The Judge Returns () is a 2026 South Korean television series based on the Naver series of the same name by Lee Hae-nal and starring Ji Sung, Park Hee-soon, and Won Jin-ah. It aired on MBC TV from January 2 to February 14, 2026, every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Wavve and TVING in South Korea, and HBO Max in selected regions.
Synopsis A legal drama about an unjust judge Lee Han-young, who cries out, "Let's not judge others' lives as we please," regains consciousness after an untimely death and returns to the past to punish the wrongdoers and change his fate.
Cast Main Ji Sung as Lee Han-young: Judge of the South Chungcheong District Court. Park Hee-soon as Kang Shin-jin: A senior criminal judge at the Seoul Central District Court. Won Jin-ah as Kim Jin-ah: A public prosecutor in the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. Tae Won-seok as Seok Jeong-ho: Han Young's best supporter and friend. Baek Jin-hee as Song Na-yeon: A reporter with a strong sense of justice, working in the legal affairs department of the Daejin Ilbo newspaper. Oh Se-young as Yoo Se-hee: Han-young's ex-wife, the youngest daughter of President Yoo Seon-cheol. Hwang Hee as Park Chul-woo: A public prosecutor in the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office.
Court people Kim Tae-woo as Baek Yi-seok: Chief Judge of South Chungcheong District Court. as Lim Jeong-sik: Criminal judge of Chungcheong District Court.
People around Kang Shin-jin Jung Hee-tae as Kim Ji-han: Chief Judge of the Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court. as Kim Yun-hyeok: Judge in Chungcheong District Court. Son Byung-ho as Park Kwang-to: Former President.
Haenal Law Firm Ahn Nae-sang as Yoo Seon-cheol: President of Haenal Law. as Yoo Jin-kwang: The eldest son of Haenal Law. Baek Seung-hee as Yu Ha-na: The eldest daughter of President Yoo Seon-cheol.
S Group as Jang Tae-sik Kim Byeong-ki as Jang Yong-hyun
Lee Han-young's family and neighbors as Lee Bong-sook Hwang Young-hee as Shin Nam-sook Seong Byeong-sook as Park Mal-rye Im Yul-ri as Han na-young
Special appearances Kim Dong-jun as Prosecutor Kang as Choi Jong-hak Bae In-hyuk as Kim Sang-jin: serial killer who was sentenced to death by Lee Han-young as a judge Hwang as Park Hyeok-jun Jang Hee-ryung as Kim Ga-yeong Park Kyung-lim as herself as Um Jun-ho as Heo Dong-ki as Woo Kyo-hun as Lee Chang-hyo
Production The series is based on the Naver Webtoon of the same name, created by Lee Hae-nal. It is directed by Lee Jae-jin, whose credits include The Third Marriage (2024) and Motel California (2025), and written by Kim Kwang-min. It is produced by OH Story, Slingshot Studio.
On June 17, 2025, the main cast was confirmed as Ji Sung, Won Jin-ah, and Park Hee-soon. Filming was announced to begin on that day. Baek Jin-hee joined the main cast on August 27, 2025.
Viewership
+ Average TV viewership ratings Original broadcast date Average audience share(Nielsen Korea)Nielsen Korea ratings:
Nationwide Seoul 1 January 2, 2026 2 January 3, 2026 4.4% 4.2% 3 January 9, 2026 5.8% 6.2% 4 January 10, 2026 5.8% 5.9% 5 January 16, 2026 10.0% 10.1% 6 January 17, 2026 11.0% 11.4% 7 January 23, 2026 11.4% 12.0% 8 January 24, 2026 10.8% 10.8% 9 January 30, 2026 13.5% 14.7% 10 January 31, 2026 10.9% 11.7% 11 February 6, 2026 13.2% 14.2% 12 February 7, 2026 11.5% 12.1% 13 February 13, 2026 14 February 14, 2026 12.8% 13.2% Average In the table above, the represent the lowest ratings and the represent the highest ratings.
Accolades Award ceremony Year Category Recipient(s) Result Baeksang Arts Awards 2026 Best Actor Ji Sung
References
External links