A rich guy in a powerful position with a vigilante hobby and a tragic backstory. A young protege' that lost his family. A wheelchair bound woman that's a whiz with computers. A coterie of corrupt men in power. A ambiguously good/evil female that to has a romantic interest in the rich guy. A city awash in crime.

Figured out yet what story this is? So there's some surface-level differences but the similarities are too numerous to dismiss. It's not a fatal problem, but it does set a bar of expectations fairly high. It's a high-quality setup that requires excellence in execution.

The budget is definitely there. Ample sums of money have been spent here on special effects (lots and lots of fire and explosions and smoke). There's some big set pieces with lots of crowds. There's lots of fancy vehicles and a big house and the wardrobing is wonderful.

The majority of the cast is strong. Ji Sung clearly has the intensity and physicality to play Kang Yo Han. Among the supporting cast, Jang Young Nam, Baek Hyun Jin and Jeon Chae Eun stand out. Kim Min Jung pushes a bit much in to caricature than needed, but is passable. But Park Jin Young is the central character in the narrative and, while he's not the only issue with the character, he's not helping this production with his limited acting skill.

The fatal flaw of "The Devil Judge" is the character of Kim Ga On played by Park Jin Young. This is a show of intrigue. It's a deadly game of five dimensional chess where subterfuge and strategy are critical to survival. Kim Ga On, however, shows no traits that would make him useful in any conceivable way. Ga On doesn't control his emotions. He doesn't keep secrets. He doesn't conceal his intentions. When he attempts to dig up info, he is easily caught. He doesn't listen to simple directions. He is not only useless to someone playing in such a game, he's an obvious liability with no redeeming value. That Kang Yo Han has selected him among a legion of more worthy potentially useful allies to be his sidekick is inconceivably poor scripting. Yo Han is an unforgiving man bent on revenge and a brilliant tactician, but his choice as his wingman would struggle to outsmart an inanimate object.

Even more frustrating is that Ga On is the lifelong friend and object of affection for Park Gyu Young's Detective Yoon Soo Hyun. There's a backstory as to how they were childhood friends but it is entirely unconvincing as to why Soo Hyun has any feelings for Ga On. He has no apparent reason for not returning her feelings despite the fact that does actually like her. There are times when drama characters may not immediately become an item based on sketchy reasoning, but this is over the line of any credible basis.

There's more bad logic in the storyline here than needs to be reviewed. And it should be noted that entertainment or art in general should be permitted license to ask the audience to engage in some degree of suspension of reality. That's part of the point - to disengage from the stress and fatigue of our daily lives. But there's still a requirement that a story have solid footing. A line exists that should not be crossed. "The Devil Judge" crosses it and then sits fire to it and then salts the earth where it once lay.

As an aside, Park Gyu Young still deserves a leading role. It would be a bonus if it was on a show that didn't seem so bent on making her look as bedraggled as possible.