Jung Kyung Ho’s Pro Bon Episode 1 kicks off K-drama with solid ratings and #1 in its time slot
Michelle Topham 
Pro Bono premieres with excellent ratings as it airs opposite KBS2’s Last Summer
Jung Kyung Ho and So Joo Yeon’s new drama Pro Bono, Episode 1 kicked off the law-themed series last night with excellent ratings for a first episode.
Data via Nielsen Korea shows Pro Bono, Episode 1 earned 4.45 percent of the nationwide audience share on Saturday night, and a slightly lower 4.13 percent in Seoul.
Both ratings also meant the new tvN Saturday/Sunday drama was the #1 most-watched show in its time slot of 21:10 (KST).
Considering Pro Bono airs opposite KBS2’s Last Summer in the same time slot (well, at least until tonight when that drama airs its final episode), that the new legal drama performed so well then is even more of a feat.
Episode 2 of the tvN drama airs at the same time tonight. So let’s see how it performs then.
Internationally, Pro Bono streams via Netflix, so it will be interesting to see if it makes that platform’s Top 10 Non-English TV Shows chart when that data is released on Tuesday.
What is Pro Bono about?
Pro Bono follows the story of Kang David (played by Jung Kyung Ho), who was once a judge but, after getting caught up in a negative incident, decides to change his career path and become a public interest lawyer instead.
That means, instead of having a high profile career where the benefits are mostly for himself, Kang David now works for a non-profit called Pro Bono where he fights for the poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalized.
And that’s where he meets Park Gi Ppeum (So Ju Yeon), a pubic interest lawyer herself, and someone who was never interested in a lucrative career, but instead just wanted to help underrepresented people in their fight against injustice.
What food does Jung Kyung Ho keep in his fridge? Or is it all alcohol?
The Korean law-themed drama is directed by Kim Seong Yoon (Itaewon Class), and written by Moon Yoo Seok who also wrote The Devil Judge.
Along with Jung Kyung Ho and So Joo Yeon, the Korean drama also stars Yoon Na Moo, Seo Hye Won and Kang Hyung Suk.
It is scheduled to run for 12 episodes, so this one is a short one, with its final episode premiering on January 11th, 2026.
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