SBS <Taxi Driver 3>
Actor Lee Je-hoon continues a seamless run in SBS drama <Taxi Driver 3> with fearless ‘all-around action’.
In the SBS Friday-Saturday drama <Taxi Driver 3> (directed by Kang Bo-seung | written by Oh Sang-ho | produced by Studio S, Group Eight, and BA Entertainment), he drove straight through the tragic truth of the Park Min-ho missing-person murder case. As the full story was exposed and the arc built over multiple episodes erupted, viewers poured out praise for the fury and tenacity of Do-gi and for the breath-stopping, dramatic retribution delivered through action.
The broadcast yesterday revealed how, in the past, Park Min-ho (played by Lee Do-han) learned the truth about match fixing in Jingwang University volleyball and moved to set it right, exposing the starting point of the tragedy. Behind it stood Cheon Gwang-jin (played by Um Moon-seok), a nexus for all manner of crime. To eliminate Park Min-ho once he caught on, he struck Park Min-ho on the head in a CCTV blind spot and even ran him down with a vehicle, which cost Park Min-ho his life. To cover up the case, Cheon Gwang-jin and Cho Sung-uk buried the body of Park Min-ho beside the grave of the chairman of the Jingwang University foundation, and when Park Min-ho’s father Park Dong-su (played by Kim Ki-chun) drew near the truth, they staged a vehicular accident and attacked him, an atrocious deed that left viewers shaking with anger. Meanwhile, the body of Park Min-ho, found on the back mountain, disappeared en route to the National Forensic Service due to interference by Cheon Gwang-jin, and with even Im Dong-hyun and Cho Sung-uk meeting sudden deaths, Do-gi became convinced the same person was behind every incident. Recognizing that even the safety of Park Dong-su was in danger, Do-gi went with Chairman Jang (played by Kim Eui-sung) to a care facility, confronted Cheon Gwang-jin there as he tried to abduct Park Dong-su, and despite the merciless actions of the crew of Cheon Gwang-jin, Do-gi put his body on the line and barely succeeded in rescuing Park Dong-su unharmed.
The Rainbow Transport team also discovered that the final destination for criminal proceeds from gambling and match fixing was Cheon Gwang-jin, and realized that the body of Park Min-ho was the only evidence from the case fifteen years ago. Moving in earnest to punish the villain, Do-gi headed to an abandoned school at the address sent by Cheon Gwang-jin. Monitoring Do-gi with CCTV cameras installed everywhere, forcing duels with his henchmen, broadcasting it live, and using it for gambling left viewers aghast. Although outnumbered, Do-gi escaped the crisis, recorded on camera the process of taking revenge on Cheon Gwang-jin with an eye-for-an-eye strategy, and sought to repay the pain of the victims in kind by delivering retribution equal to the pain of a traffic accident. Only then did Cheon Gwang-jin beg for his life, saying he had done wrong, and the moment when the perpetrator Cheon Gwang-jin was completely overwhelmed for the first time was captured along with the rousing line ‘Maybe you live. If there is even a single person in the world who truly remembers you. Is there?’, delivering catharsis and leaving a powerful afterglow with viewers. In the ending, Do-gi placed the urn and portrait of Park Min-ho in the taxi, saw Park Dong-su off so that he could accompany his son on the last road, brought a long tragedy to a close, and left the small screen heavy-hearted.
In this episode, Lee Je-hoon densely portrayed the surging emotions of the moment he faces the reality of the tragedy, further deepening his emotional acting. As Do-gi learned the truth of the Park Min-ho case, the hardening anger, the pity and sense of responsibility toward Park Dong-su, and the razor-sharp focus in the standoff with the final villain organically connected the emotional line of the character, and a performance packed from start to finish delivered a strong resonance to viewers. In addition, the decisive lines hurled at Cheon Gwang-jin laid bare Do-gi’s inner life, letting the depth of feeling be sensed even within Lee Je-hoon’s restrained tone. In particular, in the crisis action sequence at the abandoned school where he was pressed by numerical inferiority, Lee Je-hoon showcased the true value of high-reality, high-completeness ‘all-around action’ by using a wide range of movements and well-calibrated impact within confined spaces such as narrow corridors, stairs, and classrooms, drawing admiration from viewers. Also, near the end, carrying the urn of the victim and driving the taxi, Lee Je-hoon left a deep resonance with acting that conveyed the character’s state of mind through expression alone. Thus, Lee Je-hoon filled the inner world of Kim Do-gi, who stands face to face with the truth of the tragedy, with vivid emotion and perfect, straightforward acting, drawing viewers once again into the ‘cider’ kick that is hard to escape once you fall for it.
Meanwhile, with a new client foreshadowed and curiosity rising about the next villain, the SBS Friday-Saturday drama <Taxi Driver 3> airs every Friday and Saturday at 9:50 p.m.
