Main series: Criminals | Police & Military | Hostages
Other media: Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area
Characters from Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area.
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Criminals:
The Professor
The Professor/Park Sun-ho
Played by: Yoo Ji-tae
The mastermind in charge of the heist on the Korea Unified Mint, the Professor is a former university professor who was motivated to plan the heist in order to solve the economic problems from the Korean unification process that he had previously taught about.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Unlike the original Professor, he was never fond of robberies since his childhood, instead being motivated to begin one to simply solve the Korean society's economic issues. Plus, the outline of the heist is entirely his own, whereas the original took plans from people close to him.
- Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed. The new Professor is basically the same Affably Evil Villain Protagonist from the original series, but that Professor was, for all of his scruples and compassion, motivated by his fascination of robberies. This one initiated the heist out of the desire to prevent greedy politicians and corporate executives from misusing his economic plan under the guise of Korean reunification to make themselves richer.
- The Chessmaster: Like the original Professor and as the one who orchestrates the heist, he has schemes for just about every outcome he initially thought about before the heist, and uses said outcomes to elaborate new ones.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: He tells Woo-jin that his father had dementia 'too' (Considering what is told about his backstory, it was probably a lie). This causes Woo-jin to discover his true identity, as he has never met her mother, as far as she knows.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: The Professor and Berlin were half-brothers in the original series. They're shown to have the same parents in this continuity.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Just like the original Professor.
- Unwitting Pawn: Several years before the series begins, the Professor was an economics teacher specializing in the unification of North and South Korea. He was hired by Kim Sang-man to devise an economic plan that would successfully unify the Peninsula, unaware that his plan would be used by the conglomerates to become richer. When he realized the truth, he put together the heist in order to foil Kim and his fellow conspirators.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His ultimate reason for the heist is to prevent the greedy conglomerates from using his economic plan to make more money under the guise of unifying North and South Korea.
Berlin
Berlin/Song Jung-ho
Played by: Park Hae-soo
A former North Korean concentration camp prisoner and the heist team's commanding leader at the mint. From his past experience at the Kaechon camp, he uses violence and fear to keep the hostages under control, in contrast to the Professor's protocol.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: This Berlin's background (detailed in the Dark and Troubled Past section) turns out to be much harsher than that of the original one who wasn't diagnosed with terminal illness until late adulthood and didn't have to spend his childhood in a concentration camp not to see his parents again.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Exaggerated. Berlin is pretty much the only character in the series who has a completely different backstory from his original counterpart. Rather than being a terminally ill career thief who's had multiple wives and a son, he's a former concentration camp prisoner who applies his experience to command the heist at the Mint. Although it turns out he too is terminally ill with Huntington's disease as well as the Professor's brother.
- Adaptational Heroism: While he's still the Token Evil Teammate, the original Berlin raped one of the hostages, but this one doesn't. The original also kicks Tokyo out of the Mint for pettiness, while this one does it as part of a plan she had knowledge of.
- Dark and Troubled Past: When Berlin was a boy, his family tried to flee North Korea to find treatment for his illness. His father and brother managed to escape, but his mother was shot and he himself spent twenty-five years in Kaechon camp before he managed to escape and become a leader of a criminal gang. When his brother finally found him, he learned that their father had died while robbing a bank to make enough money to free him.
- Death by Origin Story: His mother died during their attempted defection from North Korea.
- Handicapped Badass: He's been suffering from Huntington's disease since childhood, yet he managed to survive all the years in a concentration camp and become the leader of a mercenary gang before willingly taking part in the risky heist of the mint and nearly dying to give the team time to escape in the second season finale.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: The Professor and Berlin were half-brothers in the original series. They're shown to have the same parents in this continuity.
- Terminally-Ill Criminal: Downplayed as, unlike his counterpart from the original series, isn't really motivated by or doesn't mind about his illness at all, since he had spent over two decades diagnosed with it, and doesn't try to get himself killed when he gets the opportunity to do it in a glamorous way. He still gets physical and mental issues when he doesn't take his necessary medication for a good while, though.
- Token Evil Teammate: Like the original, he's the only member of the heist team who's willing to harm hostages, though he's much less murderous in comparison.
Tokyo
Tokyo/Lee Hong-dan
Played by: Jeong Jong-seo
A former North Korean soldier who had been looking for a job in South Korea before finding herself forced to become a robber and thief. She's been wanted for a while before joining the heist team.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: While both versions of Tokyo had a hard life before joining the heist team, the original was a willing thief who robbed small locales. The Korean one, on the other hand, was a North Korean military veteran who tried to find a legitimate job in South Korea, but ended up becoming a fugitive from the poor job conditions that she had.
- Adaptational Badass: This Tokyo is, thanks to her military training, less reckless and a better leader than the original one.
- Age Lift: The original Tokyo was around her mid-30s. This Tokyo is in her mid-20s.
- Character Narrator: Like her counterpart from the original series, Tokyo is the character who narrates the events.
- Composite Character: Downplayed. While Tokyo and Nairobi are still separate characters, Tokyo inherits some traits of the original Nairobi, such as becoming the leader in the Mint after the group disagrees with Berlin's methods. Meanwhile, Nairobi takes the original Tokyo's status as The Tease.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Initially, she's annoyed by Rio and thinks of him as just a boy. After learning more about his relationship with his family, she warms up to him.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: The former communist soldier resorted to robbing and killing loan sharks before she was recruited for the heist of the century.
- Loan Shark: Before joining the heist team, she used to rob from and kill South Korean loan sharks, who began to extort North Koreans upon the opening of the Korean border.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Inverted. Unlike the Spanish version, she doesn't develop a romance with Rio prior to the heist, and she's annoyed by him at times.
Moscow
Moscow/Oh Man-sik
Played by: Lee Won-jong
An former miner and ex-convict who's been constantly in and out of prison.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: The original Moscow left mining due to getting silicosis and experiencing claustrophobia. This one had to leave due his constant convictions. The original one abandoned Denver's mother due to her drug addiction when Denver was very young. This one got together with Denver's mother because she developed Stockholm syndrome when he robbed the bank she worked at, but she left once she had given birth to Denver.
- Tunnel King: Just like the original Moscow, he's an expert at tunneling and is the one in charge of digging the escape tunnel for the team to leave through after reaching their goal.
Denver
Denver/Oh Taek-su
Played by: Kim Ji-hoon
An underground fighter and Moscow's son.
- Adaptational Dumbass: The original Denver certainly wasn't a bright person, but he looks smart when compared to this one, who tends to contribute less to the heist and even falls for Young-min's plan to find the Professor, getting himself captured and beaten up in the process.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He comes off as even more ditzy than his original counterpart, but he's still a dangerous hand-to-hand combatant.
- Endearingly Dorky: Mi-seon lampshades that despite his clumsiness, Denver is loveably authentic.
- Fight Clubbing: He has been one of the local champions in underground fight clubs long before participating in the heist. The fact that he's a fan of Rocky certainly helps in emphasizing this.
- Generation Xerox: Denver falls in love with one of the workers of the place he's robbing and starts a new life with her. His father reveals the exact same thing happened between him and Denver's mother, except that it ended with her leaving once she had given birth to Denver.
- Lima Syndrome: Like his original counterpart, he falls in love with one of the mint's workers after he refuses to execute her on Berlin's orders. After his father reveals he got together with Denver's mother due to her Stockholm syndrome, Denver breaks up with Mi-seon in order to not to trap her to a life of crime, but she ultimately chooses to stay with him.
Nairobi
Nairobi/Sim Young-mun
Played by: Jang Yoon-ju
- Composite Character: Downplayed. While Tokyo and Nairobi are still separate characters, Tokyo inherits some traits of the original Nairobi, such as becoming the leader in the mint after the group disagrees with Berlin's methods. Meanwhile, Nairobi takes the original Tokyo's status as The Tease.
- Con Man: This Nairobi is established to have experience not only at counterfeiting, but also at swindling.
- Mama Bear: She's forced by Kim Sang-man to assassinate Anne Kim when he threatens her son's life.
- The Tease: Her introduction scene alone has her purposefully showing off her behind to the rest of the crew while she takes her time to pick up her alias.
Rio
Rio/Han Joseph
Played by: Jeong Jong-seo
The youngest member of the heist team who takes the role of hacker. Asides from his skills in hacking, Rio is also a medical school dropout, and is the son of affluent parents.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: His relationship with his parents is pretty terrible when compared to the original's more positive one. His father pressures him to continue the family tradition and become a doctor even though he's Afraid of Blood.
- Adaptational Skill: As well as being a hacking expert, this Rio has also had education about surgery, which, while not completed, allows him to also serve as The Medic of the team.
- Afraid of Blood: The reason he dropped out of medical school. Though aware of this, his father keeps trying to force him to finish his medical studies. He briefly overcomes this to remove a bullet out of Mi-seon's leg.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Like the original, he's the youngest and most boyish of the thieves. The Korean word maknae (youngest) is used in reference to him.
- The Medic: Thanks to his education in medicine, he's able to perform simple surgeries for the team.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Inverted. Unlike the original series, he doesn't develop a romance with Tokyo prior to the heist, though it's clear that he still has a crush on her.
- Ship Tease: Has a crush on Tokyo and they become more close after episode 4.
Helsinki
Helsinki/Ko Myung-tae
Played by: Kim Ji-hun
- Adaptational Backstory Change: The original Helsinki was a war veteran. This one grew up in an orphanage before working as a fixer.
- Adaptational Sexuality: The original Helsinki was homosexual. This one gets no mention about his sexuality.
- Bald Head of Toughness: Like the original Helsinki, he's bald and one of the team's toughest members.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: Whereas the original Helsinki and Oslo were cousins, the two are stated to be brothers in this series. They're not biologically related though, for they grew up in the same orphanage.
- The Triads and the Tongs: He and Oslo were members of a Chinese gang from Yanbian before joining the heist team.
Oslo
Oslo/Lee Hong-dan
Played by: Lee Kyu-ho
- Adaptational Backstory Change: The original Oslo was a war veteran. This one grew up in an orphanage before working as a fixer.
- Adaptational Curves: Oslo and Helsinki are both large men in both series, but Helsinki is the taller and bulkier one in the Spanish series. It's the opposite way around in the Korean remake.
- Adaptation Personality Change: The original Oslo was The Quiet One, The Stoic and Out of Focus among the heist crew. This Oslo gets more lines and is presented to be a Bruiser with a Soft Center who has a personal motive to reunite with his mother.
- Bruiser with a Soft Center: He may be a beefy thug, but his motivation for joining the heist is to get enough money to live with his mother. When he insists on taking water to some of the isolated hostages, Helsinki remarks he's too nice for a robber. This leads to him getting fatally hit in the head when said hostages escape.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: It's revealed that he and Helsinki killed their whole gang and fled to South Korea because Oslo wanted to find his mother and live with her.
- Mighty Glacier: He's the most heavily built member of the team. Denver is able to beat him in hand-to-hand combat only by relying on his superior speed and agility as well as some dirty tactics.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: Whereas the original Helsinki and Oslo were cousins, the two are stated to be brothers in this series. They're not biologically related though, for they grew up in the same orphanage.
- The Triads and the Tongs: He and Helsinki were members of a Chinese gang from Yanbian before joining the heist team.
Police & military:
Seon Woo-jin
Seon Woo-jin
Played by: Kim Yun-jin
A South Korean inspector who was assigned to lead over the case of the heist.
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Woo-jin still has major family issues with her ex-husband, but unlike Raquel, she doesn't find herself ostracized while on the job, as the North Korean and South Korean officers and soldiers always go along with her orders and plans.
Cha Moo-hyuk
Cha Moo-hyuk
Played by: Kim Sung-oh
A captain of North Korea's Ministry of Social Security, Moo-hyuk is the secondary officer in charge of the heist after Woo-jin.
- Composite Character: Of Ángel Rubio and Alfonso Prieto from the original series. Much like Prieto, Moo-hyuk is a high-ranking official who represents the interests of an external government (in this case, the North Korean one) in regards to the heist, and isn't well acquainted with Woo-jin. However, both his appearance and personality are much more like Ángel's.
Police Chief Yun Chang-su
Police Chief Yun Chang-su
Played by: Park Su-yeong
Officially the boss of Woo-Jin and Moo-hyuk, he is often little more then a figurehead.
- Clueless Boss: Most of the time he can only parrot orders from the higher ups, other times he is an audience surrogate for Woo-jin and Moo-hyuk to explain their actions.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Eventually after it becomes clear that the higher ups were going to let civilians die, he overrides Sang-man’s orders.
Park Chul-woo
Park Chul-woo
Played by: Gil Eun-seong
A member of the North Korean military special operations unit, he is the only one in his team who successfully infiltrates the bandit-occupied Mint.
- Badass in Distress: He initially escaped detection and manages to blend in among the hostages, but is very quickly discovered and is shot at, locked up, and used to humiliate the police force.
Hostages:
Cho Young-min
Cho Young-min
Played by: Park Myung-hoon
The director of the Korea Unified Mint. He's the equivalent of Arturo Román from the original series.
- Adaptational Badass: It's downplayed, but Young-min puts a better stance against the robbers than Arturo, even if he still ends up overpowered. With help of two other hostages, he successfully captures Denver and beats him up for a while before Mi-seon shows up.
- Adaptational Dumbass: On the other hand, he's done some considerably dumber acts than Arturo. Of particular note is when he attempts to frame Hyun-ho and the fake tunnel diggers of starting a revolt via speaking through camera right in front of them, which earns him a punch in the face from Hyun-ho.
- Covert Pervert: Implied in his introductory scene, where he appears to watch a porn video on his office's computer with a look of enjoyment in his face.
- Kangaroo Court: Discussed by him when he accuses Hyun-ho and the North Koreans involved in the digging of the fake tunnel of setting this up against him after the latter speak against how he's only exeucting his plans for his own good, calling them "commies" in the process.
- Kavorka Man: Much like Arturo, Young-min has had two love interests in spite of being a Jerkass and not having the best appearance.
Yoon Mi-seon
Yoon Mi-seon
Played by: Lee Joo-bin
An assistant manager of the Korea Unified Mint and Young-min's affair interest. She's the equivalent of Mónica Gaztambide from the original series.
- Adaptational Job Change: Mónica was Arturo's secretary. Mi-seon, on the other hand, is an assistant manager at the Mint, without directly reporting to Young-min.
- A Match Made in Stockholm: Like Mónica, she falls in love with Denver after he hides her instead of killing her on Berlin's orders. She too takes Stockholm as her alias when she joins the team.
- Pregnant Hostage: Like Mónica, she's pregnant with a child from Young-min during the Mint heist. Subverted since it's early on revealed to be false.
- Took a Level in Badass: In a similar way to Mónica. As she tends to the dying Moscow, she states that she's done everything in her life – education, employment and dating life – in accordance to the wishes of others, but after Denver came to her life, she's been following her heart for the first time.
Anne Kim
Anne Kim
Played by: Lee Si-wo
The daughter of the US ambassador to Korea, who's taken hostage by the heist team during a school trip to the Korea Unified Mint. She's the equivalent of Alison Parker from the original series.
- Adaptational Badass: Unlike her original counterpart Alison, she's not the shrinking wallflower easily bullied by her classmates. Instead of needing a rescue and pep-talk from her captors, she actively plots against them and tries to work with the infiltrating cops.
- Race Lift: In contrast to the rest of the characters, who are Korean instead of Spanish, Anne is American rather than British like Alison.
Hwang Hyun-ho
Hwang Hyun-ho
Played by: Hong In
The deputy director of the Korea Unified Mint.
- Benevolent Boss: Unlike Young-min, he cares about the safety of the hostages more than escaping and tries to keep Young-min from endangering everyone with his recklessness.
Other:
Kim Sang-man
Kim Sang-man
Played by: Jang Hyun-sung
A politician and Woo-jin's ex-husband. He's the equivalent of Alberto Vicuña from the original series.
- Adaptational Job Change: His original counterpart, Alberto Vicuña, was a forensic examiner instead of a politician.
- Adaptational Villainy: Like Alberto Vicuña, he's manipulative and a domestic abuser who fights with his ex-wife over the custody of their daughter. However, Sang-man takes it even further by being a Corrupt Politician who's trying to make profit under the cover of economic growth, and to prevent his involvement from being exposed, he's willing to endanger the hostages' lives to kill the heist team and even threatens the life of Nairobi's son to blackmail her.
- Universally Beloved Leader: Well, he's only a potential candidate to become the first president of a unified Korea and it's unknown if he's currently holding another political position, but he's still widely praised by both the North Korean and the South Korean public.
Jeon Yong-soo
Jeon Yong-soo
Played by: Lim Hyeong-guk
A leader who came down from the North Korean for inter-Korean economic cooperation.- Corrupt Politician: He works with Sang-man and Jae-yoon with the intention of getting rich, advocates killing both criminals and innocents, and previously was warden of a concentration camp where he tortured both his prisoners and stepdaughter.
- Malicious Slander: When Berlin publicly confronts him about their mutual past, Yong-soo lies about their history. This backfires when Seoul airs her own video.
Oh Jae-yoon
Oh Jae-yoon
Played by: Yi Chang-hun
The chairman of Ohsung Group, a supporter of Kim Sang-man and a person at the pinnacle of fulfilling his desires through the establishment of an inter-Korean economic cooperation model.- Corrupt Corporate Executive: He was the one who used the Professor’s plans for Korean reunification as a means to get rich, then allied himself with Sang-man and Yong-soo to ensure it happens.
- Evil Chancellor: In some way he is this to Sang-man, as he is the one encouraging the politician to take harsher and even lethal means to end the mint situation.
- The Man Behind the Man: Officially not involved in politics but he pulls the strings for both Sang-man and Yong-soo.
Seoul
Seoul
Played by: Lim Ji-yeon
The leader of the mercenaries outside the mint to help the robbers.- Action Girl: She leads the operations to break Tokyo out of her prison transport and later, to rescue Nairobi’s son.
- The Reveal: She makes an online confession video revealing her identity as Yong-soo‘s stepdaughter and the true history between them and Berlin.
