‘Chaebol X Detective 2’ Continues the Lineage of ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘The Fiery Priest’ as Park Ji-hyun Exits and Jung Eun-chae Joins

SBS Friday-Saturday drama “Chaebol X Detective 2” has unveiled its teaser poster, signaling that the series is now moving into its full-scale return. With actor Ahn Bo-hyun, who helped drive the success of Season 1, once again leading the drama, attention is turning to how the second season will change after Park Ji-hyun, his previous partner in the story, steps away and actor Jung Eun-chae joins as the new investigative partner.

Scheduled to premiere on August 7 as the follow-up to “Manager Kim,” “Chaebol X Detective 2” is a cooperative investigation drama centered on Jin Yi-soo, played by Ahn Bo-hyun, a third-generation chaebol detective who possesses both money and power. In the new season, he teams up with veteran detective Joo Hye-ra, played by Jung Eun-chae, to solve criminal cases that have become more meticulous and bolder in scale. The drama expands the world of “FLEX investigations,” built around a detective whose unusual chaebol background allows him to break away from conventional investigative drama formulas and solve cases in his own way.

Season 1, which aired last year, won favorable responses from viewers with its satisfying action and lively character play, recording a peak viewership rating of 11 percent, according to Nielsen Korea’s metropolitan area standard. The season offered distinctive entertainment by combining Jin Yi-soo’s growth inside the police organization, where the third-generation chaebol who believes “there is nothing money cannot do” repeatedly clashes with institutional reality, with a grounded process of solving criminal cases.

On the strength of those results, “Chaebol X Detective” has established itself as a drama that follows the so-called “cathartic genre” lineage SBS has built over the years. SBS has secured a strong fan base through works such as “Taxi Driver,” “The Fiery Priest,” and “The Judge from Hell,” dramas centered on clear moral payback structures and exhilarating punishment narratives. “Chaebol X Detective 2” is also expanding within that current as a seasonal drama, signaling fresh box-office potential.

The reunion of the production team and key cast members is another point drawing notice in Season 2. Director Kim Jae-hong and writer Kim Ba-da have joined forces once again, while Ahn Bo-hyun continues as Jin Yi-soo, a character defined by the contrasting identities of chaebol heir and detective. With Jung Eun-chae joining as the new female lead, the drama is expected to create tension and relationship shifts that differ from the previous season.

The newly released teaser poster emphasizes the glamorous world that is unique to the Jin Yi-soo character. Set inside a private jet, Jin Yi-soo appears in a formal police uniform, seated in a recliner as he analyzes case files. In one hand he holds investigative materials, and in the other he holds premium whiskey. The personalized Jin Yi-soo logo engraved on the seat and the custom-made gold handcuffs symbolically capture the drama’s premise of a “chaebol detective.”

The distinctive styling that became a talking point in Season 1 has also changed into a more polished look. Instead of the bold hairstyle that had been nicknamed the “tanghulu hair,” Jin Yi-soo appears with a cleaner image, simultaneously revealing the ease of a chaebol and the sharp concentration of a detective. The shift hints at the character’s growth.

The production team plans to show both Jin Yi-soo’s investigative ability and his personal changes through larger-scale cases and more elaborately structured crimes in Season 2. The process by which a third-generation chaebol, who once used wealth and personal connections as his weapons, is reborn as a true detective, along with the chemistry created by his new cooperative partnership, is expected to become the core viewing point of the second season.