Jo Jae-hyeon is receiving a shower of accolades for his role in “Scandal” as Ha Myeong-geun. He has captivated the viewers with his adept handling of emotions that flip from anger to pity to desperation and bitterness in MBC’s weekend drama “Scandal: A Very Shocking and Wrongful Incident” (“Scandal” written by Bae Yu-mi; directed by Kim Jin-man and Park Jae-beom).
 
His acting amused both the viewers and his son Ha Eun-jung (Kim Jae-won) in Episode 6 when he embraced his kidnapped son with both fatherly warmth and a stranger’s wariness. He showed similar ambiguous expressions when he slipped a confidential report of Taeha Group’s corruption to his coworker.

When Ha Myeong-geun bumps into Yun Hwa-yeong (Shin Eun-gyeong) in the hospital, he breaks out in cold sweat as he is reminded of his past, but he follows her to her workplace to give her the medicine that she dropped. He is anxious that she might remember his face, but is also worried that he might be the cause of her suffering.

Jo Jae-hyeon did a splendid job of expressing the complex psychology of Ha Myeong-geun. He expresses the inner complexity of Myeong-geun through actions, eyes, and even slight facial movements. Furthermore, the synergy that he creates with Shin Eun-gyeong in the role of Yun Hwa-yeoung cannot be better.

The viewers shower him with praises: “No one will get tired of watching Jo Jae-hyeon’s acting. ‘Wonder how he will appear next time;” “I can’t possibly rate Jo Jae-hyeon’s acting. His hand gestures are enough to make one cry.”; “He looks like a single father from the way he dresses. He’s the god of acting”; “Middle-aged actors lead the drama”; and “I can’t miss this drama because of the actors. They make the drama work.”