Unraveling the Shocking Truth: What Happened in ‘신이랑 법률사무소’ Episode 10?

[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won] Shin Irang Law Office’s initial partnership between Yoo Yeon-seok and Esom closed on a water-splash possession cliffhanger, and a revelation tied to the late Kang Dong-sik (played by Lee Deok-hwa) and his wife delivered a startling twist.

Episode 10 of SBS’s Friday–Saturday drama Shin Irang Law Office, which aired on the 11th, centers on a fierce courtroom battle over founder Kang Dong-sik’s will. Shin Irang (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Han Na-hyun (Esom) press their case, only to be blindsided by a shocking disclosure and an ending that finds Kang’s spirit inhabiting Shin Irang. Nielsen Korea reported a 6.7% metropolitan rating and a peak minute of 8.7%. The key 20–49 demographic peaked at 2.6%.

The firm gets an unexpected client when Cha Jeong-hee (Gil Hae-yeon) arrives, believing her husband to be dead and offering condolences — then snaps Shin Irang back to attention with a well-timed slap. Her husband, Kang Dong-sik, who was said to have died after battling dementia, appears soon after. Cha hires the office to carry out Kang’s last wishes. According to the will, one-third of Kang’s estate was to go to Cha Eun-seong (Ra Kyung-min), son of the late co-founder Ryo Seon-hwa (Bae Yeoul). Kang’s son, Kang Ji-hoon (Byun Joon-ho), contests the bequest and has filed suit.

The dispute reaches back to 1979 on Manridong’s handmade shoe street, where designer Cha Jeong-hee, cobbler Kang Dong-sik, and leather dyer Ryo Seon-hwa built Isang Shoes together. Their partnership, born of ambition and creative energy, collapsed into tragedy when Ryo — a defector who had sent money to a son left behind in the North — was arrested on espionage charges and died in custody. At the time, Cha and Kang prioritized protecting the company and its employees over exonerating Ryo, a choice that has haunted them for decades and now fuels the inheritance fight.

Kang’s memory, however, remains frozen in his youth. A master who once read a person’s character from their shoes, he can’t recall anything about the will. Shin Irang takes him back to the home he shared with his wife to trigger memories, but the effort fails. During these attempts, Kang repeatedly possesses Shin Irang and then disappears. Han Na-hyun, who has been tracking Kang’s spirit, recognizes the loneliness Shin Irang endured while resolving other spirits’ grudges alone. She pledges to support him, gifting an ID necklace engraved with her number so he won’t get lost again. When Shin Irang flushes with embarrassment despite not being possessed, Kang — inhabiting him — quips that it’s love: “I’m a ghost,” hinting at a developing romantic thread between the two.

The pair grow closer as they gather evidence and prepare for trial, but the courtroom delivers an unexpected blow. Kang Ji-hoon’s attorney, Yang Do-kyung (Kim Kyung-nam), argues the will’s date was falsified. Though Kang supposedly signed the document with a fountain pen in 2019, ink acidity testing indicates the ink matches batches produced after 2022. A stylometric analysis tool finds a 94% match between the will’s phrasing and Cha Jeong-hee’s writing. Yang then produces military intelligence records alleging that Cha was the one who reported Ryo as a spy — a disclosure that turns the case on its head.

The allegation dovetails with Cha’s own memory of witnessing tender moments between Kang and Ryo and being consumed by jealousy. Yang contends Cha, wracked by guilt after Ryo’s death in prison, attempted to atone by redirecting the estate and even coerced the severely demented Kang into signing the will as she dictated. As Cha storms out of the courtroom, Kang’s memories avalanche into Shin Irang, and he reddens with emotion. Pleas to stop are futile. Possessed, Shin Irang suddenly shouts in the courtroom, pointing at the judge: “I wrote it!”

The Shin Irang team moves fast. Han Na-hyun scrambles to quiet him and requests a recess on medical grounds while Shin Irang’s brother-in-law, Yoon Bong-soo (Jeon Seok-ho), douses him with water to break the possession. The episode leaves viewers questioning whether Kang’s outcry was genuine, what Cha may still be hiding even from both lawyers, and how Shin Irang and Han Na-hyun’s first official collaboration will resolve — setting high expectations for the next episode.

Shin Irang Law Office airs Fridays and Saturdays at 9:50 p.m.

[Sports Today reporter Jeong Ye-won ent@stoo.com]
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