Some of the main and recurrent characters.
This is the character sheet for The Devil Judge.
Beware of unmarked spoilers.
open/close all folders
Main Characters
Kang Yo-han
- Played by: Ji Sung (adult), Moon Woo-jin (child)
The Live Court's chief judge. He punishes corrupt politicians and businesspeople with no mercy, earning him the "devil judge" nickname. He has a mysterious aura and is full of secrets.
- Abusive Parents: His father forced him to sleep in the basement and whipped him with a belt. He almost struck him with a cane once but Isaac stopped him.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Ever since he killed a bird in school when he was a child, he was called a monster. No one wanted to talk to him they treated him like he was invisible — like he was a monster.
- Anti-Hero: He's a merciless vigilante judge who punishes the guilty with his judgments in court. He doesn't care if the defendants in court are powerless or not — he treats them all equally.
- Big "WHAT?!": This is his reaction when Ga-on accuses him of murdering Isaac.
- Copycat Mockery: He mimics the way Elijah responds to Ga-on's "hurry up!" after asking her why she's looking at Ga-on fondly — teasing her for her growing affection for him.Elijah: I'm coming.
Yo-han: "I'm coming. ~"
Elijah: You must have a death wish! [chases after him in her wheelchair] - Drives Like Crazy: Does this while trying to catch Young-min, cutting in front of and weaving around other cars without regard for his own or anyone else's safety.
- Faking the Dead: Does this twice.
- He's reported dead. He isn't. Another prisoner tried to kill him, got killed instead, and the prison warden ensured his body was identified as Yo-han's while the real Yo-han escaped.
- Happens again when he blows up the courtroom. Everyone assumes he was killed in the explosion. Actually, he survived.
- Forced to Watch: Sun-ah and Jae-hee force him to watch as they drop his driver to his death.
- Forceful Kiss: Sun-ah kisses him while he's handcuffed and can't push her away.
- Friendless Background: He didn't have any friends when he was a child and the kids at school avoided him and even bullied him for being weird.
- Hate Plague: Unbeknownst to his classmates, he arranges things so some of his classmates would like they stole their other classmates' expensive stuff and have them attack each other while he gleefully watches them from the back.
- Heroic Bastard: Downplayed since he's no hero, but his parents were never married. His father was drunk and had sex with a woman who worked at the bar. He was going to abandon baby Yo-han but when Isaac holds him and cries, their father decides to take him in.
- Humans Are Bastards: He has a deep-seated belief that humans are "the most dangerous and harmful things in the world" revealing his cynicism towards society.
- I Am the Noun:
- He gives a speech at the Social Responsibility Foundation where he exclaims that he's "the power."
Yo-han: I am power! I am power. Me, me, me!- When Professor Min quotes Friedrich Nietzsche's famous line about the abyss gazing back, he replies by saying he "misunderstood the situation. I'm the abyss."
- Missing Mom: His mother abandoned him when he was a baby.
- Murder-Suicide: Locks himself and the corrupt politicians in the courtroom then blows it up near the end of the series. Subverted since he survives.
- No Sense of Personal Space: Gets very close to Ga-on, practically holds him against a bookcase, and puts his hand on his shoulder when he finds him in his office.
- No Sympathy: When one of the victims' relatives comes up to him after a trial to thank him profusely for bringing justice to her relative, she starts sobbing. He yawns while comforting her. Ga-on later asks Jin-joo if it's possible for someone to yawn while tearing up indicating he might be an unsympathetic person faking sympathy.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Played for Drama. When Elijah is heartbroken over Ga-on leaving their mansion, Yo-han admittedly says some harsh words to her. When he tries to apologize she angrily points out that he never apologizes.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: This is generally his mentality and method when dealing with criminals and corrupt individuals.
- He causes a man that was involved in the church fire that killed Isaac to fall to his death.
- The kids in Yohan's elementary school started bullying him after he killed a bird during class. He gets revenge on them by putting the belongings of rich kids in the bag of the poor ones and thus the whole class ends up fighting one another. All while he watches them from the back laughing.
- Properly Paranoid: Made plans to get out of prison if he ever ended up there. When Sun-ah got him arrested he put his plans into action and got out easily.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Happens twice and both times he survives.
- The first time he's reported murdered in prison.
- The second time it's assumed he died in the courtroom explosion.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Except when he's in the court, he wears a suit for most of the series.
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: He's cynical about the system and doesn't believe in justice. He tries to teach Ga-on life is unfair and that idealism or complete trust in this corrupt system won't solve anything. They have to take matters into their own hands.
- Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: As a child, he killed a bird just because it landed on the desk beside him (with a knife at that— he brought a knife to class). He also made Sun-ah jump from a second-story window (though it was her own choice), and according to Ms. Ji, his housekeeper, he poisoned his father's favorite dog.
- Would Hit a Girl: Tells Sun-ah he treats men and women the same, immediately before trying to throttle her.
Kim Ga-on
- Played by: Park Jin-young (adult), Park Jin-woo (child)
"A judge... has the most power when they do what the law says."
An associate, rookie judge. He pursues upright justice and was able to become a judge through hard work and great effort.
- Angry Collar Grab: He grabs Professor Min by his collar twice as he screams at him for letting Soo-hyun die til the security guards took him away.
- Break the Cutie: He's stated to be cute In-Universe and he doesn't take it well when he learns Young-choon escaped prison, especially since this revelation came right after Ga-on thinks Yo-han is just using him. He ends up even more broken later when he learns he was tricked into turning against Yo-han.
- Conflicting Loyalty:
- He has to choose multiple times between his righteous, lawful best friend Soo-hyun and the Vigilante Man Yo-han and his questionable methods. His choice is different but he mostly takes Soo-hyun's side.Yo-han: If you want to save the world, cut Yoon Soo-hyun out of your life.
Ga-on: [Removes Yo-han's hand from his shoulder] Soo-hyun is my world. - He was made to pick between Professor Min and Yo-han once, and he picked Yo-han.
- He has to choose multiple times between his righteous, lawful best friend Soo-hyun and the Vigilante Man Yo-han and his questionable methods. His choice is different but he mostly takes Soo-hyun's side.
- Disappeared Dad: His father committed suicide when he was sixteen.
- Foil: He's presented as optimistic, heroic, and naive to how corrupt the system really is and what the rich can do, in contrast to the brooding anti-hero Yo-han who has a "defeat evil with evil" mentality.
- Good Is Not Soft: He's nice and polite to most people except those who harm the people he holds dear.
- He almost stabs Yo-han with a knife when he mistakenly thinks he's behind the murder of Soo-hyun.
- He intended to blow Professor Min up to avenge Soo-hyun's murder though he was stopped by Yo-han.
- Hates Rich People: When Yo-han takes him to an SRF event, he meets all kinds of influential and wealthy people there. At the dinner table, where some of them were gathered, Ga-on watches with disgust and shock as the most powerful people in the country revel in their own corruption, entirely absorbed in self-interest while laughing like insane people.
- Identical Stranger: He looks exactly like Kang Isaac.
- I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: Soo-hyun grumbles that she's asked Ga-on out five times since kindergarten and he's rejected her every time. Ga-on replies that she's his best friend and he doesn't want to lose her. Subverted when he kisses her on the spur of the moment and then tells her he likes her so much he just was afraid of them dealing with jealousy and petty fights as a couple and ruining their relationship in the process so he initially preferred them to remain as friends.
- Interrupted Suicide: Tries to kill himself and Professor Min with a bomb he strapped on his body. Yo-han arrives and defuses the bomb just in time.
- Love Confession: After rejecting her many times, he gives a long one to Soo-hyun in episode 13.
- Missing Mom: When he was 16 years old his mother died of illness.
- Murder-Suicide: He planned to kill himself and Professor Min. Yo-han interrupts him before he can go through with it.
- Nice Guy: He protects a child from a speeding bus, shields Yo-han from an explosion, and cooks for Elijah and Yo-han even though they have a housekeeper for that. Though his kindness has limits.
- Positive Friend Influence: He positively influences both Yo-han and Elijah and even their gloomy Big Fancy House. Ever since he came to their house, he slowly made Yo-han smile and be playful more, and made Elijah open up more and eat full, normal Korean meals, which they aren't used to eating, that he cooked for them. This gets lampshaded by their housekeeper.Ms. Ji: What's all this? Master Yo-han. The cheerfulness that doesn't suit this house. What is this? (Yo-han runs away) You never touch the food I make.
- Prone to Tears: He's not afraid of crying and easily gets emotional at anything and everything.
- Supreme Chef: He cooks a really delicious meal for Yo-han and Elijah judging by their reactions. Justified in that he was the son of a restaurant owner.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: He starts as one, being all virtuous as he even says "no one man should monopolize justice." But the more he learns about Yo-han’s motives, the less he's certain about his ideals and moral stance. Ga-on finds out that the world can’t be so easily divided into bad and good.
- You Monster!: In episode 15, he calls Yo-han out for using people's vulnerabilities and tells him it's human nature to know when to stop. Then refers to those who don't have these characteristics like Yo-han as devils and "self-pitying monsters." This angers Yo-han and causes him to grab Ga-on by the throat.
Jang Sun-ah
- Played by: Kim Min-jung (adult), Kim Ga-yoon (child)
"First, survive by all means. If others hit you, bite them. If you need something, steal it."
The executive director of the Social Responsibility Foundation. She's gorgeous, intelligent, and ambitious, however, she's also Yo-han's enemy. She has enough power to control the leaders of society.
- Abhorrent Admirer: She claims to be in love with Yo-han. The feeling isn't reciprocated of course. Especially since her idea of flirting is to knock him out, kidnap him, chain him up, and forcibly kiss him.
- Abusive Parents: She suddenly reveals that her alcoholic mom beat her as a kid whenever she was drunk which made her think she was a bad child (even though, ironically, her name means "good child").
- Afraid of Needles: She's afraid of syringes, though that doesn't stop her from injecting Yo-han with a drug.
- Ambition Is Evil: She has longed for money and power ever since she was young. She's willing to dirty her hands to get what she wants.
- Antagonist in Mourning: She reacts with shock and dismay when she hears Yo-han is dead, even though she was responsible for the events leading up to his apparent death.
- Bathtub Scene: Can be seen in a bathtub with a towel on her head while sipping from a cup to highlight her wealth and for fanservice.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She seems nice at first. Then she kidnaps Yo-han and reveals how scary she really is. She and Jae-hee visit Elijah in Yo-han's mansion as a threat to him and pretends to be friendly to her.
- Boom, Headshot!: Shoots President Heo Joong-se in the head, then kills herself the same way a few minutes later.
- The Chessmaster: She set the entire plot in motion by deliberately arranging for Ga-on and Yo-han to meet. And that's just the start of her manipulating everyone.
- The Corrupter: Shows strong shades of this.
- She takes advantage of Jin-joo's enthusiasm to be in the limelight and her eagerness to take a major role in trials just like her male peers and plants the idea that she needs to "overpower everyone because power is appealing." Sun-ah makes a point that all current and previous judges are men and that Jin-joo should change that and be more ambitious since she's "the biggest star." Jin-joo unfortunately takes the bait.
- She encourages troubled teen girls, in a broadcasted event at that, to Pay Evil unto Evil and to steal if needed, and if a man sexually harasses them, to torment him until he dies. Why? Because the world is a jungle and they have to survive.
- Deadly Hug: Hugs Chairman Seo, then stabs him to death.
- Disappeared Dad: She says that her father abandoned her and her mother during a lecture for a troubled teens' center.
- Driven to Suicide: Kills herself before Yo-han bombs the courtroom with everyone else inside and recalls a rare, happy memory between her and Yo-han before succumbing to her death.
- Driven to Villainy: Subtly implied. She reveals that as a child, she swore, got into fights, and stole things but it's all because she didn't have a choice and that everyone would insult her and beat her.
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: She looks kind but she happens to be a psychotic Manipulative Bitch who's responsible for almost everything that happens in the series.
- She kills Chairman Seo with a Deadly Hug at the end of episode 7.
- She pushes the director of a center for orphans down the stairs out of nowhere after literally talking nicely to her (perhaps due to the lady speaking unfavorably of the teens and because one of them had a bruise on her face).
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- At first, she's taken aback by President Heo’s plan of introducing a virus into a poor neighborhood and scoffs at it, however, she decides she's in later on.
- She might be a murderous, catty lady but she won't let the sexual harassment of a woman go unpunished. When Chairman Seo touches the thighs of a waitress in secret, she takes him to another room and then punches him, calls him a dog, and slaps him a few times.
- Freudian Excuse: Her mother abused her because she was struggling as a single mom since her father abandoned them and she was mistreated and beaten by everyone, plus she was always starving as a child due to poverty.
- Gold Digger: When she was a servant at Yo-han's mansion she had a habit of stealing valuable things like Isaac's mom's cross necklace. In the present day, she admits that she likes anything that sparkles and shines after claiming she used to like him so much; a statement Yo-han knows isn't true as she was after his money.
- High-Powered Career Woman: She's the director of a corporation and has always been very ambitious since she was a child and she has a no-nonsense attitude toward her job. Downplayed since she doesn't have kids nor is shown to have a family to juggle between them.
- Humanizing Tears: Cries for the first time due to feeling guilty when she sees that the young girl she sympathized with became sick and unconscious because of her actions.
- I've Come Too Far: Sun-ah recalls President Heo’s terrifying suggestion that they introduce a virus into a poor neighborhood. She then asks Jae-hee if the welfare foundation she visited as a mentor is quarantined. When the latter answers no, Sun-ah thinks of the poor girls she sympathized with at the foundation, then asks herself "how did I end up here?" but concludes that she can't turn back now.
- The Man Behind the Man: Is the real power behind the South Korean government.
- Missing Mom: When she was 12 her mother died by falling from the stairs when she was drunk. Though it's unclear whether it's by accident or it's Sun-ah who've done this since she pushed a lady down the stairs on the same day she revealed this info.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The ruthless and usually composed Sun-ah weeps for the first time when she visits the Dream Home Medical Center and goes to the bed of an 18-year-old girl she took a liking to at a center for orphans and runaway youth. She's horrified to find the girl unconscious with bruises all over her body. She then starts sobbing while apologizing profusely because of what her actions caused.Sun-ah: [Brushes the girl's hair and holds her hand] What have I done? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. [Weeps lodly] I'm sorry.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When she slightly expresses concern for the troubled girls at the foundation, Jae-hee wonders if she's going through menopause and why she's worried about others.
- Power Hair: She wears a bob and is the director of SRF and has the influence to control the nation, plus she wields considerable behind-the-scenes power.
- Rags to Riches: She used to work as a maid at Yo-han's mansion when she was a child. She later rose from poverty to become the chairwoman of a Foundation and is now powerful enough to influence the leaders of the country through her connections. How she acquired her wealth is left unknown.
- Talking to Themself: Sometimes she talks to herself with sweet praises like "you did well, Sun-ah!" or "Jung Sun-ah is incredible" in front of her mirror.
- Yandere: For Yo-han. She kidnaps him, kisses him without his consent, strangles him, and tells him she wants to hurt him. To prove to Yo-han that she "truly loves" him, she jumps from the window of the second floor of his mansion.
Yoon Soo-hyun
- Played by: Park Gyu-young (adult), Yoon Byul-ha (child)
"Don't do it. Don't ruin your life over a crook like him."
A lieutenant in the Regional Investigation Unit and Ga-on's childhood friend. She's a courageous woman who attempts to reveal Yo-han's secrets.
- Anger Born of Worry: She calls him a fool and, slightly exasperated with him, she begs him not to put himself in danger again and to stop ruining his own life.Soo-hyun: That's all I ask for, Ga-on. You're all I need, Ga-on.
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: In a flashback/dream of Ga-on's, she grabs the knife Ga-on was holding to kill Young-choon to prevent him from committing murder. Deconstructed since she cuts her hand and it leaves a scar.
- Bonding Through Shared Earbuds: When Ga-on tears up at the thought of him not knowing what exactly happened to his deceased parents and the man who conned them out of their money escaping jail, she puts an earbud in his ear and one in hers and plays a sentimental song then side-hugs him while he cries... in the middle of a restaurant nonetheless.
- Boyish Short Hair: Played With. She has short hair fitting her job as a cop but she used to have long hair in the past.
- By-the-Book Cop: She strictly follows the law and blindly trusts it and the system even though events around her prove that the system is corrupt. However, this is played with since she tampered with the crime scene where she found Ga-on, but it's just a case of suicide mistaken for murder on her end. She was still half willing to cover up a crime for Ga-on though.
- Childhood Friend Romance: She switches from an unlucky childhood friend to a victorious one when Ga-on finally reciprocates her feelings and upgrades their relationship (though that doesn't last long since she dies in the same episode).
- Destroy the Evidence: Played with since a crime didn't happen. When she enters Minister Cha's office and sees her dead body with Ga-on (and Yo-han) there, she jumps to the conclusion that they did this to Minister Cha and proceeds to hide the evidence that they were there for Ga-on's sake only.Soo-hyun: [Slaps Ga-on] Do you know what I had to do for you? I had to destroy the evidence. How could you disappoint me like that? How could you? (starts crying)
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: She gets shot then Ga-on cradles her in his arms as she takes her last breath.
- Disposable Woman: Downplayed in the sense that she isn't completely a flat character, but compared to the other recurring female characters she doesn't have many character traits other than her crush on Ga-On and distrust of Yo-han, and then she gets killed off to galvanize Ga-on into avenging her death. We learn nothing about her personal interests or background.
- Dying Declaration of Love: She confesses her love to Ga-on one last time as she dies of a gunshot wound.
- Hopeless Suitor: Subverted. She has a crush on Ga-on, but he only likes her as a friend. He changes his mind later in episode 13 when he kisses her and then later he admits that he has feelings for her and wants to date her but was holding back to protect their friendship.
- Inspector Javert: It's complicated in the sense that while she's a police officer who believes that Yo-han was responsible for killing his brother and investigates after him when in reality he's not responsible for his brother's death, Yo-han keeping this a secret from everyone and him being vicious for a judge makes him a target of suspicion.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Ga-on admits she's this to him as she's the only person that he has in his life after his family died (alongside Professor Min to a degree) and has provided him the emotional and moral support that kept him going.Ga-on: If I were to lose you, I wouldn't have anyone else.
- Patient Childhood Love Interest: She's content just being by his side although she has confessed her feelings to Ga-on several times who rejected them all because he wanted to remain as friends only. She succeeds in winning his affection in the end.
- Romantic Ribbing: She gives Ga-on a silly, teasing marriage proposal just to play it off as a joke and call him a punk.
- Satellite Love Interest: It's subdued as she has some characterization (her being law-abiding, gentle, forthright, and a black belt holder) but her role significantly revolves around her infatuation with Ga-on and she barely interacts with any of the main cast beside him. Plus, she's the least fleshed-out recurring female character. It's made worse when she's killed off just to further Ga-on’s character development.
- Scars Are Forever: Her hand has had a permanent scar ever since she grabbed Ga-on's knife when they were a bit younger.
- Weakness Turns Her On: Very, very subtle but when Elijah asks her why she kept confessing to Ga-on even though he rejected her multiple times, she said it's because he cried, which happened five times. Probably due to her protective instinct kicking in.
The Live Court
Oh Jin-joo
- Played by: Kim Jae-kyung
"The thing about people is, they believe the words of the people they like, rather than the truth."
An associate judge who idolizes Yo-han. As a newcomer, she's overenthusiastic and has the ambition to do better.
- Ambition Is Evil: She shows signs of enjoying the limelight that being a judge on live TV brings, and thus Sun-ah convinces her to aim for more than being just a mere associate judge not on par with her male peers who get to shine more than her. She takes up Sun-ah's offer and almost becomes the chief judge not knowing she's causing harm to innocent civilians along the way. However, she later realizes her mistakes and joins Yo Han in fighting against the elite.
- The Cutie: She's mostly cheerful, humane (as noted by Sun-ah), and sweet and polite toward people in general.
- Fangirl: She's a huge fan of Yo-han to the point where she has a cutout photo of him in her office. However, this changes as the series progresses as she desires to be an equal to him rather than someone looked down upon (according to her anyway).
- Green-Eyed Monster: She's envious to a certain degree of Yo-han's popularity and wants it for herself as well. Justified as she felt sidelined and overshadowed by Ga-on and Yo-han but she drops it when they let her in their plans and she takes an active role in them.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Wishes to be famous and influential just like Yo-han, especially since she led an underprivileged life. Justified since she has felt she has a minor role in trials and events surrounding Yo-han and Ga-on and because Sun-ah kept convincing her she has the "it" factor to be a star.
- Must Make Amends: When she witnesses how awful the SRF is, she is disturbed by what's happening to innocent people and how she unawarely helped the SRF and quickly joins Ga-on and Yo-han's fight against them without making excuses for herself.
- Unwitting Pawn: She has been tricked into believing that there's a plague when in reality people were brutalized by the government in the name of evacuation from the area of the alleged outbreak.
Min Jeong-ho
- Played by: Ahn Nae-sang
Ga-on's former professor and mentor.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems to be Ga-on's friend, but he's really working with the evil Sun-ah and has a hand in the murder of Soo-hyun.
- Bound and Gagged: Ga-on ties him up and gags his mouth with a piece of cloth in order to kill in the finale.
- Never My Fault: Sees Kang Yo-Han as the cause of everything that's wrong with society. He fails to acknowledge that he is part of the problem.
Cha Kyung-hee
- Played by: Jang Young-nam
"Never become weak. If you become weak, you become a victim."
The Minister of Justice.
- Boom, Headshot!: In episode 11, she shoots herself in the head in her office.
- Driven to Suicide: She kills herself after her crimes are revealed.
People around Yo-han
K
- Played by: Lee Ki-taek
Yo-han's driver.
- Disappeared Dad: His father committed suicide after being framed.
- Disney Villain Death: Inverted as he's not a villain, however, Sun-ah kidnaps him and then drops him from a height.
- One-Letter Name: He's only known as K.
Kang Elijah
- Played by: Jeon Chae-eun (teenager), Kim Su-ha (child)
"It's no fun."
Isaac's daughter and Yo-han's niece. She can be mouthy and tends to snark a lot as she pretends to be a tough girl on the outside. However, on the inside, she trusts others easily and has a fragile heart.
- The Aloner: She's isolated from all human contact outside her house due to her physical disability limiting her mobility at a young age. When she starts to avert this by going out with Ga-on and Soo-hyun, Yo-han, who wasn't aware of this and is extremely protective over her, gets furious and takes her home despite her protests. She bursts into tears due to the humiliation and how he's treating her like she's a pushover because of her disability.
- Blatant Lies: She claims that Ga-on leaving her mansion to go back to his house doesn't matter to her only for her to weep when he exits the mansion.
- Disabled Snarker: She has a habit of making sarcastic remarks which are usually directed at Ga-on and Yo-han.Elijah: Elijah.
Ga-on: Eli? Is that your name?
Elijah: It's Elijah, stupid. Didn't you even read the bible? - Gender-Blender Name: Yes, her name is really Elijah.
- Genius Cripple: Although she uses a wheelchair, she's an excellent hacker as evident when she opens the electric shuttered entrance of Jukchang’s studio and handles the security system.
- Lonely Rich Kid: Since she's stuck at home due to her disability, she doesn't have anyone to hang out with outside of Ga-on and, obviously, her uncle and helper, and sometimes Soo-hyun.
- Nephewism: Yo-han is her uncle and has raised her since her parents' deaths.
- Please, Don't Leave Me: She cries hard when Ga-on leaves her and Yo-han's mansion where he was staying and pleads for him to stay.
- Self-Made Orphan: An accidental version. She knocked over a candle, starting the fire that killed her parents.
- Teen Genius: She can hack into almost anything and is an engineering student at Stanford.
Kang Isaac
- Played by: Park Jin-young (adult), Seo Woo-jin (child), Cha Yoo-jin (teenager)
Yo-han's dead half-brother.
- Identical Stranger: He looked exactly like Ga-on.
- Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the time the series starts.
- The Promise: He makes Yo-han promise to never hurt innocent people (after he tells Yo-han off for making Sun-ah jump off a window).
