Pro Bono screen capture
The people judge Jung Kyung-ho has fallen to a small public-interest case task force at the No. 1 law firm in South Korea.
In the premiere of tvN ‘Pro Bono’ aired on the 6th, Kang Da-wit (Jung Kyung-ho), a presiding judge of the anti-corruption unit who is a high school graduate, sentences the JS Group chairman who hurled verbal abuse and violence at employees and sexually assaulted a housekeeper to a heavy term, becoming a people judge.
That day, to become a Supreme Court justice, Kang Da-wit helps recommendation committee staffer Yoon with the hospital room issue of his grandmother. Having become a star by handing down a heavy sentence to JS Group, Kang sees Park Gi-bbeum spill printouts and steps in to help to secure a vote, but upon belatedly realizing that Park Gi-bbeum is a lawyer, he changes his demeanor.
Pro Bono screen capture
As he wished, Kang Da-wit becomes a Supreme Court candidate and goes to the gravesite of his late mother to bow. His mother Kim Seong-rye (Kim Jung-young), who worked at a paper mill, passed away suddenly when Kang was in high school. Kang goes out for drinks after receiving a call from his elementary school classmate Kim Ju-seop (Yeon Je-wook).
The next day, finding a box of persimmons in his car trunk, Kang hastily drives to a Han River parking lot, then, upon confirming that his car contains 1.2 billion won in cash, he is flustered. After hesitating, Kang suggests to Shin Jung-seok that they report it to the police, but Shin refuses, fearing the matter will grow.
Kang says, “Let us do as they wish,” and produces a piece of paper from the box that reads ‘Please use it for a good cause’. Kang tries to wrap it up by donating 1.2 billion won to the court, and Chief Justice Shin Jung-seok calls Kang to his office, slaps him, and vents his anger. In the video Shin shows, a drunken Kang accepts the persimmon box from Kim Ju-seop and loads it into his own trunk.
Pro Bono screen capture
Shin says the man is not Kim Ju-seop but Yu Jae-beom, a habitual fraudster who is on the wanted list. Kang calls Kim Ju-seop, but Kim does not answer. Kang contacts another elementary school classmate to ask for the contact of Kim Ju-seop, and hears from the classmate that Kim died 10 years ago when a blood vessel in his brain burst.
Shin tells Kang to take off his robes, and Kang falls into despair. Before she died, his mother made two requests. The first was to have her ashes scattered in the river after cremation, and the second was to go as far as he could in his rise. Kang has always worn the gold ring his mother gave him on his pinky finger.
In crisis, Kang receives a call from Oh Jung-in and is recruited to O and Partners. Oh Jung-in says she has now created Pro Bono, a public-interest litigation task force, and leads Kang in. Kang greets the Pro Bono team members Jang Young-sil (Yoon Na-moo), Yoo Nan-hee (Seo Hye-won), and Hwang Jun-woo (Kang Hyung-seok). Lastly, Park Gi-bbeum (So Ju-yeon) appears.
Pro Bono screen capture
