The Culprit (2019 Film)
The Culprit (Korean: 진범; RR: Jinbeom) is a 2019 South Korean thriller film written and directed by Ko Jung-Wook. The film explores the aftermath of a murder and the desperate search for the truth by those closest to the victim and the accused.
Plot
The story follows Lee Young-Hoon (Song Sae-Byeok), whose wife is murdered. Suspicion falls upon his friend, Kim Joon-Sung (Oh Min-Suk), after forensic evidence—a hair sample—is discovered at the crime scene. Joon-Sung is subsequently arrested for the crime. While Joon-Sung's wife, Jung Da-Yeon (Yoo-Sun), maintains her husband's innocence, Young-Hoon seeks to uncover the definitive truth behind the tragedy. To secure her husband's release, Da-Yeon attempts to persuade Young-Hoon to provide favorable testimony. The two eventually agree to collaborate in an investigation to identify the actual perpetrator, with Young-Hoon promising to testify if the truth is revealed.
Production
The film was directed and written by Ko Jung-Wook. Principal photography for the production commenced on May 18, 2018, and concluded on June 17, 2018. It was distributed by Little Big Pictures and held its world premiere at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) on June 29, 2019, before its general theatrical release in South Korea on July 10, 2019.
Cast
- Song Sae-Byeok as Lee Young-Hoon
- Yoo-Sun as Jung Da-Yeon
- Oh Min-Suk as Kim Joon-Sung
- Jang Hyuk-Jin as Park Sang-Min
- Jung Hae-Kyun as Detective Jo Sang-Pil
- Han Soo-Yeon as Lim Yoo-Jung
- Jung Hee-Tae as Lawyer Jung
- Yoon Song-A as Min-A's mother
- Shin Hyun-Tak as Detective Lee Min-Jae
- Jun Hyun-Sook as Jung-Won's mother
- Shim Hye-Yeon as Kim Eun-Jin
- Woo Mi-Hwa as Jung Da-Yeon's sister
- Kim Gui-Seon as father-in-law
