Among the legal dramas I have watched (Ms. Hammurabi, Suspicious Partners, and Your Honors), this is my personal favorite. The plot is really unique, and the character development of the main character Kang Ho is really awesome. As the series progresses, Kang Ho becomes more and more mature. Some may find this character childish, but I think Kang Ho was designed to be this way to highlight how one's upbringing affects his personality. This character is mistreated by his mother and spent years in prison since young age due to his brother's lie, so it makes sense that he doesn't know how to behave/ socialize around people and acts up sometimes as a defense mechanism. Also, by building a character this way, it is easy to distinguish him from the real judge (his brother), who seems to be insensitive and emotionless most of the time. While Soo Ho is not necessarily bad, he doesn't have consideration for other ppl' feelings. His judgements seem to be based on the laws only (SPOILER ALERT: even if he knows the dirty truth behind the cases concerning the conglomerate), while Kang Ho is more attentive to the citizens' feelings more. It is evident in the way how he listened and helped the mistreated Osung Group worker, the blind girl, the man who lost his wife and child in the DUI case, and the man who works in the emergency department. I think that Kang Ho is supposed to represent the humane side of a person. Kang Ho and Soo Ho are like two ends of the spectrum with one being very logical (or rather emotionless) and the other being very emotional. The great thing about Kang Ho's bold character is that it made possible for the judge to go all out and against such powerful rich ppl without hesitance. With all that being said, the character Kang Ho is extremely hard to play. Actor Yoon Shi Yoon really carried the role well.
This drama is also better than other dramas of the same genre as it discusses many contemporary social problems in Korea at that time. If you look up the views and comments below the videos of this drama uploaded on sbs channels, you would be amazed of how many ppl in Korea love this character. Some international viewers complain about it being unrealistic for a judge to act that way. Well... ofc it is. What do ppl expect? This is not a documentary. Had this been based on reality, Kang Ho would be imprisoned for impersonating a real judge or secretly killed to cover the conglomerate 's case. The point of the story is to show what would happen if a person with a heart and common sense would do in such trials. Most ppl (in Korea at least) would want to act the same way as Kang Ho did, but being in a judge position is impossible. It also takes a lot of guts to jail such big fish in the society.
The OST for this drama is perfect. I recommend y'all hear the audio version of it. It is even better. Comfort, shine, and rain are my three fav songs. I re-watched this drama many times. I loved the scenes with his mom though they are heartbreaking. Those scenes for me were powerful because we could feel and understand why Kang Ho the way he is through the great acting. His scenes against the conglomerate are so badass.