Chief Detective 1958

Chief Detective 1958 (Korean: 수사반장 1958) is an ongoing South Korean television series written by Kim Young-shin [ko], directed by Kim Sung-hoon, and starring Lee Je-hoon, Lee Dong-hwi, Choi Woo-sung and Yoon Hyun-soo. As a prequel of the series Chief Inspector [ko], it depicts a retro crime investigation drama with the romance and joy of analog investigation, where crimes are solved solely with innate sense, insight, and tenacity without profiling or common CCTV. It premiered on MBC TV on April 19, 2024, and airs every Friday and Saturday at 21:50 (KST).^[5][6] It is also available for streaming on Disney+ in selected regions.^[7]

Chief Detective 1958
Promotional poster
Also known as	Chief Inspector: The Beginning
Hangul	수사반장 1958
Hanja	搜査班長 1958
Revised Romanization	Susabanjang 1958
McCune–Reischauer	Susabanjang 1958
Genre	Period drama Crime Comedy Action^[1]
Created by	Park Jae-beom^[2]
Developed by	Jang Jae-hoon^[1] Hong Seok-woo^[2]
Written by	Kim Young-shin [ko]^[1]
Directed by	Kim Sung-hoon^[1]
Starring	Lee Je-hoon Lee Dong-hwi Choi Woo-sung Yoon Hyun-soo
Music by	Kim Woo-geun^[3]
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	8 (as of May 11, 2024 (2024-05-11))
Production
Executive producers	Bang Ok-kyung^[4] Yoon Suk-dong^[4]
Producers	Ahn Eun-mi^[4] Yoon Hong-mi^[4] Kim Ji-ha^[4] Ji Hwan^[4]
Cinematography	Kim Hyung-suk^[3] Yang Hee-jin^[3]
Editor	Shin Min-kyung^[3]
Production company	Barunson Studio
Original release
Network	MBC TV
Release	April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19) – present
Related
Chief Inspector [ko]

Synopsis

Set in the 1950s to 1960s, ten years before the original series, the story follows Detective Park Yeong-han, who specializes in apprehending petty thieves, as a team with three unique colleagues, breaking down the absurdities of corrupt power with common sense, and being reborn as a detective for the people.^[8]

Cast

Main

• Lee Je-hoon as Park Yeong-han: a detective who is angry and struggling against the reality that tramples on human dignity.^[9]
• Lee Dong-hwi as Kim Sang-sun: a detective at Jongnam Police Station who called a mad dog.^[10]
• Choi Woo-sung as Jo Gyeong-hwan: a wealthy and polite detective at Jongnam Police Station.^[11]
• Yoon Hyun-soo as Seo Ho-jeong: a high-spec elite who dreams of becoming a master investigator at Jongnam Police Station.^[11]
• Seo Eun-soo as Lee Hye-ju: an owner of a bookstore called 'Jongnam Seorim' near Jongnam Market. Later, she becomes Yeong-han's wife.^[12]

Supporting

Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 1

• Choi Deok-moon as Yu Dae-cheon: leader of Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 1 and Yeong-han's mentor who is a veteran police officer with a sense of duty.^[13]

Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 2

• Song Wook-kyung as Byun Dae-sik: leader of Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 2.^[14]
• Ryu Yeon-seok as Song Jae-deok: detective of Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 2.^[14]
• Jo Han-jun as Hwang Soo-man: detective of Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 2.^[14]
• Nam Hyun-woo as Oh Ji-sub: the youngest detective of Jongnam Police Station Investigation Unit 2.^[14]

National Forensic Service

• Go Sang-ho as Moon Guk-cheol: A talented autopsy doctor with a strong sense of duty and a passion for learning.^[14]

Jongnam Seorim

• Jeong Soo-bin as Bong Nan-sil: student at Jongnam Girls' High School who dreams of becoming a police officer in the future.^[15]

Jongnam Market

• Eom Jun-gi as Seong-chil: Hal-mae's grandson.^[14]
• Cha Mi-kyung as Grandma Ho: an owner of tteokbokki shop at Jeongnam Market.^[14]
• Kim Seo-an as Geum-ok: a daughter of vegetable store at Jongnam Market.^[14]

Dongdaemun gang

• Kim Young-seong as Lee Jung-jae: Boss of the Dongdaemun gang, an infamous Korean Mafia syndicate in 1950s and member of Liberal Party.^[14]
• Kang In-kwon as Sal Mo-sa: self-proclaimed second-in-command of the Dongdaemun gang. He is called Viper of Youngmoon Mountain.^[14]
• Park Jeong-hyuk as Bang Ul-baem: Mo-sa's right hand-man who is a grumpy and frivolous thug who is obsessed with pseudo-religion.^[14]

Boarding House

• Joo In-young as Mrs. Paju: a boarding house owner who is talkative and good at cooking.^[14]
• Shin Min-jae as Geum Eun-dong: a young man from a boarding house wearing horn-rimmed glasses. He is a banker who is timid but has a strong work ethic.^[14]
• Lee Suk-hyeong as Jung Guk-jin: a young man from a boarding house who dreams to become a prosecutor.^[14]

Others

• Yoon Woo as Kim Sun-kyung: a man who tries to keep his principles.^[16]
• Go Seo-hee^[17]
• Kim Soo-jin as Audrey: a hysterical and vicious orphanage director.^[18]

Special appearances

• Choi Bool-am as present day Park Yeong-han^[19]
• Ko Seo-hee as Jang Mal-sun: she commits evil deeds under the pretext of selling her American cosmetics products.^[20]

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Released on April 19, 2024

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"100 Wins" (지피지기 백전백승)	B.B Dasol	B.B Dasol Tan (Solsire)	Seo Eun-kwang (BtoB)	3:25
2.	"100 Wins" (지피지기 백전백승; Inst.)		B.B Dasol Tan (Solsire)		3:25
Total length:					7:50

Viewership

Chief Detective 1958 : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Season		Episode number										Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	1	1.861	1.513	1.821	1.359	1.729	1.615	1.684	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[21]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)^[21]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	April 19, 2024	10.1% (1st)	10.3% (1st)
2	April 20, 2024	7.8% (2nd)	8.1% (2nd)
3	April 26, 2024	10.8% (1st)	10.6% (1st)
4	April 27, 2024	7.1% (2nd)	7.0% (2nd)
5	May 3, 2024	9.5% (2nd)	9.1% (1st)
6	May 4, 2024	9.0% (2nd)	9.2% (2nd)
7	May 10, 2024	9.9% (2nd)	9.8% (1st)
8	May 11, 2024
9	May 17, 2024
10	May 18, 2024
Average		—	—
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

References

1. Kim, Ha-young (December 29, 2023). '연인' 바통 이어라...이하늬→한석규, MBC 드라마 출격 [Take on the baton of 'Lovers'...Lee Ha-nui→Han Seok-gyu to appear in MBC drama] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
2. Choi, Yun-na (February 7, 2024). 이제훈X이동휘→최불암...'수사반장 1958' 대본리딩 현장 공개 [Lee Je-hoon 'Investigation Team Leader 1958' script reading site revealed] (in Korean). Sports Donga. from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
3. 황천에서 온 사나이 [Man From a Small City]. Chief Detective 1958. Episode 1. April 19, 2024. MBC TV.
4. "프로그램 소개" [Program Introduction]. MBC (in Korean). from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
5. Yoo, Eun-bi (January 4, 2024). "Investigation Chief' Lee Je-hoon, Choi Bul-am's successor charisma... Resurrection of a Legend". SPOTV News. from the original on April 21, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
6. Yoo, Jung-min (March 7, 2024). "진짜 형사들"...이제훈→이동휘, '수사반장 1958' 완전체 메인 포스터 ["Real Detectives"...Lee Je-hoon→Lee Dong-hwi, 'Chief Detective 1958' complete main poster]. iMBC (in Korean). from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
7. Ziwei, Puah (March 7, 2024). "'Chief Detective 1958': cast, plot, premiere date and all you need to know about the K-drama". NME. from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
8. "이제훈X이동휘X최우성X윤현수, '수사반장' 라인업 완성 [공식]". 스타뉴스 (in Korean). August 17, 2023. from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
9. Ha, Soo-jung (April 24, 2023). "이제훈, '수사반장 1963' 확정..최불암 청년 시절 연기 [공식]" [Lee Je-hoon, 'Chief Investigator 1963' confirmed.. Choi Bul-am's youth acting [Official]] (in Korean). Osen. from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2023 – via Naver.
10. Ha Su-jeong (August 16, 2023). "'수사반장: 더 비기닝' 이동휘, 이제훈과 레트로 형사 콤비 확정 [공식]" ['Chief Investigator: The Beginning' Lee Dong-hwi, Lee Je-hoon and retro detective duo confirmed [Official]] (in Korean). Osen. from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
11. NEWS, SPOTV (August 17, 2023). "최고시청률 70%, 전설의 '수사반장' 돌아온다...이제훈→이동휘, 막강 라인업[공식]". SPOTV NEWS (in Korean). from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
12. tenasia.hankyung.com, Digital (August 31, 2023). "서은수, '수사반장: 더 비기닝' 여주인공 낙점...이제훈·이동휘와 연기 호흡 | 텐아시아". 텐아시아 연예뉴스 (in Korean). from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
13. Han Hae-seon (February 7, 2024). "'수사반장 1958' 이제훈X이동휘→최불암..리딩현장 공개" (in Korean). Star News. from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
14. 등장인물 [Characters]. iMBC (in Korean). from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
15. Park Soo-in (September 6, 2023). "정수빈 '수사반장' 캐스팅, 이제훈 이동휘 서은수와 호흡". Newsen. from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
16. "윤우, 새 금토극 '수사반장 1958' 합류". Naver (in Korean). from the original on February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
17. 손, 봉석 (September 1, 2023). "배우 고서희, 코스모엔터테인먼트 전속계약". sports.khan.co.kr (in Korean). from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
18. Ahn, Byung-gil (April 26, 2024). 김수진 ‘수사반장 1958’ 뜬다 [Kim Soo-jin’s ‘Investigation Team Leader 1958’ appears] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via Naver.
19. OSEN (September 21, 2023). "최불암, '수사반장: 더 비기닝' 합류...제작진 "특별출연 성사" [공식입장]". m.osen.co.kr (in Korean). from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
20. Hyeon, Jung-min (April 26, 2024). 고서희, '수사반장 1958' 특별출연…빌런 진면목 예고 [Ko Seo-hee, special appearance in ‘Investigation Team Leader 1958’…A preview of the villain’s true face] (in Korean). Sports World. from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via Naver.
21. Nielsen Korea ratings:
    • "Ep. 1" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. April 19, 2024. from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
    • "Ep. 2" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. April 20, 2024. from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
    • "Ep. 3" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. April 26, 2024. from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
    • "Ep. 4" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. April 27, 2024. from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
    • "Ep. 5" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. May 3, 2024. from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
    • "Ep. 6" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. May 4, 2024. from the original on May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
    • "Ep. 7" (in Korean). Nielsen Korea. May 10, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2024.

External links

• Official website   (in Korean)
• Chief Detective 1958 at IMDb  
• Chief Detective 1958 at HanCinema