The Killing Vote has finally finished its run after starting off its thrilling journey in August 2023. With only 12 episodes, the series has faced several release delays that have annoyed fans throughout the world. However, we have finally reached the end of Seok-joo’s journey for revenge and the ending, unfortunately, has turned out to be a bit open-ended.
The drama-thriller series stars Park Hae-jin, Park Sung-woong and Lim Ji-yeon in lead roles and is directed by Park Shin-woo, written by Jo Yoon-young and based on the webtoon of the same name by Uhm Se-yoon and Jung Yi-pum. The drama, aka 국민사형투표, has a total of 12 episodes, each with a runtime of around 75 minutes.
Series Overview
The Killing Vote features one man’s journey to impart justice for the murder of his daughter. As a terrifying vigilante justice system grips South Korea in fear and fervour, the police rush against time to stop the murders before it’s too late. However, Kim Mu-chan and Joo Hyun must also figure out who this person(s) is, but how do you find someone who disguises themselves within the threads of the internet? The series focuses on revenge and why the perpetrator wanted it, the true meaning of good and evil and the police’s rush to find Gaetal.
The Killing Vote Ending Explained
We had already understood even before The Killing Vote episode 12 that Seok-joo is one of the Gaetals, along with Chul-min, his prison guard, Ji-hoon and Yang Hye-jin (the prison doctor), among others.
Why did Seok-joo start the votes?
The reason Seok-joo started the Killing Vote with Ji-hoon and the others was to get revenge for Na-rae’s murder at Min-soo’s hands. Thanks to Mu-chan’s one incorrect decision, Min-soo got out scot-free with his mother, Ji-young’s help. Thus, realising that there is no help in the justice system, he took justice into his own hands and decided to showcase how swift justice can help not only the victims and their families but can also be a healing process for the nation as well.
What happened to Seok-joo in the end?
In a last fight with Chul-min, who insists on his sacrifice to cleanse the world, Seok-joo topples over into the sea along with the only copy of the Killing Vote software. Although Mu-chan tries to get him out of the water, he is unable to find his body and neither do the police in subsequent searches.
In the last scene, Hyun gets an email from someone named “watchdog” who tells her that Seok-joo might have been spotted in Japan as a ship rescued a man in his 40s from the sea. It turns out that Hyun has been doing lecture circuits and whatnot in order to travel to different places and find out what happened to the professor, as she apparently always knew that he didn’t die that night.
However, Seok-joo’s fate is left undisclosed.
Was Seok-joo able to give the baton of vigilante justice to someone else?
Seok-joo tried to lure Chul-min away from Hyun with the promise of making him his one and only successor. However, Hyun takes Chul-min’s distraction and disarms him, and Mu-chan ends up shooting him. In the end, the supposedly lost pendrive is delivered to Mu-chan by an unknown biker out of the blue.
What happened to Ji-hoon?
Ji-hoon is killed by a bunch of delinquents from his school who come across the bounty on his head and decide that murder money is how they will buy their next bikes. The bounty was put on him and Seok-joo’s head by Ji-young, and as he rushes through the streets to stop his father from ending his own life, he and Min are caught and terribly beaten, which ends up taking the young high schooler’s life.
Did Ji-young face justice?
After Mu-chan realises that Min-soo’s guilt has been hidden right in front of his eyes the whole time, literally, he breaks down the pillar in Ji-young’s house to reveal the original pillar and finds huge traces of Na-rae’s blood under blue light. Ji-young, supposedly tired, agrees to give in to the police.
However, it comes to light later that her trusted secretary has taken the fall for everything and gone to prison and eventually died. In the end, Ji-young continues to try and exact revenge for her lost status and power with the help of a new recruit and does not face any justice… yet.
Who was the man driving her car in the last episode?
Played by Hong Jong-hyun, The Killing Vote episode 12 showcases a new character in Ji-young’s life who apparently is a genius, much like Ji-hoon. Although we are not given the exact details, it seems like he’s also a genius hacker who probably studied in Jo-dan’s college and the person who came first in competitions but was never seen by anyone. He finds a copy of the Killing Vote and gives it to Ji-young and agrees to eventually work with her when he realises that she will be murdering a few people to get what she wants.
What was the significance of Mu-chan’s ending scene? Do the Killing Votes start again?
Mu-chan, as it turns out, has taken vigilante justice very seriously in The Killing Vote finale and has continued to impart justice where the justice system has failed. Thankfully he isn’t out to murder people, but he does show Ko Dong-kyu his place and beats him senseless in an alley.
We next hear that the Killing Vote has restarted, but we are left hanging on who is orchestrating this one, with one copy with Mu-chan and one with Ji-young. However, it is certain that as long as justice fails to prevail and bad people slip through the fingers of the law for whatever reason, the Killing Votes will continue on in one way or another.
Have more questions about The Killing Vote? Let us know in the comments below!
The Killing Vote aired every week on SBS in Korea, and the complete season is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video in select regions.