Ji Sung has declared a final showdown against Park Hee-soon. In the 13th episode of MBC's Friday-Saturday drama 'Judge Lee Han-young', aired on the 13th, Lee Han-young (played by Ji Sung) was framed for murder once again due to Kang Shin-jin's (played by Park Hee-soon) schemes, just like before his time travel. The episode recorded its highest ratings yet, with Nielsen Korea reporting 14.9% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 13.6% nationwide.
Particularly, the ending scene where a TV news broadcast revealed that the new suspect in the 'Woo Kyo-hoon (played by Jeon Jin-ki) murder case' was Judge Lee Han-young from the Seoul Central District Court, while Prosecutor Kim Jin-ah (played by Won Jin-ah), who was demoted to Hye-nam District, was pressuring her superior to hand over an unsolved case, reached a peak rating of 17.4% nationwide according to Nielsen Korea.
In this episode, Lee Han-young used Gwak Sang-chul (played by Lee Jong-hyuk), who secured his next nomination by attacking Park Kwang-to (played by Son Byung-ho), once again. Lee Han-young urged him to propose a special investigation law against Park Kwang-to, asking, "Who do you think Park Kwang-to, the former president, will target first if released?"
Kang Shin-jin, predicting that a special team would be formed to investigate Park Kwang-to, asked Lee Han-young if he had any prosecutor recommendations. Lee Han-young recommended Park Chul-woo (played by Hwang Hee), and although Kim Jin-han (played by Jung Hee-tae) immediately opposed it, suspecting their connection, Kang Shin-jin accepted it, showing trust in Lee Han-young. Meanwhile, Kim Jin-han obtained a black box photo showing Lee Han-young and Seok Jung-ho (played by Tae Won-seok) at the scene of Kim Jin-ah's attempted murder, bringing him closer to uncovering Lee Han-young's identity, adding tension to the drama.
Kang Shin-jin attempted to eliminate Gwak Soon-won (played by Park Geon-il) by bribing a doctor involved in a medical malpractice trial, as Gwak had become a liability after being caught by the police. However, Gwak Soon-won regained consciousness and escaped from the hospital, leading to a tragedy where Kim Jin-han was killed at Seonhwagak. Witnessing this, Kang Shin-jin manipulated Gwak Soon-won, whom he had previously acquitted, revealing his devilish nature. His ruthlessness, treating human lives as mere tools, was chilling.
Subsequently, Kang Shin-jin reinstated Park Kwang-to to Suo-jae through a detention review and attempted to use Gwak Soon-won to kill him, but the situation reversed with Park Kwang-to's counterattack. Lee Han-young, who suddenly appeared before the fleeing Park Kwang-to, revealed that Kang Shin-jin had records of Park's illegal political funds and offered to turn the prison into Suo-jae, handing Park over to special team prosecutor Park Chul-woo.
The Suo-jae members, who had been siding with Kang Shin-jin's betrayal, realized things had gone awry. Woo Kyo-hoon (played by Jeon Jin-ki), who took the lead in attacking Kang Shin-jin, met a tragic end when Kang struck him with a wine bottle. Returning to the chaotic Suo-jae, Lee Han-young revealed his identity to Kang Shin-jin, who was holding a photo of him at the scene where Prosecutor Kim Jin-ah was rescued, and criticized him, saying, "You're just a terrifying murderer blinded by power." After a fierce fight, Lee Han-young was attacked in the neck and collapsed, just like before his time travel.
Yoo Se-hee (played by Oh Se-young), who visited Lee Han-young at the hospital, treated his wounds and said, "I'm sorry. I don't think I ever apologized for slapping you the first time we met." However, this was a trap set by Yoo Sun-chul (played by Ahn Nae-sang), who was coerced by Kang Shin-jin's threats. Yoo Se-hee secretly took a gauze stained with Lee Han-young's blood and handed it over to someone who used it to frame Lee Han-young for Woo Kyo-hoon's murder.
Realizing this, Lee Han-young quickly fled and called Kang Shin-jin. Kang taunted him, saying, "Find me before the police do. You need to show that much sincerity to clear your name," to which Han-young replied, "I started this to see it through to the end. I'm not dead yet," foreshadowing his final counterattack.
By Tae Yuna, TenAsia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr