A genius surgeon who has never been able to feel what his patients feel is about to start again from the bottom of a very different ward. Mind Doctor has confirmed Kang Ha-neul, Kim Hye-jun, Heo Joon-ho and Kim Sun-young as the four leads of its story about a doctor who trades the operating room for psychiatry after a family tragedy.
The casting was announced on November 9 for the new MBC Friday-Saturday drama, with the full lineup and character details The series follows an emotionless genius surgeon who abandons everything after his older brother's death and goes to work in psychiatry, gradually unlocking the closed doors of other people's hearts as he becomes a true doctor of the mind.
The project marks the first medical drama of Kang Ha-neul's career, and the first for Kim Hye-jun as well. Both actors are taking on doctor roles for the first time since their debuts, playing psychiatrists at very different stages of the same journey.
Kang Ha-neul plays Lee Si-chan, a surgeon whose technical skills are perfect but who has no humane warmth to go with them. After his older brother's death brings him to the psychiatry department, Lee Si-chan begins to change, slowly opening his eyes to the hearts of others and learning to look into his own as well.
Kim Hye-jun plays Go Jung-hyun, Lee Si-chan's mentor and a second-year psychiatry resident. Go Jung-hyun carries deep pride and affection for her work as a psychiatrist, and she clashes at every turn with Lee Si-chan, the new junior who once looked down on her entire field.
Heo Joon-ho plays Kim Man-cheol, Lee Si-chan's surgical mentor and the head of the hospital. When Lee Si-chan betrays him by leaving for a branch hospital's psychiatry department, Kim Man-cheol pulls every scheme he can to bring his star surgeon back.
Kim Sun-young plays Park Mi-ran, the head of the psychiatry department at that branch hospital. Park Mi-ran is a legendary figure who once commanded the main hospital, and she stands against Kim Man-cheol as a reliable pillar who protects and looks after her juniors.
The pairing also brings together two actors coming off sharply contrasting recent work. Kang Ha-neul drew attention for intense performances in the Squid Game series and Tastefully Yours, while Kim Hye-jun showed opposite charms across the A Shop for Killers series and My Bias, My Boss.
Behind the camera, Wi Deuk-gyu directs the series and Jo Hyun-jin writes it, with Kwon Sung-chang planning the project. Blitzway Production and Chapter Two Holdings produce the drama, which is built around the senior-junior clashes and chemistry of its four leads.
Mind Doctor is slated to premiere in the first half of 2027 in MBC's Friday-Saturday slot. Kang Ha-neul, Kim Hye-jun, Heo Joon-ho and Kim Sun-young lead the confirmed cast.
Sources: MBC, JoyNews24
