SBS ‘Taxi Driver 3’

Actor Lee Je-hoon proved himself the ‘textbook dark hero’ in SBS drama ‘Taxi Driver 3’, bringing it to a flawless close.

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, BA Entertainment), he returned in the final episode as Special Forces officer ‘Soldier Do-gi’. Going beyond uncovering the truth behind the death of a junior, he exposed the dark sides still lingering within the military organization. With a desperate struggle that took Kim Do-gi to the brink between life and death and the triumph of justice, ‘Taxi Driver 3’ drew its grand curtain.

In the finale aired yesterday, the hidden truth behind the death of Yoo Seon-a (played by Jeon So-ni) came to light, and Kim Do-gi charged once more at a colossal villain. Do-gi learned that Yoo Seon-a, after discovering the secret of the operation, sacrificed herself to save her comrades, and using her last message and video as clues, he began tracking the truth of an operation covertly engineered within the military. The scheme by those who sought to justify even the sacrifice of their own forces in the name of orders and security turned out to be a dangerous attempt to fabricate a wartime situation centered on border sector B24, instantly expanding the scale of the drama. Facing power where common sense did not work, Do-gi joined hands with the Rainbow Transport team and launched a risky yet decisive ‘an eye for an eye’ counterstrike to prevent a greater tragedy. Based on the evidence and internal information Yoo Seon-a left, Do-gi and the Rainbow Transport team uncovered that the ultimate mastermind behind the operation was Oh Won-sang (played by Kim Jong-su) and completed a meticulous design to thwart the plot to provoke an all-out war through shelling and sacrifice.

At exactly 22:00, when it seemed everything would end with an artillery fire order, fireworks bursting across the night sky instead of shells, a performance by Elements, and even the return to the scene of past clientsjust as planned by Rainbow Transportcompletely brought down the operation led by Oh Won-sang and flipped the board. However, Oh Won-sang, consumed by madness to the end, denied responsibility and confronted Do-gi head-on, and after an extreme standoff with gunfire, Do-gi chose to sacrifice himself and plunge into the river together with Oh Won-sang. After he disappeared beneath the cliff, the uncertainty over whether Do-gi was alive or dead shocked everyone, but in the final scene Do-gi reappeared in a breezy mood before the sister of season 1 villain Madam Rim (played by Sim So-young), giving viewers both relief and amusement. Even at the moment when it seemed all fights had ended, the sight of Kim Do-gi never stopping his runs etched a strong image that the taxi for justice continues somewhere in the present tense, crowning the grand finale.

In the finale, Lee Je-hoon maximized the amplitude of emotion, completing the summit of the character Kim Do-gi and once again proving the ‘textbook dark hero’. Rising again after being shot to face Oh Won-sang, he summoned both physical pain and mental anger, driving immersion to its peak; his unwavering gaze before the truth and his decision to throw himself to protect his teammates laid bare Kim Do-gi’s convictions. Up to his breezy reappearance in the closing moment, Lee Je-hoon interwove emotion and action to carefully build the flow and sustained a tense pace throughout the broadcast. Through season 3, coupling deeper emotional acting with refined, high-difficulty action, Lee Je-hoon shaped the character of Kim Do-gi into a genre of its own and put a neat period on the narrative.

Marking the conclusion, Lee Je-hoon said, “I feel I received the greatest love an actor can enjoy through the ‘Taxi Driver’ series. I am truly grateful to the viewers,” delivering deep thanks to viewers. He continued, “It was an honor to live as Kim Do-gi, who listens to the voices of the wronged, and because I was together with the Rainbow Transport members, every moment was precious and happy,” revealing special affection for ‘everyone's all-time character’ Kim Do-gi and for Rainbow Transport. Confronting all-time villains and never stopping its runs, the prestige drama ‘Taxi Driver 3’ did not miss either its signature wit or a sincere message; thanks to Lee Je-hoon, the icon of the ‘hero genre’, who delivered exhilarating catharsis and weighty resonance at once through the figure of Kim Do-gi, it was able to present results beyond perfect.

Meanwhile, powered by Kim Do-gi’s all-kill appeal, the SBS Friday-Saturday drama ‘Taxi Driver 3’ wrapped its long journey of operations, earning viewers’ praise through impactful developments right up to the last episode.

According to Nielsen Korea, episode 16, the final episode aired on the 10th, recorded a nationwide household rating of 13.3%, a metropolitan-area average of 13.7%, and a peak of 16.6%. It held an overwhelming first place not only in its time slot but among all miniseries aired during the week. In particular, the 2049 rating soared to 4.6%, with a peak of 5.55%, solidifying the title of the best drama of 2026.