Innocent Defendant
Promotional poster
Hangul
피고인
Hanja
被告人
Genre
Developed byHan Jung-hwan
Written by
  • Choi Soo-jin
  • Choi Chang-hwan
Directed by
  • Jo Young-kwang
  • Jung Dong-yoon
Creative directors
  • Jo Young-min
  • Kim Jang-han
Starring
Music byPark Se-joon (Music Director)
Opening themeUntil The End (Inst.) by San E
Country of originSouth Korea
Original languageKorean
No. of episodes18
Production
Executive producers
  • Han Jung-hwan
  • Park Hyoung-gi
  • Min Hyun-il
  • Lee Sung-jin
ProducerLee Sang-min
Cinematography
  • Jung Min-gyun
  • Park Min-sung
Editors
  • Jo In-hyung
  • Lim Ho-chul
Running time60 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkSBS TV
ReleaseJanuary 23 (2017-01-23) –
March 21, 2017 (2017-03-21)

Innocent Defendant[1] (Korean: 피고인; Hanja: 被告人; RR: Pigoin; lit. Defendant) is a South Korean television series starring Ji Sung, Um Ki-joon, Kwon Yu-ri, Oh Chang-seok, and Uhm Hyun-kyung. It aired on SBS from January 23 to March 21, 2017 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) for 18 episodes.[2][3][4][5]

Synopsis

Park Jung-woo is a prosecutor at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. One day, he wakes up and finds himself a convict on death row. Suffering from temporary amnesia, Jung-woo has no idea what transpired to land him in prison. He struggles to recover his memory and clear his name.

Cast

Main

A Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office. The head of the violent crimes investigative division who never loses a case.
Cha Sun-ho is the President of Chamyung Group and Cha Min-ho's older brother.
Cha Min-ho is the Vice President of Chamyung Group and the younger brother of Cha Sun-ho. He is neglected and abused by his father.
A defense lawyer who strives to be eloquent and rational, but loses in court every single time. She takes up Jung-woo's case.
Jung-woo's best friend and fellow Prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office.
Sun-ho's wife and daughter of a bankrupt chaebol, who has a fiery ambition to succeed.

Supporting

People around Jung-woo

Prosecutors

Wol-jeong Prison

Born on 16 December 1990, Lee Sung-gyu is a convict charged with assault. The prison's quick-witted mood maker, who helps take care of Jung-woo.
Jung-woo's jail-mate who was serving life imprisonment for murder. He was jailed by Jung-woo for killing his boss, later to be revealed that he was falsely accused of the crime.

A former doctor, he is a life convict and who had been imprisoned for twenty-years by the time he became Jung-woo's jail-mate.

Jung-woo's helper.
Jung-woo's jail-mate.

Chamyung Group

Extended

Special appearances

Production

Innocent Defendant is directed by Jo Young-kwang of 49 Days, and written by Choi Su-jin of City Hunter. Its first script reading took place on November 18, 2016 at the SBS Studio in Ilsan, South Korea.[10]

Original soundtrack

Defendant: The OST Album
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
GenreSoundtrack
LanguageKorean, English
Label

In December 2016, co-producer Signal Entertainment Group signed a deal with KT Music for the soundtrack of Innocent Defendant.[11]

Part 1

No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Dreaming Now"
  • Dona
  • Yuyu
  • 17HOLIC
  • Edison
  • Lee Jung-won
Son Dong-woon (Highlight)3:37
2."Dreaming Now" (Inst.) 
  • 17HOLIC
  • Edison
  • Lee Jung-won
 3:37
Total length:7:14

Part 2

No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Until the End" (끝까지)
  • Park Se-joon
  • Song Jin-suk
San E3:24
2."Until the End" (끝까지) (Inst.) 
  • Park Se-joon
  • Song Jin-suk
 3:24
Total length:6:48

Part 3

No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Winter Tree" (바람이 차갑네요)
  • CuzD
  • Ricky
  • Dona
  • CuzD
  • Ricky
  • Dona
Suran4:15
2."Winter Tree" (바람이 차갑네요) (Inst.) 
  • CuzD
  • Ricky
  • Dona
 4:13
Total length:8:28

Part 4

No.TitleLyricsMusicArtistLength
1."Trauma" (아픈 그림자)
  • Lee Seung-hyun
  • Eun Jong-tae
  • Choi Cheon-gon
  • Eun Jong-tae
Raun3:43
Total length:3:43

Reception

The series was a commercial success with over 25% ratings and topped popularity charts.[12][13] It received praise for its plot-focused narrative, impressive acting performance of lead actors Ji Sung and Um Ki-joon and its ability to resonate with the public. The Korea Times said the drama is like a "warning sign to the evil and powerful figures of the real world"; and Yonhap News Agency praise Ji's character as "putting a relatable human face on a tale that is often disturbingly grim and somber". However, it also had criticisms about its unrealistic plot and its tendency to repeat the same pattern of twists and turns to keep viewers hooked.[14][15][16]

Ratings

In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Ep. Original broadcast date Average audience share
TNmS[17] AGB Nielsen[18]
Nationwide Seoul Nationwide Seoul
1 January 23, 2017 11.9% (5th) 13.9% (4th) 14.5% (4th) 16.3% (4th)
2 January 24, 2017 12.9% (4th) 15.1% (4th) 14.9% (4th) 16.1% (3rd)
3 January 30, 2017 12.8% (4th) 15.1% (3rd) 17.3% (3rd) 18.2% (2nd)
4 January 31, 2017 14.8% (4th) 17.8% (3rd) 18.7% (3rd) 20.8% (2nd)
5 February 6, 2017 14.2% (4th) 16.3% (3rd) 18.6% (3rd) 19.6% (2nd)
6 February 7, 2017 15.3% (4th) 18.5% (2nd) 18.6% (3rd) 19.6% (2nd)
7 February 13, 2017 15.8% (4th) 18.9% (3rd) 20.9% (3rd) 22.4% (1st)
8 February 14, 2017 16.6% (4th) 20.2% (2nd) 22.2% (2nd) 23.8% (2nd)
9 February 20, 2017 15.9% (4th) 20.0% (2nd) 21.4% (3rd) 23.1% (2nd)
10 February 21, 2017 16.8% (4th) 20.4% (2nd) 22.2% (2nd) 23.4% (2nd)
11 February 27, 2017 19.8% (3rd) 22.7% (2nd) 23.3% (2nd) 24.6% (1st)
12 February 28, 2017 19.0% (3rd) 22.1% (1st) 22.9% (2nd) 23.9% (2nd)
13 March 6, 2017 18.8% (3rd) 22.2% (2nd) 23.7% (2nd) 25.4% (1st)
14 March 7, 2017 20.1% (3rd) 24.3% (1st) 24.9% (2nd) 26.1% (1st)
15 March 13, 2017 20.3% (3rd) 23.5% (2nd) 25.6% (2nd) 27.1% (1st)
16 March 14, 2017 21.3% (3rd) 24.6% (1st) 25.4% (2nd) 27.1% (1st)
17 March 20, 2017 24.8% (2nd) 29.0% (1st) 27.0% (2nd) 28.8% (1st)
18 March 21, 2017 26.6% (2nd) 30.3% (1st) 28.3% (1st) 29.7% (1st)
Average 17.65% 20.83% 21.69% 23.11%

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2017 10th Korea Drama Awards Best Original Soundtrack Son Dong-woon (Dreaming Now) Nominated [19]
1st The Seoul Awards Best Drama Innocent Defendant Nominated [20][21]
Best Actor Ji Sung Won
Best Supporting Actress Seo Jeong-yeon Nominated
Best New Actor Kim Min-seok Won
SBS Drama Awards Grand Prize (Daesang) Ji Sung Won [22][23]
Drama of the Year Innocent Defendant Won
Character of the Year Um Ki-joon Won
Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Ji Sung Nominated
Um Ki-joon Nominated
Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Kim Min-seok Nominated
Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday–Tuesday Drama Kwon Yu-ri Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Jo Jae-yoon Nominated
Oh Dae-hwan Nominated
Youth Acting Award Shin Rin-ah Nominated
30th Grimae Awards Best Actor Ji Sung Won [24]
Best Drama Jung Min-gyun, Song Yo-hoon Won

Adaptations

The series was adapted in Turkey as "Mahkum - Şehrin Kralları" and it has been broadcast on Fox TV.[25]

References

  1. ^ 지성, 진실을 높이 든 기자회견 '엄기준의 정체 밝힌다' 《Innocent Defendant》 피고인 EP18. YouTube (in Korean). SBS Drama. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. ^ [단독]지성·한예슬·엄기준·엄현경, ´피고인´ 출연. isplus.live.joins.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  3. ^ "| 유리 측 "'피고인' 출연 확정..변호사 서은혜 역"(공식입장)텐아시아". 텐아시아. 2016-11-15. Archived from the original on 2016-11-16. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  4. ^ 지성 측 "´홍길동´ ´피고인´ 모두 검토, 결정 無"[공식]. isplus.live.joins.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  5. ^ 지성·유리·엄기준·엄현경, '피고인' 출연 확정..1월 방송 [종합]. entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  6. ^ tf.co.kr. "[TF초점] '역적 홍길동'은 지성?, '킬미, 힐미' 김진만 PD 신작 러브콜". 더팩트 (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  7. ^ "Villainous characters captivate drama viewers". The Korea Times.
  8. ^ 소녀시대 유리, '낭만닥터 김사부' 후속 '피고인' 출연. tvdaily.asiae.co.kr (in Korean). 15 November 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  9. ^ "[단독] 한지우, SBS '피고인' 캐스팅 확정…유리 동기 된다". m.entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  10. ^ 지성부터 유리까지..'피고인' 첫 대본리딩 '최강 시너지'. news.chosun.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  11. ^ "씨그널엔터, KT뮤직과 '드라마OST' 유통계약 체결 (Signal Entertainment, KT Music sign deal for Innocent Defendant OST)". finance.daum.net (in Korean).
  12. ^ "'Defendant' viewership soars above 25 percent in Seoul area". The Korea Herald. 15 February 2017.
  13. ^ "'Defendant' reigns over TV popularity chart as it nears finale". Yonhap News Agency.
  14. ^ "'Defendant' closes with warning for crooked real world". The Korea Times. 22 March 2017.
  15. ^ "'Defendant' shows there's more to K-dramas than time-slip fantasies". Yonhap News Agency.
  16. ^ "Dramas reflecting abuse of power gain rave reviews". The Korea Times. 17 February 2017.
  17. ^ "TNMS Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". TNMS Ratings (in Korean). Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  18. ^ "AGB Daily Ratings: this links to current day-select the date from drop down menu". AGB Nielsen Media Research (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  19. ^ POP, 헤럴드 (October 2, 2017). "10주년 '2017KDA' 김상중, 생애 첫 대상…'도깨비' 5관왕(종합)" (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-10-06.
  20. ^ ‘[더서울어워즈] '비밀의 숲'·'박열', 대상 수상…반박 불가 ★들의 잔치(종합) 본문듣기 설정 (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  21. ^ '서울어워즈' 송강호·나문희·지성·박보영 주연상…·'박열'·'비숲' 대상[종합]. TV Report (in Korean). October 27, 2017.
  22. ^ Yang Ji-yeon (December 31, 2017). "[2017 SBS 연기대상] 지성, '피고인'으로 대상…이보영과 '대상부부' 등극(종합)". Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  23. ^ Ji Min-kyung (December 31, 2017). "[2017 SBS 연기대상 종합] '피고인' 지성, 이변 없는 대상..."사랑하는 아내 감사"". OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  24. ^ "Ji Sung, Seo Hyun Jin, SHINee's Key, And More Announced As Winners Of 2017 Grimae Awards". Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  25. ^ "Mahkum". IMDb.

External links

Categories