JUSTICE (2019)

저스티스
KBS / 2019 / 16 episodes
Genres: legal / social drama, thriller
Written by Jeong Chan-mi
Directed by  Hwang Seung-gi, Jo Woong
More information: Wikipedia / HanCinema

You can find the original article in Hungarian here →

* Warning: This post contains spoilers! *

Justice: The Price of a Soul

The drama Justice explores almost every sense of its title. It deals with Truth—will it be revealed? Justice—does it apply to everyone? Equity—is the punishment proportional to the crime? Impartiality—will everyone be held accountable? And the Judiciary—does it truly function?

It goes even further by speaking of conscience, guilt, and the acceptance of one’s fate, questioning whether these still function in our world. It also examines parental ambitions—what kind of burden do they impose upon their children?

In connection with these themes, one cannot help but recall the Mephistophelean temptation, which claimed the soul in exchange for worldly pleasures, with one condition: only if those pleasures could make the person happy, even for a single moment. It is impossible not to recognize the invocation of this pact in the opening scene, which begins with a free adaptation of Haruki Murakami.

For accuracy, let us first look at the original quote from the essay Supposing My Words Are Whiskey:

"If there is a fine Islay single malt right there, why should I bother to drink a blend? It is like an angel descending from heaven to play beautiful music, while you decide to turn on a TV rerun instead."

In the opening scene, we hear it as follows: 

"Haruki said getting distracted with a glass of single-malt whiskey around you is like watching a rerun on TV instead of listening to an orchestra of angels. Do you regret it? Enjoy the prize of this deal as much as you can." 

In a cold blue glow, pure white snow falls. Two glasses are filled to the brim with the potion of pleasure called whiskey—one man drains his in a single gulp, while he hands the other to a very lost-looking younger man, who accepts it with trembling, bloody hands. The focus of the story is on these two men, bound by what appears to be an unbreakable alliance of mutual defense and defiance.

The main manipulator of the drama is the older man, Song Woo-yong (Son Hyun-joo), the wealthy chairman of a construction company. Nothing remains a secret from him; he tracks everyone's movements, and his connections reach the highest circles. We meet him as a cold-blooded, ambitious figure whose sole aim is the acquisition of wealth and power. A significant portion of his income comes from his collaboration with the exceptionally talented lawyer, Lee Tae-kyeong (Choi Jin-hyuk), to whom he passes assignments gained through his connections. These are mostly shady dealings for which the clients have been sued; Lee, using brazen but successful tactics, wins these cases one after another.

In the first episodes, we meet the other characters through these trials: the network of people surrounding the two men and the staff of the prosecutor's office investigating the cases—primarily Prosecutor Seo Yeon-ah (Nana), who, we learn, previously had a romantic relationship with Lawyer Lee. It seems that for Lee, the participants in these trials are no more than pawns in a chess game; he tramples over them cynically and emotionlessly, perhaps not so much for the massive legal fees, but for the taste of success.

The storytelling is like someone pouring out the pieces of a puzzle before us, from which the complete picture gradually emerges. The investigations do not lack the thrills of a thriller, heightened by the drama’s particularly nerve-wracking soundtrack. The various moods almost fill the spaces, expressed by the directors through unique camera angles. The visuals speak alongside the script; reflection is a recurring visual element—as seen in the third image, where next to Chairman Song, present in his total integrity, we see the doubled image of Lawyer Lee struggling with his doubts in a window, expressing the fragmentation of his personality. Similarly, the image of Chairman Song’s comfortable apartment becomes fragmented toward the end of the drama; the figure, usually filmed from below to appear towering, now seems almost lost among the details. The symbolism of colors is also interesting, especially in the homes. While Chairman Song—a character of icy nature but at peace with himself—is surrounded by warm yellowish-brown tones, the home of Lawyer Lee—who possesses a richer emotional world but is alienated from himself—is dominated by a cold blue-and-white palette.

The film also carries forward the symbolism of the opening shots; the two men constantly drink whiskey throughout the series. Work and intoxication alternate in their lives; for one, it provides pleasure, for the other, it veils reality. Lawyer Lee’s alcoholism is particularly striking; he wanders lonely in his vast luxury apartment, unable to escape his torturous memories despite his efforts. Meanwhile, Chairman Song constantly feeds him his own life philosophy: that the powerful cannot be defeated, so there is no other way but to get close to them, destroy them, and then step into their shoes. But it seems Lee cannot truly internalize this guidance.

Song operates a network of prostitutes to satisfy the perverse desires of men belonging to the highest ranks of government administration. He also has a strange connection with Tak Soo-ho (Park Sung-hoon), the leader of a mobile technology company, portrayed as enigmatically sympathetic yet psychopathic, with the two men keeping each other in check. Prosecutor Seo Yeon-ah (Nana) persistently investigates an old, cold case, while young actresses disappear and become victims of murder.

The investigations into the raped aspiring actress, the workers blinded as a result of the mobile company's faulty manufacturing technology (in 2015-16, methanol poisoning actually occurred at mobile manufacturing companies in reality), and the murdered actresses seem to point toward each other. They even raise the possibility of a connection to the death of Lawyer Lee’s younger brother, who lost his life in a car accident. Prosecutor Seo and Lawyer Lee are forced to meet more and more often; thus, in their growing, forced interdependence, their former relationship is somewhat rebuilt.

Through various flashbacks, we gain a deeper understanding of the two men’s pasts, explaining how they reached their current positions and why they think about life the way they do. Although it seems that Lawyer Lee follows Chairman Song blindly and without reservation, their seemingly unbreakable unity begins to crack along the emerging doubts. The young man must realize that perhaps not everything happened as he was led to believe. He becomes increasingly involved in the prosecutor's investigation, leading to a total transformation of his perspective, while Chairman Song holds on to his own truths with ruthless consistency.

In the second half of the drama, a shift in emphasis occurs, causing the initial, fast-paced momentum to slow down slightly. Chairman Song’s son, Dae-jin (Kim Hee-chan), a law graduate, returns from abroad. While the events continue to progress, family ties become emphasized for the main characters. Chairman Song’s actions and principles are reflected and re-evaluated through his son's perspective, while Lawyer Lee must weigh his current life in the light of his former self and his late brother’s values. The process, bringing more and more secrets to light, does not offer an easier task for Prosecutor Seo either; she must face the true face of her father, the Minister of Justice.

Countless influences affect these processes, which take place step by step. Each of them fights their own battle differently. Although the drama allows very little space for the romantic thread—rebuilding it more through hints than actual portrayal—the deepest emotions are revealed through the trust Lawyer Lee and Prosecutor Seo place in each other, which we see at the end. At this point, the woman is fighting not only for justice but also for the moral salvation of the man she loves.

Let it remain the secret of the drama whether forgiveness or redemption arrives, and if so, of what kind. Dae-jin's simultaneously soul-grinding and soul-lifting struggle for himself and for the salvation of his father’s soul is deeply moving, elevating the entire drama to a higher level. Alongside the battle for justice typical of legal dramas, Justice presents a philosophical plane that strongly questions what moral concessions can be made in exchange for prosperity. It is particularly striking in the sense of whether the life dreamed of by parents is, in fact, a nightmare for the child.

Alongside Dae-jin, Lawyer Lee struggles both against and for Chairman Song, who, though he poisoned his life, still represented a kind of fatherly friend to him. Although we learn the specific punishments for almost every villain, we never learn the court’s sentence for Chairman Song or Lawyer Lee. This solution strongly emphasizes that while an external judgment for crimes is indispensable, true penance can only be reached through the recognition and admission of our sins.

The drama carries the whiskey symbolism to the end: the contents of the last bottle mix with blood. The blue-tinted snowy landscape reappears, but the final scene of the drama shows a spring landscape. On first viewing, Lawyer Lee's moved reaction confused me and even made me somewhat irritable, but after some thought, I found the ending appropriate. It is simultaneously a reconciliation with the past and a promise of a new beginning, while also referring back to the moment a friendship began, where the smile seems to mean: we could have done it differently.

Among the characters, Lawyer Lee is a remarkably nuanced figure with many faces, undergoing immense development. This role fits Choi Jin-hyuk perfectly, who perhaps gives his richest performance here. He is present with great power in every moment, yet he can convey the smallest internal tremors, uncertainties, doubts, and not infrequently, sadness. Choi Jin-hyuk also maps the lawyer’s casualness and flippant arrogance through his voice and manner of speech; one cannot help but hear the smeared, slurred articulation alongside the occasionally affected tone, which peel away as the lawyer changes. At the same time, he is ruthlessly overwhelming in the courtroom, can be sincerely hot-tempered, and is tough-fisted in action scenes. Added to all this is his masculine charm and dry humor, which ultimately brings this interesting character to life.

Lee Tae-kyung is, in fact, infinitely lonely at every point of the story, and even though Seo Yeon-ah would reach out to him, the lawyer is unable to let her close for a long time. During this period, Lawyer Lee's office manager, Nam Won-gi—played brilliantly by Jo Dal-hwan—plays an important role. This young man, sometimes resourceful, sometimes a bit simple-minded, is the only one who sees the lawyer's suffering. Thanks to him, we experience scenes that serve as effective examples of providing spiritual help. He doesn’t do anything extraordinary; he simply does not leave the person alone at their lowest point and helps, in an extremely tactful yet inventive way, for suppressed feelings to break free.

The music of the drama is also very rich; the instrumental background music perfectly serves the nerve-wracking tension. Among the songs, Waterfall will surely cause an "earworm," but we must mention the wide palette from which the drama draws musical quotes, as popular songs by Cho Yong-pil and Ben Folds gain dramaturgical importance.

Justice is a special, multi-layered piece of legal drama that certainly deserves to be on the "must-watch" list of the genre.

Finally, here is the full quote from the scroll painting that plays an important role in the drama. It is from the Zen poem Walking in the Snow (야설 - 野雪) by the poet Lee Yang-yeon (1771-1853), though it has been preserved in the legacy of the Buddhist master Seosan:

"When walking across a snow-covered field,
do not walk in a disorganized way.
For the footsteps I leave behind today
will surely become a path for those who follow."