hee-jae's father as a show of her loyalty to him.
• But Not Too Foreign: Kevin, who is ethnically Korean but primarily lives in America, is called a "foreigner" by other characters multiple times. They also tend to speak to him in English even though his Korean is perfect.
• Dogged Nice Guy: Kevin seems this way at first: he overtly flirts with Geum-ja, asks her to help him get set up in Korea, and sends a bouquet of pink roses to her office. Ultimately subverted though - see Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.

Sim Yu-mi

Played by: Hwang Bo-Ra

• Drop-In Character: Yu-mi often shows up unannounced at Song & Kim to make things awkward for Geum-ja and Hee-jae, or to discuss plot events with Gi-hyeok.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Yu-mi mainly shows up to embarrass and cause hijinks among the main characters. This role falls to Gi-hyeok when she's not around.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Yu-mi and Gi-hyeok after they get together. Yu-mi gets him a cake with candles after he makes partner, and she happily congratulates him and feeds him food at the restaurant.