WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Squid Game Season 2.
Hwang In-ho, better known as Front Man, is one of the most important characters in both squid game the 1st season and the recently released 2nd season. After becoming Netflix's most-watched series of all time with its debut in September 2021, squid game Season 2 was released on December 26, 2024. Season 1 star Lee Jung-jae returns as Squid Game winner Seong Gi-hun who is determined to make the creators of the high-stakes survival game pay.
The cast of squid game Season 2 also features the return of Wi Ha-Joon as Hwang Jun-Ho and Lee Byung-hun's frontman Hwang In-ho. In-ho is among the several characters who returned from squid game Season 1 after his identity was revealed during a standoff with his brother, Jun-ho, at the end of squid game season 1. squid game season 2 sees Gi-hun return to Squid Game as Player 456 to seek revenge against Front Man and try to take down the game from within. Meanwhile, Jun-ho and the Captain try to track down Gi-hun's location, fully aware that In-ho, who enters the game as Player 001, is several steps ahead.
Hwang In-ho was a police officer who took a bribe because his wife was sick
She had cirrhosis and he needed money for a liver transplant
Before becoming the infamous and powerful frontman of Squid Game, Hwang In-ho was a Korean police officer, just like his younger brother, Jun-ho. As revealed in squid game, In-ho fell from grace as a police officer after becoming corrupt and accepting bribes to cover his ailing wife's medical expenses before she died. His conversation with Gi-hun in Squid Game Season 2, which mentions his family in the present tense, strongly suggests that his wife was pregnant when she died. This adds another tragic layer to In-ho's origin story that helps explain what makes him so callous in the series.
Although In-ho's wife died of acute cirrhosis years before the events of squid game In the first season, she remains a key character in understanding In-ho's history and origin as the frontman. Squid Game Season 2 finally reveals the details about In-ho's wife's death when he is disguised as Player 001, also known as Young-il. In-ho's wife needed a liver replacement or she would die from cirrhosis. Not long after, In-ho discovered that she was pregnant with their child. Because of these urgent medical issues, In-ho borrowed all the money he could, but when his police superiors found out, they accused him of bribery and fired him.
Hwang In-ho participated in the 28th Squid Games and won
For him and Gi-hun, the prize money was not enough
Because of the extreme debt In-ho incurred after borrowing all the money for his wife's liver transplant, he was forced into a position similar to any other contestant recruited for the Squid Game. Just like Gi-hun after him, In-ho ended up becoming the only winner of the Squid Game. He participated in the 28th Squid Games as Player 132, which was retained in 2015. Instead of escaping and living a luxurious life with his new riches, he returned to the Squid Game as a supervisor after meeting Squid Game creator Oh Il-nam.
Il-nam was dying of a brain tumor and needed someone to take the reins, and that's when In-ho came into the picture. It seems that based on this decision, In-ho didn't care about the prize money and was much more concerned with finding a purpose in his life or at least a sense of authority. Even with his new wealth, it was impossible for him to return to his old profession as a police officer. In your mind, becoming Front Man may have been the next best thingespecially because of the distorted perception of justice inherent in Lula's Game.
Hwang In-ho gained Il-nam's trust and became the leader
He gave up a golden opportunity to expose Squid Games
In-ho clearly earned Il-nam's trust as someone who would successfully apply the principles and rules of the Squid Game. Even though In-ho could have been virtuous and exposed the Lula Games to the authorities, which would likely have regained the favor of his former police associates, he decides to remain the shady superintendent of the games. Essentially, he and Gi-hun were forced into the same position, but chose different paths when they came out alive as the only winners of their respective years. In this way, In-ho represents what Gi-hun could have become and vice versa.
Although In-ho is technically in the squid game in Season 2 as Player 001, he is silently protected and therefore invincible so that he can get closer and learn more about Gi-hun. After killing Gi-hun's best friend in the shocking squid game At the end of Season 2, he appears to be making a point to Gi-hun about the world and how the Squid Game is a microcosm of it, in the sense that real debts like guilt and shame can never be repaid. Il-nam demonstrated his lack of faith in humanity in the Squid Game season 1 finale, which In-ho replicates in the season 2 finale. In-ho will probably try to break Gi-hun completely in squid game season 3.
Why Jun-ho and his mother blame each other for what happened to Hwang In-ho
In-ho donated his kidney to Jun-ho, which prevented him from selling it to save his wife
Jun-ho and his mother blame each other for In-ho's disappearance and tragic story because In-ho's act of kindness prevented him from using him to help his wife. In-ho donated his kidney to Jun-ho when they were younger, which prevented him from selling it to pay for some of his wife's medical expenses and save her. Due to this, Jun-ho's mother blames herself for not being able to help In-ho like he helped Jun-ho when he needed it most.
Jun-ho and his mother also faced financial difficulties, which further prevented them from helping In-ho with her mounting debts. Consequently, In-ho kept his distance from his family before his eventual disappearance, which is why his mother takes most of the blame in Squid Game Season 2. Jun-ho, however, knows the truth about his brother In-ho, and remains determined to save him from his cruel life as the squid game supervisor in season 2. Based on the season 2 finale, however, it appears that In-ho is too far gone in his role as frontman to return to his old life.