SBS’s Friday–Saturday drama Shin I-rang Law Office has solidified its lead as ratings continue to climb. Audiences are responding enthusiastically to the series’ fresh premise—a lawyer who sees ghosts—paired with deft touches of comedy and human drama.
The show’s momentum shows no sign of slowing. Episode 4, which aired on the 21st, averaged 9.3% in the Seoul metropolitan area, a series high and nearly double the premiere’s 5.6% metropolitan rating. The episode’s peak-minute rating rose to 11.3%, matching the high set in episode 2. The key 2049 demo peaked at 3.34%, making it the top program among all Saturday broadcasts.
On streaming and buzz charts the series is also performing strongly. It ranked No. 1 in Netflix Korea’s “Top 10 Today” (series category) as of March 24, and placed near the top of Good Data Corporation’s FUNdex for the third week of March (released March 24), with both the drama and its cast generating significant online conversation.
At the center of the craze is Yoo Yeon-seok’s dynamic lead performance, which shifts effortlessly between comedy and thriller. When Shin I-rang becomes possessed, Yoo can be an intimidating gangster one moment and an idol trainee perfectly nailing IVE’s “LOVE DIVE” choreography the next. His one-man show delivers so many standout moments that the series is already producing legendary GIFs each week.
Equally vital is the chemistry among Shin I-rang, his brother-in-law Yoon Bong-su (Jeon Seok-ho), and Father Mateo (Jung Seung-gil)—nicknamed the “Shin I-rangz.” The trio injects energy into the show. Yoon, who once denied the existence of ghosts, ultimately accepts his brother-in-law’s possession and, despite his fear, awkwardly bows to the air in a polite gesture. Father Mateo, a priest with a background as a former shaman, appears and explains that ghosts can become possessive when they hear a favorite food or song or when they’re angered—adding comic, humanizing beats that loosen the tension of what might otherwise be a heavy legal drama.
The series doesn’t stop at laughs. A tight, overarching mystery drives viewer engagement. Beyond each episode’s pursuit of justice for wronged spirits, the show is building a major throughline that links the origin of Shin I-rang’s ability to see ghosts with his father’s death, keeping viewers guessing. In the latest episode, Shin I-rang’s mother, Park Kyung-hwa (Kim Mi-kyung), blamed herself after realizing the shaman she visited to clear her husband’s name once worked in the space that is now her son’s office. Father Mateo began investigating the catalyst behind Shin I-rang’s ghost sightings and started tracking the missing censer and the vanished clapping shaman—details that tease future plot developments and raise the stakes.
The mystery’s intensity culminated in Shin I-rang’s awakening. In the episode 4 finale, a male ghost (Yoon Namu) who had been killed in an attack returned, and Shin quietly introduced himself: “I’m your lawyer, Shin I-rang.” The scene sent chills and signaled his resolve to right the grievances of any ghost that comes to him. Now fully embracing his fate as a “ghost-specialist lawyer,” viewers are eager to see how he will uncover the truth behind his father’s case.
Shin I-rang Law Office airs Fridays and Saturdays at 9:50 p.m.
Tae Yuna, TenAsia reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr
