The Unjust

The rape and murder of five elementary schoolgirls shocks the nation. A fleeing suspect is shot by the police, but guilt cannot be proven and the real attacker may still be at large. Public outrage intensifies as media coverage questions accountability and the integrity of the investigation.

Under intense political pressure from the Blue House, a senior police official assigns Choi Cheol-gi to a highly sensitive mission to find a former child rapist to take the blame. He is promised a promotion and the dismissal of an internal investigation sparked by his brother-in-law's corruption. Choi accepts, aware the case has national stakes.

Choi combs through profiles of rapists and settles on Lee Dong-seok, a school-bus driver, convincing him to participate in a carefully staged confession. He believes Lee's cooperation will deliver the required guilt to close the case. The plan hinges on Lee's willingness to cooperate.

Choi enlists Jang Seok-gu and his henchmen to kidnap Lee and coach him on how the confession should be delivered. The operation marks the start of an elaborate frame-up to pin the crimes on Lee. Tension builds as the conspirators prepare the staged admission.

Jang launches a calculated blackmail plan by taking photographs of Kim Yang-su and Joo Yang playing golf. He sends a henchman to murder Kim, ensuring Jang cannot be prosecuted. The incriminating photos are mailed to Joo to pressure him to stay quiet.

At the police station, Lee is denied immunity from the death penalty and refuses the deal. He ultimately tells Joo the truth, complicating the conspiracy and risking exposure of the larger scheme.

Jang dispatches an earlier henchman to arrest and murder Lee from within the jail, removing the key witness from the frame-up. The move raises the stakes and deepens the webs of corruption.

Joo grows furious as clues emerge, and with the help of a corrupt journalist, presses for answers. A tense, uneasy truce forms between Choi and Joo as both sides maneuver to protect secrets and pursue accountability.

Jang holds on to recordings of Lee's coaching and uses them to threaten Choi. The pressure to reveal the truth intensifies as the recordings could expose Choi's involvement in the manipulation.

In a brutal elevator confrontation, Choi murders Jang in a rigged setup and then kills Jang’s assistant as part of a staged peace. A lieutenant witnesses the violence, and Choi tries to cover up by presenting the deaths as a mutual confrontation.

DNA testing reveals that Lee Dong-seok was the real attacker, unraveling the elaborate frame-up. The investigation begins to shift away from Lee toward the conspiracy behind the scheme.

Choi's subordinates leak the coaching video to expose his connection with Jang, complicating the case and threatening official credibility. Media and authorities suddenly face a more complex web of corruption.

They order Jang's henchman to ambush Choi at a charnel house and murder him in revenge. The act demonstrates the reach of the conspiracy and the risks that whistleblowers face.

The golf photographs released by conspirators fuel public speculation and media chatter. While some expect charges, the situation remains unresolved for now.

Joo Yang's father-in-law steps in, offering a calm reassurance that everything will be all right for now. The film closes on a note of moral ambiguity, underscoring how power, corruption, and deception shape outcomes even when truth surfaces.