Punch (TV series)

Punch (Korean: 펀치) is a 2014–2015 South Korean television series starring Kim Rae-won, Kim Ah-joong, Cho Jae-hyun, Seo Ji-hye, and On Joo-wan.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} It aired on SBS from 15 December 2014 to 17 February 2015 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 for 19 episodes.^[6][7]

Punch
Genre	Political Thriller Drama
Written by	Park Kyung-soo
Directed by	Myoungwoo Lee
Starring	Kim Rae-won Kim Ah-joong Cho Jae-hyun Seo Ji-hye On Joo-wan
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	19
Production
Executive producers	Han Jung-hwan Moon Bo-mi
Producer	Kim Dong-ho
Production location	Korea
Running time	70 minutes Mondays and Tuesdays at 21:55 (KST)
Production company	HB Entertainment
Original release
Network	Seoul Broadcasting System
Release	15 December 2014 (2014-12-15) – 17 February 2015 (2015-02-17)

Plot

Punch is a record of the last six months of Park Jung-hwan's life. He is the chief of the anti-corruption investigation team for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. To get to his position, Jung-hwan has made compromises to achieve what he thought of as the greater good, though it meant losing some of his soul in the process. But when he gets diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and told that he only has six months left to live, it makes Jung-hwan reexamine his life choices. He decides to pursue justice whatever the cost, even if it means sacrificing his life. This is his last attempt to make things right, one final "punch" against the crooked world. And his main goal is bringing down his boss Prosecutor General Lee Tae-joon, whose friendly public face masks his unscrupulous morals and rampant corruption.

Helping Jung-hwan in his quest is his ex-wife, Shin Ha-kyung. Ha-kyung is an idealistic prosecutor for the Seoul District, and chose her profession over having a lucrative law career. She divorced Jung-hwan because he was obsessed with ambition and never had time for her and their young daughter, Ye-rin. But that doesn't mean she doesn't still care for him, though her concern is mixed with resentment.

Cast

Main cast

• Kim Rae-won as Park Jung-hwan
• Kim Ah-joong as Shin Ha-kyung
• Cho Jae-hyun as Lee Tae-joon, Prosecutor General
• Seo Ji-hye as Choi Yeon-jin
• Choi Myung-gil as Yoon Ji-sook, Minister of Justice

Supporting cast

• On Joo-wan as Lee Ho-sung
• Kim Eung-soo as Jung Gook-hyun
• Lee Han-wi as Oh Dong-choon, detective
• Park Hyuk-kwon as Cho Kang-jae, prosecutor
• Song Ok-sook as Jung-hwan's mother
• Kim Ji-young as Park Ye-rin
• Lee Young-eun as Park Hyun-sun
• Lee Ki-young as Lee Tae-sub
• Jang Hyun-sung as Jang Min-seok
• Kim Hye-yoon as Cho Kang-jae's daughter
• Ryu Seung-soo (cameo)
• Kang Ha-neul (cameo)

Ratings

In the tables below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

Episode #	Original broadcast date	Average audience share
		TNmS Ratings		AGB Nielsen
		Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area	Nationwide	Seoul National Capital Area
1	15 December 2014	6.7% (NR)	8.6% (19th)	6.3% (NR)	8.6% (19th)
2	16 December 2014	6.6% (NR)	7.4% (NR)	6.8% (NR)	7.4% (NR)
3	22 December 2014	6.7% (NR)	7.4% (NR)	6.6% (NR)	7.6% (NR)
4	23 December 2014	7.7% (18th)	9.2% (17th)	7.7% (NR)	8.5% (17th)
5	29 December 2014	7.7% (NR)	9.2% (14th)	8.7% (18th)	9.3% (14th)
6	5 January 2015	9.3% (18th)	11.6% (11th)	9.6% (16th)	10.1% (13th)
7	6 January 2015	9.8% (15th)	12.7% (7th)	10.1% (15th)	10.7% (12th)
8	12 January 2015	9.8% (15th)	11.3% (10th)	9.1% (17th)	9.6% (15th)
9	13 January 2015	10.0% (14th)	12.3% (8th)	9.6% (16th)	9.6% (17th)
10	19 January 2015	10.8% (13th)	12.7% (8th)	10.4% (11th)	10.8% (9th)
11	20 January 2015	11.5% (9th)	14.4% (5th)	12.3% (8th)	13.3% (5th)
12	26 January 2015	11.1% (11th)	13.7% (8th)	11.4% (8th)	12.2% (7th)
13	27 January 2015	11.9% (10th)	15.3% (4th)	12.2% (8th)	13.5% (6th)
14	2 February 2015	11.2% (13th)	13.5% (6th)	12.5% (8th)	13.8% (6th)
15	3 February 2015	12.4% (10th)	15.2% (6th)	12.8% (6th)	14.0% (5th)
16	9 February 2015	12.1% (12th)	14.4% (6th)	12.7% (6th)	14.2% (5th)
17	10 February 2015	11.9% (11th)	14.8% (6th)	11.9% (8th)	13.1% (5th)
18	16 February 2015	12.7% (8th)	15.1% (5th)	14.0% (5th)	14.7% (5th)
19	17 February 2015	14.8% (5th)	17.2% (4th)	14.8% (4th)	14.9% (4th)
Average		10.2%	12.3%	10.6%	11.3%

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2015	51st Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Drama	Punch	Nominated
		Best Actor (TV)	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
			Cho Jae-hyun	Nominated
		Best Screenplay (TV)	Park Kyung-soo	Won
	15th Gwangju International Film Festival	Grand Prize (Daesang)	Cho Jae-hyun	Won
		Best TV Star	Seo Ji-hye	Won
	4th APAN Star Awards	Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Jang Hyun-sung	Nominated
			Park Hyuk-kwon	Nominated
		Best Writer	Park Kyung-soo	Won
	SBS Drama Awards	Best Actor (medium-length drama)	Cho Jae-Hyun	Won
			Kim Rae-won	Nominated
		Best Actress (medium-length drama)	Choi Myung-gil	Won
			Kim Ah-joong	Nominated
		Special Actor (medium-length drama)	Kim Eung-soo	Nominated
			On Joo-wan	Nominated
		Special Actress (medium-length drama)	Seo Ji-hye	Nominated
		PD Award (chosen by PDs from KBS, SBS & MBC)	Kim Rae-won	Won
			Cho Jae-Hyun	Nominated
		Top 10 Stars		Won
		Best Couple Award	Kim Rae-won and Kim Ah-joong	Nominated
	4th CARI K Drama Awards	Drama of The Year	Punch	Nominated
		PD Award for The Best Ensemble Casts		Won
		Best Director	Lee Myung-Woo	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Park Kyung-soo	Won
		Best Actor	Kim Rae-won	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Cho Jae-hyun	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Choi Myung-gil	Nominated

International broadcast

It aired on ONE TV ASIA in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia premiering on 12 January 2015.^[8]