Yoo Yeon-seok Before & After Getting 'Possessed': First Stills from 'Phantom Lawyer'

SBS’s new Friday-Saturday drama "Phantom Lawyer" has unveiled the first stills of Yoo Yeon-seok.

Billed as the next cathartic courtroom series from SBS, "Phantom Lawyer" (written by Kim Ga-young and Kang Cheol-gyu, directed by Shin Joong-hoon) teams up a “possessed lawyer,” Shin I-rang (played by Yoo Yeon-seok), who helps restless spirits resolve their grudges, with a “cold-blooded elite lawyer,” Han Na-hyun (Esom), who stakes everything on winning. It’s a quirky but warm adventure of righting the wrongs of the dead.

The stills, revealed on the 5th, preview Yoo Yeon-seok’s first full-on comedic turn and his chameleon-like “possessed” performance as he’s inhabited by different stories. Before the possession, he cuts a sharp figure in a well-tailored suit, yet his gentle, human charm shines through. After stepping into “Okcheon Building, Room 501,” where it all begins, he starts seeing ghosts against his will―so much so he ends up praying at a church, looking completely drained.

A closer look at Shin I-rang explains the contrast. He grew up in Seocho-dong and knows the area like the back of his hand. Now, as a late-blooming lawyer, he’s trying to start fresh there―but every time he interviews at a law firm, he gets rejected for reasons he can’t understand. He’s also so soft-hearted he can’t pass by a grandmother selling vegetables on the street, which earns him scolding at home for being “too soft.”

One decision flips his life upside down. The office he rented―without knowing―used to be a shaman’s place. After moving in, he starts seeing spirits. Faced with cases that defy law and logic, and unable to turn away, he steps deeper into their stories. Curiosity builds for the “divine” world that will unfold in front of this newly minted “possessed lawyer.”

The production team shared, “Shin I-rang isn’t born with special powers, and he isn’t a hero. He just can’t ignore people, and that changes the course of his life,” adding, “Because Yoo Yeon-seok has shown such range across his works, he convincingly completes the character through his first comedic performance and his subtly shifting, ‘possessed’ one-man-multiple-roles acting. You’ll meet a Yoo Yeon-seok of a different caliber this time.”

"Phantom Lawyer" premieres Friday, March 13, at 9:50 p.m. KST.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)