Son Seok-koo

Son Suk-ku (; born February 7, 1983) is a South Korean actor. He gained recognition for his roles in the television series Matrimonial Chaos, Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019), D.P. (2021–2023), My Liberation Notes (2022), A Killer Paradox (2024) and Heavenly Ever After (2025), as well as the films Nothing Serious (2021) and The Roundup (2022).

Early life Son was born on February 7, 1983, in Taepyeong-dong, Jung District, Daejeon, South Korea. He started studying abroad early in middle school and continued his studies in Canada and the United States. He majored in visual arts and film at the School of Art Institute of Chicago, dreaming of becoming a documentary director.

In 2005, during his mandatory military service, he volunteered to join the Zaytun Division, a Republic of Korea Army contingent which carried out peacekeeping and reconstruction missions in war-torn Iraq.

Career Son began his acting career, playing a minor role in 2014 film Scarlet Innocence and appeared in Black Stone (2016), Sense8 (2017) and Mother (2018).

His popularity began to rise with his starring role in KBS2 romantic comedy drama Matrimonial Chaos (2018) and his supporting role in the tvN political thriller drama Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019).

In 2021, he played Captain Im Ji-seop in the Netflix series D.P. The same year, he starred in the romance film Nothing Serious which marked his first big-screen leading role. Son made his directorial debut in the Watcha short film Unframed – Rebroadcast.

In 2022, Son starred in the JTBC slice-of-life drama My Liberation Notes. His portrayal of Mr. Gu, a reclusive alcoholic stranger, earned praise from critics and audiences and he topped the drama performers popularity ranking for five consecutive weeks. The same year, he starred as the villain Kang Hae-sung in the crime action blockbuster The Roundup, which became the highest-grossing film of 2022 in South Korea, selling 12 million tickets. Success of his 2022 projects raised his popularity and recognition.

In 2025, he had a special appearance in the romantic comedy-drama film Virus directed by Kang Yi-kwan. He then starred in JTBC's romantic fantasy television series Heavenly Ever After playing a postman who delivers letters of wishes from earth. This was followed with a starring role in the mystery crime thriller television series Nine Puzzles alongside Kim Da-mi.

Filmography Film

Television series Year Title Role Notes 2016 Kidnapping Assemblyman Mr. Clean Sang-chul's subordinate Special drama 2017 Sense8 Detective Mun Season 2 2018 Mother Seol-ak Suits David Kim Matrimonial Chaos Lee Jang-hyun 2019 Designated Survivor: 60 Days Cha Young-jin Be Melodramatic Kim Sang-soo Special appearance (Ep. 10, 12–16) 2021–2023 D.P. Im Ji-seop Season 1–2 2021 Jirisan Lim Cheol-kyeong Special appearance (Ep. 6) 2022 My Liberation Notes Mr. Gu (Gu Ja-gyeong) 2022–2023 Big Bet Oh Seung-hoon 2024 A Killer Paradox Jang Nan-gam 2025 Heavenly Ever After Ko Nak-joon Nine Puzzles Kim Han-saem

Music video appearances Year Song title Artist 2019 "Alone" Gummy

Theater Year English title Korean title Role 2023 Army on the Tree 나무 위의 군대 Recruiter

Accolades Awards and nominations + Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination Award ceremony Year Category Nominee / Work Result APAN Star Awards 2022 Best Couple Award Son Suk-ku My Liberation Notes Excellence Award, Actor in Miniseries My Liberation Notes Popularity Star Award, Actor Best New Actor – Television Matrimonial Chaos 2023 Best Actor – Television My Liberation Notes Blue Dragon Series Awards 2022 Best Supporting Actor D.P. Brand of the Year Awards 2022 Best Actor Son Suk-ku Buil Film Awards 2022 Best New Actor The Roundup Chunsa Film Art Awards 2022 Best Supporting Actor Director's Cut Awards 2022 Best New Actor in film Nothing Serious Grand Bell Awards 2022 Best Supporting Actor The Roundup KBS Drama Awards 2018 Best New Actor Suits, Matrimonial Chaos Kinolights Awards 2022 Actor of the Year (Domestic) The Roundup, My Liberation Notes Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Best New Actor The Roundup

Listicles + Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement Publisher Year Listicle Placement Cine21 2021 New Actor to watch out for in 2022 1st 2024 "Korean Film NEXT 50" – Actors Placed Elle Japan 2022 Top 16 Hallyu Best Actor 1st Forbes 2023 Korea Power Celebrity 40 7th