The Killing Vote (국민사형투표) is a crime-thriller Korean drama series 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 series stars Park Hae-jin, Park Sung-woong and Lim Ji-yeon in lead roles. The Killing Vote episode 5 has a runtime of 71 minutes.
– The Killing Vote Episode 5 Review Contains Major Spoilers –
The Killing Vote Plot
The crime drama series follows a mysterious man who doles out punishment to the most heinous criminals in the country who fall through the cracks of the justice system. His M.O. includes sending a text message when a criminal doesn’t face justice and citizens over the age of 18 can vote on whether or not they should die. If the results in favour of punishment receive 50% or more votes, then this mysterious figure, who operates through the internet, shows the said criminal a taste of the consequences of their actions. With such a dangerous precedent being set, Kim Moo-chan, Kwon Seok-joo and Joo Hyeon get embroiled in a wild chase to figure out who the punisher is.
The Killing Vote Episode 5 Recap
The Killing Vote episode 5 starts with Seok-joo getting out of prison, only to find Hyun right outside, waiting for him and Chul-min right behind him. After putting on a tracker on Seok-joo, the three of them go off on their way while elsewhere, Moo-chan and Jin-soo get everything ready to welcome Seok-joo to his new cell, which is full of security cameras.
In the meantime, Jo-dan finds evidence in Elena’s phone about the killer, alluding that she was being blackmailed by someone. However, in spite of everything, they are unable to put their finger on the person who murdered Elena and attacked Moo-chan and Hyun at Seok-joo place. Later, the criminal finally makes his way to Nambu Police Station, and everyone at the station looks a bit tense.
After going over the rules once and everyone getting acquainted with the rules, Seok-joo and Moo-chan talk about the drab interiors, and after a little cold war, the latter asks Seok-joo to get to know the particulars about the case thoroughly in order to find Gaetal as soon as possible. Seok-joo plays hardball and tells him that he can figure out who the next victim will be, but Moo-chan is interested in the perpetrator more, choosing to let the victims die because they are criminals anyway. Seok-joo gets offended and asks to change officers, and Moo-chan agrees to let Hyun take over after he threatens to go back to prison.
After this, Seok-joo mentions that something that Gaetal said has been bothering him for some time since it’s similar to something Moo-chan had told him years ago. However, Moo-chan refuses to let his words affect him, but he’s clearly bothered later on. That night, Hyun sends Jo-dan the list of military sex offenders who were never caught, all the while keeping an eye on Seok-joo. The next morning, Hyun discusses her plans with the team, and everyone gets to work.
As the police let all the molesters know that they are in trouble, Hyun uses her keywords to go through Seok-joo’s acquaintances while Oh Jung-ho tries to sell his hospital spy shot porn on sort of a “dark web” website, but once he leaves, someone with remote access deletes everything on his computer and formats it. That night, everyone waits for the Killing Vote to be finally announced, but they are all impatient. Meanwhile, Hyun and Seok-joo discuss the trial participants while Ji-young tells her son that if Moo-chan poses a threat to her son once again, she will make sure that she gets rid of him.
Also Read: The Killing Vote Episode 4 Recap and Review: A Disturbing Compromise
Before long, the third Killing Vote begins – the target this time is Captain Oh, but Gaetal refuses to divulge the name of the person so that the police are unable to track him. However, the station gets a call from Oh Gyung-pyo, who mentions that he might be the target of the Killing Vote that night. As Moo-chan and his team rush to find the guy, his seniors plan to meet Ji-young, who has contacted them about the detective. Meanwhile, Moo-chan asks Hyun to take Seok-joo and meet him at Gyung-pyo’s place.
On the other hand, the real Captain Oh, Oh Jung-ho, is left shocked after seeing the news. He contacts the police, but there is no one left the station to take his call. Fortunately for him, they are able to get his call through, but now Moo-chan has two targets in his hand. On the other hand, Hyun, through her research, is able to figure out who the real target is.
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As Moo-chan’s team walks into a trap, Hyun walks into the hospital, sure that her research has paid off – and we see that Gaetal really is at the hospital as well. As Hyun locks down the entire hospital, the results ask for Jung-ho to be killed. As the hospital descends into chaos, Seok-joo recognises a delivery man sitting in the hospital who used to come to his house, resulting in Hyun running after him. Meanwhile, Chul-min finds a package left behind under the man’s seat, which turns out to be a bomb.
The Killing Vote Episode 5 Ending
As Hyun gives chase, Seok-joo slips away from Chul-min and the bomb scare results in a stampede. In the meantime, Moo-chan makes it to the hospital, and we see Min-soo sitting outside as well. In the end, Jung-ho lets Gaetal’s muscle man in, Seok-joo cuts his ankle monitor off and walks off, Hyun gets ambushed by the deliveryman, and Moo-chan attempts something very risky once again in order to get inside the hospital quickly.
The Killing Vote Episode 5 Review
With a 72-minute runtime, the Killing Vote is starting to get just a bit slow. We still have 11 episodes to go, and I wonder where we are going with this, considering we have been doing the same dance routine from the first episode. Seok-joo accuses Moo-chan of being Gaetal, Moo-chan constantly makes incorrect and rash decisions, and Hyun, being the smart one of the lot, finds clues that don’t work out thanks to her reckless colleague.
Case in point, I simply fail to see the scenario in which getting Seok-joo out of prison will be the decision that everyone agrees to. Taking him in front of Gaetal, too, is very reckless. If anything, he is too smart for all of them combined, which he proves to be. I don’t understand why anyone would take the chance.
Meanwhile, at just the fifth episode, I am getting tired of watching Min and Ji-hoon popping up everywhere. If there is one whiff of a murder, they are conveniently there. I don’t understand why that is necessary, as they are high school students who should not be in this situation at all, regardless of whether or not this ties into their parents’ deaths. Furthermore, if you tell me that Min-soo is Gaetal and has been carrying out all of these murders, I think I will lose my mind. I simply refuse to believe that he has the aptitude to pull this massive enterprise off.
Unfortunately, they are showcasing it like he is, and I am not liking it. Plus, I also don’t understand Ji-young’s character here – will she simply be the woman who maims people because her son’s feelings got hurt? Surely something else must be happening here in the upcoming episodes, right?
In the end, the Gaetal murders are quite interesting, but honestly, 71 minutes seems like too much time for this, although, funnily enough, there’s very little fluff in all this.
The Killing Vote will air every week on SBS in Korea as well as on Amazon Prime Video in select regions.
I am loving the Killing Vote! Park Hae Jin is the best in this role! The lady police officer is stupid. She’s acting like a total rookie! However, once again I was on the edge of my couch watching episode 5! This airing once a week is rough. I need episode 6 right now!
You missed many points.
1. The first case and third case seemed related to the same pervert team. Min soo and Captain Oh used the same app to share video.
2. The russian wife know something but killed..it is not gaetal work..they put many clues about the deliveryman here
3. Joo hyun acted alone, she should inform her team..or it was planned to bring the professor there
4. Min soo was not painted gaetal.but a killer
5. The dialogues between KMC and KSJ were about things only both of them knew..so one of them is gaetal
6. Someone is a spy in the police station
7. Ji hoon is one of the good gaetal team. In ep. 3, he led the girls to the house and in ep 5, he was targeting Captain Oh..he is crucial to the story.
71 minutes is not enough to tell the story. It was designed for 2 episodes per week, but they aired once per week.