In Divorce Attorney Shin, Seo-jin, a DJ, approaches Sung-han because her husband wishes to divorce her. Sung-han agrees to represent her, and the decision benefits both of them. Han Hye-jin plays Lee Seo-jin in the show.
One day, Hyeong-geun tells Sung-han that his favorite DJ, Lee Seo-jin, left her morning radio show. Sung-han has never heard of her, but Hyeong-geun is a fan, and her decision to leave the show makes him upset.
Seo-jin soon approaches Sung-han, who specializes in divorce cases. She tells him that her husband wishes to divorce her, and she wants Sung-han to represent her. Sung-han initially refuses, but after talking to her, he gets convinced to take her case.
Why is Seo-jin getting a divorce?
Seo-jin’s husband, Mr. Kang, was friends with her brother, who was addicted to gambling. The two started a company together, and her brother gambled away the company funds. Her husband saved the company from going bankrupt, and she ended up marrying him.
There was a time when she wanted to leave him, but when her brother got drunk and died in a car accident, Seo-jin got scared and never left her husband.
Seo-jin then finds herself in a difficult position, and she cannot rely on anyone. Her husband is abusive and controlling; he keeps track of all her activities via cameras that he has installed in every corner of their house. He even leaves insulting notes for her everywhere.
Furthermore, he forces her to frequently send him pictures whenever she is not home to inform him of her whereabouts. Due to this, her friends do not invite her when they meet, and she does not even go out with her coworkers.
An alienated Seo-jin goes to a restaurant one day with her only friend and producer, Ho-young, where she is approached by a young man who works there and claims to be her fan. It feels good to have someone who likes her, and she begins a relationship with him.
However, even her lover betrays her, as he makes a sex tape of them without her consent and leaks it. He gets arrested and is forced to take the video down, but the damage is already done.
With her reputation ruined, she is forced to leave her morning show. People at her workplace stare at her and whisper about her, but she holds her head up. Additionally, her husband wants to divorce her because of the tape.
Seo-jin’s divorce case
Sung-han believes that it will be difficult to win Seo-jin’s case and that it will not be a good divorce for her, which, according to him, means that she will not get what she wants.
He refuses to take her case, but when she tells him that she only wants the custody of her son, Hyeon-u, and is ready to face whatever comes her way to get Hyeon-u, he agrees to represent her.
She returns home to live with Hyeon-u, even though her husband abuses her and scares her. Unlike him, she actually cares about Hyeon-u and asks her husband to think about their son when he fights with her.
During their divorce mediation, she is accused of not being a good parent, as she forgot to go to Hyeon-u’s school on parent participation day. Due to this, he injured himself, and his teacher tried contacting Seo-jin, but she never picked up because she was with her lover, who took her phone away.
Mr. Kang’s lawyer argues that she should not get the custody, as her son might end up seeing her leaked sex tape someday. Sung-han points out that this is secondary victimization, and the video has been deleted, but Mr. Kang claims otherwise.
A disturbed Hyeon-u throws a tantrum one night and tries to smash his father’s phone. Seo-jin wants to drop the case for his sake, but Sung-han figures out that Seo-jin’s husband must have shown Hyeon-u the video, resulting in his tantrum.
Sung-han confirms this and decides to go to trial. He now wants to demand an equal share in the property on her behalf, apart from the custody. In court, he accuses Mr. Kang of showing their son the video.
Seo-jin’s angry husband confirms this, which leads to Seo-jin slapping him in court before passing out. She wins the case because of Sung-han and decides to beg Hyeon-u for forgiveness.
Seo-jin’s new beginning
When Seo-jin apologizes to Hyeon-u, he embraces her. She then tries to mend their relationship, and this time, he does not push her away. She spends more time with him, and Hyeon-u’s condition improves.
Her life seems to be getting better, but she still needs to find a new job and fast, as her husband might file another lawsuit against her. She goes for a job interview, where she is reminded that she is no longer a radio DJ; people now expect her to make R-rated content.
She feels like people recognize her everywhere she goes and tries to hide her face. Desperate with no other choices, she asks Sung-han for a job. To prove her worth, she fixes his office door, which has been bothering them for a while, and impresses him.
She comes to apologize the next day for making him uncomfortable by asking him to hire her, but Sung-han suddenly gets several new clients because he won Seo-jin’s case. Sung-han asks her to work with Hyeong-geun, and she manages the situation expertly.
She gets along with his other employees, and he decides to hire her. She now wants to make changes to the office. She believes that she should talk to the clients before he meets them, as they will be more comfortable telling her the worst things about themselves.
He initially refuses to give her a consultation room, but she is well aware of how to successfully convince him, so she eventually ends up getting what she wants.
Sung-han and Seo-jin’s dynamic has been interesting since the beginning. The show has been hinting from the beginning that Sung-han will end up being more than Seo-jin’s lawyer and now employer. It seems like Seo-jin’s chapter is not going to close anytime soon.