The Judge Returns Ending Explained: Directed by Lee Jae-jin and Park Mi-yeon, the dark and intense Korean legal thriller 판사 이한영 stars Ji Sung as Judge Lee Han-young, Park Hee-soon as Kang Shin-jin, and Won Jin-a as Kim Jin-a alongside Tae Won-seok, Baek Jin-hee, Oh Se-young, Hwang Hee and others.
Kdrama The Judge Returns Recap
The Korean drama The Judge Returns shows Judge Lee Han-young, who comes back to life after his existence ended because he dedicated his life to a system which he now understands to be totally corrupt. He chooses to spend his second opportunity in life by fixing the mistakes he made in the past, while he reveals the hidden controllers who operate their illegal activities from behind the scenes in the judicial system.
Han-young uses his knowledge of future events to develop advantages which help him succeed in his fight against Chief Justice Kang Shin-jin, who manages all political activities, corruption and violent acts. The series investigates whether genuine justice exists in a world built on deceit and power struggles and materialistic desires as prosecutors, journalists, and politicians become involved in their hazardous contest for authority.
The Judge Returns Ending Explained
What was Shin-Jin’s Crime?
Shin-jin was the mastermind behind the country’s corrupt political and legal systems. He secretly manipulated judicial decisions so that major corporations and wealthy individuals would be able to escape punishment, while ordinary citizens were punished. He kidnapped and murdered anyone who he thought would expose his system of corruption. He used bribery, slush funds, and political leverage to control judges, prosecutors, politicians, and powerful businesspeople to make sure that the justice system worked to support politically powerful people, not the truth.
Shin-jin worked closely with the past president and large businessmen to establish a shadow cabal of leaders who made the last word on legal issues in the country. This allowed him to frame innocent people for crimes, destroy whistleblowers, and even kill people who knew too much about how he was running his illegal operations.
Who was Soon-Won and what Happened to Him in the End?
Soon-won operated as a primary operative for Kang Shin-jin while simultaneously serving as a vital member of the corrupt power network that operated through Suojae. He was not an ordinary henchman because he was connected to Shin-jin’s operations and possessed secret knowledge about the unlawful activities which high-ranking political and judicial figures executed.
Shin-jin maintained control over Soon-won because he had trained him to become his operative for many years. Through his drugging of Soon-won Shin-jin created an agent who executed both deadly operations, surveillance missions, intimidation jobs and assassination attempts. The reason Shin-jin wanted to eliminate Soon-won was that his knowledge posed a threat to the entire corruption empire, which would collapse if Soon-won gained control of his life.
Shin-jin was shocked upon learning that Soon-won had been admitted to a hospital with critical injuries. The incident caused Shin-jin to contemplate killing Soon-won so that he would be free from any threats posed by him. However, once Soon-won emerged from his coma, Shin-jin took advantage of him and manipulated him as a pawn in his power plays, placing even tighter restrictions on Soon-won and assigning him new tasks, including killing former president Park Gwang-to.
The mission turned out to be an utter failure as all of the plans were unsuccessful. When Soon-won attempted to confront Gwang-to, he was shot in the head by Gwang-to, who had been anticipating the confrontation and had already pulled out his gun in anticipation of Soon-won. The fact that Soon-won died illustrates the fact that Shin-jin saw all of his dedicated agents as disposable in the quest for power while making plans to kill others from his hidden vantage point of authority.
What Happened During the Final Suojae Members Meeting?
In an important meeting of powerful elites and members of Suojae, tensions began when evidence of rampant corruption started to surface publicly. Accusations began flying, alliances were severed, and panic began to spread amongst members of Suojae due to their fears of being outed. In one moment of rage and paranoia, Shin-jin lost control of himself and murdered two people (including Gyo-hoon) during the chaotic situation that was created by the confrontation.
In contrast to prior manipulations, the murder of the two men was completely unplanned for Shin-jin. The murders of the men illustrated Shin-jin’s psychological collapse and showed him extreme desperation to maintain control. The incident of the two murders ultimately exposed Shin-jin not only as a master manipulator but also as a cold-blooded murderer, who would become the prime suspect in the murder of two men.
Why Did Se-hee Betray Han-young?
Se-hee did not betray Han-young out of hate and malice. She did it to save her family from ruin associated with their law firm. Se-hee was under immense pressure from her father, who believed that if Shin-jin fell, then the Haenal Law Firm would also fall. Thus, he pressured Se-hee to betray Han-young. The father wanted to provide Shin-jin with a scapegoat to save Se-hee’s family and the law firm from total destruction.
When Se-hee visited Han-young in the hospital, she showed her affection and remorse towards Han-young. She even kissed Han-young. However, this was all a ruse. Se-hee was pretending. She even helped to wrap a bandage that contained some of Han-young’s blood to be used as evidence of Han-young’s guilt. All of this indicated that Se-hee betrayed Han-young out of hate and malice.
Did Han-young Succeed in Putting Shin-jin Behind Bars?
Yes, in the ending of The Judge Returns, Han-yong finally achieved victory! After following Shin-jin, revealing Suojae’s corruption and preventing Shin-jin from fleeing, Han-yong & Jeong-ho were successful in capturing Shin-jin and bringing him to justice! During the last judgement session of the case against him, Shin-Jin called for a televised broadcast of his sentencing hearing, where he attempted to rationalise his wrongdoing as a necessary sacrifice for a greater good.
Han-young refuted Shin-jin’s ideology in court by stating that this type of reasoning only leads man to experiencing suffering and worse than chaos as consequences. As expected, the dominance of Shin-jin has finally come to an end, thus allowing Han-young the opportunity to claim a significant victory over an individual responsible for causing thousands of people to suffer, and being killed by him from the original timeline, as well as to leave Shin-jin with a death sentence. The Judge Returns ending leaves a strong indication that corruption will continue, regardless of the fall of Shin Jin, as new leadership arises inside Suojae before Shin Jin even fell!
Did Han-young and Se-hee End Up Together?
However, Han-young and Se-hee never actually become a couple. After all of the betrayals, manipulations, and the fall of the power dynamic that ran through this story, Se-hee leaves the family business and enters law, attempting to make her own way without corruption. The romance between Han-young and Se-hee is left unresolved. The ending of The Judge Returns scene with Han-young and Se-hee is pretty open, but it is bittersweet. There is no definitive couple ending.
What happened to Jin-a and Na-Yeon at the End of The Judge Returns?
Kim Jin-a survived all assassination attempts and corruption battles. She continued to fight against powerful elites while helping to bring down the S Group and expose political corruption. She reveals her painful past to Han-young’s parents in the finale, who embrace her, which brings her emotional closure and healing. The drama does not confirm a romantic ending, but she remains dedicated to justice while her relationship with Han-young grows stronger.
Na-Yeon also played a critical role as an investigative reporter who gathered and disclosed evidence against corrupt officials such as Gwang-to and members of the Suojae. At the end of the series, she has left her former employer (the media) and created an independent news agency, representing freedom and a new means of exposing corruption without being dependent on big money from corporate media.
Will There Be The Judge Returns Season 2?
As of the present, there is no official announcement of a season 2 of The Judge Returns. However, in the last episode, we can clearly see that the door is left slightly ajar for more. Shin-jin may have been acquitted in the eyes of the law, but the rot he fostered and exposed does not simply go away. The last scenes of the episode seem to suggest that power or influence somehow connects to the outside world, even from a prison cell.
But we also have a new, potent player entering the scene in the world of the Suojae Group. This new player also seems to suggest that if we take down one crime genius, another is ready in the wings. This also reinforces the message of the series: that corruption runs through the system and cannot simply be eliminated by taking down one person.
As to the status of Han-young, we also cannot say for sure. After his confrontation with Shin-jin, he is left to ponder if true justice has been achieved or if he is at last being judged. The ending also leaves us wondering if this is really the end of the story or if there is more to come. There has been no official announcement of a second season of The Judge Returns, but we can also clearly see that the last episode was designed to suggest that a second season could very well be in the offing.
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