Characters / Busted!

Main Characters

Yoo Jaesuk

A cowardly neighborhood detective who solves his (small) cases with luck, Yoo Jaesuk becomes the humorous leader of K's detective team, though his members are often the ones who save him. He has the DNA of Sherlock Holmes.

Played by: Yoo Jaesuk

• Animal Motifs: His grasshopper motif from Running Man is often alluded to.
• Butt-Monkey: Which led to him developing quite a suspicion for all types of boxes.
• *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": Loves teasing Jaewook about this, only for he himself to say that he shouldn't be joking around because he'll be at that age soon.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In the last episode of the first season, he is involved in C's trailer's explosion because he wanted to retrieve K's microchip. He survives thanks to finding a secret passageway, but continues Faking the Dead anyway so he could tail the other members without them knowing.
• The Leader: Of the detective team.
• The Load: The detective team notes that it's harder to clean up after Jaesuk's, Kwangsoo's, and Jongmin's messes than actually solving the cases.
• Mysterious Watcher: Jaesuk becomes one in between Season 1 and 2, testing if the members weren't suspicious before coming into contact with them again.
• Number Two: Becomes one to K in between Season 1 and 2.

Ahn Jaewook

A former agent who now works as a private detective, Jaewook is the eldest member of the team and is most prone to nagging. His connections, especially with the police, prove helpful to the team in cases where they need it.

Played by: Ahn Jaewook

• *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": Not just his back, but also his eyesight is picked on by the other members of the team.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Jaewook and Sehun, who frequently team up with each other to "bridge" their 23-year age gap.
• Straight Man: Is the most serious of the detectives, which leads to him being paired with the most ridiculous members, or weirdest challenges.
• Put on a Bus: He doesn't appear in Season 3, without any in-universe explanation for his absence; the other detectives don't even mention him.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Jaewook is shown to be terrified by snakes in the second chapter of Season 1. In the first chapter of Season 2, the challenge planned for him requires him to handle snakes to a tank in order to free himself. Sejeong ends up solving the challenge for him.

Kim Jongmin

An errand-runner, with his job usually being a loan shark, Jongmin is easily considered The Load both in physical and mental activities: though he works well whenever no one is watching him and is exceptionally good at eavesdropping.

Played by: Kim Jongmin

• Butt-Monkey: Not just the cast members, but the guests too have their fun with teasing Jongmin.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Along with Kwangsoo, he is one of the members to whom the others don't have any expectations at all, but he's usually the one who solves problems that Minyoung can't and pays attention to the situations they're stuck in.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Always gushes over how pretty Minyoung is.
• The Load: Everyone teases him as this, especially when they take loads of time to explain to Jongmin what they need to solve in order to move on.

Lee Kwangsoo

Unemployed and frivolous, Kwangsoo, with his Go-Pro antlers, is more of The Load than an actual help to the detectives. However, he has a surprising amount of intellect and survival skills, not to mention the endless humor he provides by just being... there. He later flees from the team after stealing K's microchip.

Played by: Lee Kwangsoo

• The Alcoholic: Kwangsoo is revealed to be a really bad drunk, which bites him in the ass when he's framed for a murder he can't remember doing because he was too drunk the night before.
• Awesome, but Impractical: The Go-Pro cameras attached to Kwangsoo's backpack look cool, but these also get stuck and hit a lot of places. One of his cameras fall off in Season 2, because he hit the window while escaping K's vacation home while he was escaping. He eventually ditches them at Season 3.
• Butt-Monkey
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The other cast members call out Kwangsoo for having this kind of reputation, which he strongly denies even though he's shown it in the course of the series. He does it again, on a much larger scale, at the start of Season 2.
• Frameup: Believes himself to be a victim of this, as he could not remember sleeping with and killing the girl in his hotel room. It turns out to be a frame-up.
• The Load

Park Minyoung

A beautiful and fashionable former flight attendant, Minyoung isn't just the group's eye candy, but is also The Ace thanks to her swift deduction skills and expertise in English.

Played by: Park Minyoung

• The Ace: To the point that though everyone in the team claims themselves to be the ace, no one questions her actually being the ace, with the Genius Detectives Team wanting to recruit her to their side.
• Action Girl
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Solves most of the cases this way.
• Damsel out of Distress: Most times, Minyoung and Sejeong are the ones who get themselves out of problems.
• Fun with Foreign Languages: Some cases require a good amount of English proficiency, in which the detective team is thankful for having Minyoung by their side.
• Face–Heel Turn: The second half of Season 3 hints that she may be the godmother behind the Hwalbindang (a Serial-Killer Killer organization); the team also finds K's notes on the detectives, where he points out that Minyoung has a 95% chance of becoming a criminal. Ultimately averted; Minyoung has no relation to the Hwalbindang and while the real godmother believes Minyoung will let her teammates die to save herself, she doesn't hesitate to cooperate with them, allowing everyone to survive the final challenge.
• Pretty in Mink: Minyoung tends to wear a lot of clothes in this style, to the point that the other lampshade it by saying they're solving cases, not walking on a fashion show.
• The Smurfette Principle: Minyoung is the only female in the team until Sejeong joins in episode 2.
• Women Are Delicate: Averted with Minyoung and Sejeong, who tackle cases head-on.

Oh Sehun

Called the "dancing sleuth" because of his main job as a choreographer, Sehun is initially one of the passive members of the team, only brightening up when it comes to women or if something tugs at his competitive side.

Played by: Oh Sehun

• Competition Freak: Big time. He uses up all of Kwangsoo's money because he wanted to be the one to get all stuffed Pororos out of the claw machine, and completely solved a Rubik's cube in 5 hours because he was frustrated that he didn't know how to.
• Declaration of Protection: To Sejeong, though it seems like Sehun is the one who Sejeong needs to protect.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Jaewook and Sehun, who frequently team up with each other to "bridge" their 23-year age gap.
• Like Brother and Sister: Sehun and Sejeong are called the "Se-Se Duo".
• Pretty Boy: The other members comment on his good looks pretty often, but he's yet to use it to his advantage in a case.
• Red Herring: He's set up as the mole in the first episode, with all clues pointing to him, but said clues turn out to be applicable to Yeonseok as well.
• The Stoic: Is much more reserved and level-headed than his more eccentric colleagues.
• Took a Level in Badass: In Season 1, Sehun contributes very little to solving the puzzles and mysteries. Come Season 3, and he actually manages to find the solutions for several problems before even Minyoung can figure them out.

Kim Sejeong

A high school student who is a big fan of mystery novels, Sejeong is the youngest member but also one of the brains of the team.

Played by: Kim Sejeong

• Action Girl
• Damsel out of Distress: Most times, Minyoung and Sejeong are the ones who get themselves out of problems.
• Eating the Eye Candy: Apparently, Yook Sungjae is her style.
• Like Brother and Sister: Sehun and Sejeong are called the "Se-Se Duo", and in the course of seasons 1 and 2, Sejeong has transitioned from calling Sehun "hyung" to the more familiar "oppa".
• Women Are Delicate: Averted with Minyoung and Sejeong, who tackle cases head-on.

Lee Seunggi

Seeking out the detective agency after they opened the slot left by Kwangsoo in Season 2, Seunggi is a detective who wants to expand his career expertise by working in a detective team instead of by himself. That's what he says, but...

Played by: Lee Seunggi

• Assassin Outclassin': Minjae was planning to kill Seunggi after luring him out, but Seunggi turned the tables on him instead.
• Big Brother Instinct: Is usually partnering up with Sehun when solving cases.
• Detective Mole: He joins the detective team in looking for the Flower Killer when in reality, he's the guy they're looking for.
• Slasher Smile: When it's revealed that he's the Flower Killer.

Project D Team

K

K, real name Ahn Naesang, is the one who gathered the detectives into one team, choosing to keep a close eye on them as they're subjects for his scrapped experiment, Project D.

Played by: Ahn Naesang

C

C, real name Kim Jeongtae, is one of the head researchers involved in Project D. After a falling-out with K, he decides to steal the information for himself so he can use it to advance his personal objectives.

Played by: Kim Jeongtae

Yoo Yeonseok

Yeonseok is just an average citizen who was one of the seven men invited to M's party, until it turns out that he was the one who killed M, and later killed his colleague C, due to reasons circling K's "Project D". It's later revealed that he was one of the first test subjects of said project.

Played by: Yoo Yeonseok

• Detective Mole: He is one of the ones who actively look for M's killer, when he's actually the one who killed M.
• Easily Forgiven: Given how Yeonseok tried to put them in danger or even kill them in the first two episodes, the detective team welcomes him rather warmly upon their reunion.
• Heel–Face Turn: He comes to trust and work with the detective team, becoming its temporary Sixth Ranger.

Genius Detective Team

Jung Jaehyung

The leader of the Genius Detective Team

Played by: Jung Jaehyung

Lee Juck

Played by: Lee Juck

Lee Jangwon

Played by: Lee Jangwon

A member of his office's band.

Shin Jaepyung

Played by: Shin Jaepyung

The mathematics ace of the Genius Detective Team, who is a member of his office's band.

John Park

The team's Cloudcuckoolander.

Played by: John Park

Wendy

Played by: Wendy

The only female in the team, who left in between Seasons 1 and 2 due to unknown reasons.

Hani

Played by: Hani

A woman who applied both to K's detective team and to the Genius Detective Team, she decided to join the latter upon seeing their skills.

Characters introduced in Season 1

Episode 1

Kangbuk

A part-timer at a catering service company and is the prime suspect for M's murder.

Played by: Kangnam

• New Job as the Plot Demands: He really is juggling a lot of part-time jobs, from catering service to convenience stores to karaoke rooms.

Rena Park

The owner of a dance studio and C's ex-girlfriend.

Episode 2

Hong Jonghyun

A mysterious man that the detective team meets as they search for a precious artifact in Jeju Island. Said artifact is actually a message left to him by his deceased father.

Played by: Hong Jonghyun

Episode 3

Lee Kiwoo

A man who stays in the same hotel as Kwangsoo, and they become the trio of Lee brothers along with his friend, Changmin.

Played by: Lee Kiwoo

• Frameup: He was the one who elaborately set up Kwangsoo to be the murderer, when it was actually him.

Lee Changmin

Kiwoo's friend and a vlogger.

Played by: Lee Changmin

• Red Herring: He's set up to be the murderer, but he had nothing to do with it.

Episode 4

Ji Yoonha

Played by: Ji Yoonha

A girl who was found dead at the beginning of the episode. Turns out that her dad was J, a doctor involved in Project D.

Yoo Il

One of the members of 5urprise

Played by: Yoo Il

Seo Kangjoon

Played by: Seo Kangjoon

Gong Myung

Played by: Gong Myung

Kang Taeoh

Played by: Kang Taeoh

Lee Taehwan

Played by: Lee Taehwan

Episode 5

Park Haejin

The eerie village doctor, who isn't able to leave the island.

Played by: Park Haejin

Episode 7

Charming

A renowned magician.

Played by: Choi Hyunwoo

Shin Hyejeong

Charming's assistant and lover.

Played by: Shin Hyejeong

Choi Hyunwoo

Charming's apprentice.

Played by: Choi Hyunwoo

Jung Hyesung

A famous Korean actress, who is Charming's lover.

Played by: Jung Hyesung

Characters introduced in Season 2

Episode 1

Im Wonhee

The head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police and an acquaintance of Jaewook. He's the one who started the whole investigation regarding the Flower Killers, partnering with Stephanie.

Played by: Im Wonhee

Kim Minjae

One of the officers at the Seoul Metropolitan Police. He is later revealed to be the youngest son of a chaebol owner. and even later on revealed as the copycat Flower Killer.

Played by: Kim Minjae

Yoon Jonghoon

One of the investigators at the Seoul Metropolitan Police, who praises the Flower Killer's methods and has a rocky relationship with Stephanie.

Played by: Yoon Jonghoon

Episode 2

Stephanie Lee

A profiler who was the subject of C's affections due to her frequent visits at the psychiatric hospital for her thesis. She's also the daughter of the Guiyi village's shaman, who grew up there herself but was able to escape to the city with the help of her friend Hyewon.

Played by: Stephanie Lee

Tae Hangho

The owner of a general store who the detective team runs into frequently, as he seems to be acquainted with many people. He claims to be able to do anything and everything for you, as long as you have 10,000 dollars as payment.

Played by: Tae Hangho

Lee Yujin

A young artist who taught art at the psychiatric hospital. He's Ji Yoonha's older brother, and killed C and K, believing them to be responsible for the death of their father.

Played by: Lee Yujin

Episode 3

Yook Sungjae

A cocky applicant at the detective agency, wanting to fill in Kwangsoo's place.

Played by: Yook Sungjae

Jin Seyeon

A member of a rich family who hires the detectives to retrieve her family treasure, the "Odd Eye".

Played by: Jin Seyeon

Ahn Igwon

Episode 5

Kim Dongjoon

Min Sungwook

Min Sol

Episode 6

Hyewon

Hyewon's mother

Village Shaman

Episode 7

Wang Gyojin

Played by: Im Gyojin

The eldest chaebol son, recently released from jail.

Wang Jihoon

The second chaebol son.

Played by: Kim Jihoon

Byun Jungsoo

The fourth wife of the late chairman.

Played by: Byun Jungsoo

Secretary Lee

The family's butler and secretary. As well as the late chairman's lover.

The Flower Killer

A killer famous for leaving a flower on his victims' bodies, which led the detective team to suspect that he's behind K's murder. But another pattern with his victims is that they all have no blood smeared on them, unlike K who was found wearing a bloody sweater stabbed with a knife.

Played by: Lee Seunggi

• Arc Villain: Of Season 2, where all cases that the detectives solve connect to him in some way.
• Character Tic: The detective team fails to note that the Flower Killer had a habit of using ellipses in his messages. Guess who else does that?
• Collective Identity: There are two Flower Killers: the original, Lee Seunggi, stopped killing after his "last masterpiece", K, but his avid fan and follower, Kim Minjae, wasn't satisfied with this ending and so tried to replicate the original Flower Killer's methods in order to gain his attention.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The original Flower Killer's motives were not to kill random people but to kill people who did evil to the society.
• Master Poisoner: It's revealed that his method of killing is through poison, which is why the deaths are typically bloodless.