ENA <Scarecrow>
“The murders are not over yet.”
‘Scarecrow’ Jung Moon-sung revealed a shocking eyewitness account.
In episode 9 of the ENA MondayTuesday drama ‘Scarecrow’ (directed by Park Joon-woo, written by Lee Ji-hyun, planned by KT Studio Genie, produced by Studio Anzailen), which aired on the 18th, Kang Tae-ju (played by Park Hae-soo) sensed through the Muwon murder case that the serial killings were not yet over, and he also anticipated that the disappearance of eight-year-old girl Yoon Hye-jin (played by Lee A-rin) was an additional crime by the same perpetrator. Meanwhile, Cha Si-young (played by Lee Hee-jun) and the detectives, who believed they had successfully wrapped the Gangseong serial murder investigation with the arrest of Im Seok-man (played by Baek Seung-hwan), buried a new truth. As the statement of Lee Gi-hwan (played by Jung Moon-sung), who witnessed everything on that night ‘30 years ago’, exposed their brutal steps, the tension mounted. Episode 9 recorded a nationwide average rating of 7.2%, a nationwide peak of 8.0%, a metropolitan area average of 7.2%, and a metropolitan peak of 8.2%, ranking first across all channels in its time slot among MondayTuesday dramas and nationwide households. (Nielsen Korea, based on paid households)
That day, as Cha Si-young and the detectives were being recognized for apprehending the serial killer, Kang Tae-ju, who had left Gangseong for Muwon, returned with the remark “The serial killings are not over,” drawing attention. On a body recently found in Muwon, traces of the same perpetrator were detected. Bang Kyung-mo (played by Jeon Jung-yong), who had performed autopsies on all seven serial murder cases, testified in court, and the possibility of proving Im Seok-man not guilty slowly began to appear. Kang Tae-ju asked Cha Si-young to amend the indictment. His contention was that even if Im Seok-man was a ‘copycat’ in the seventh case, he was not the serial killer.
Kang Tae-ju also focused on a child disappearance case reported by Police Officer Lee Suk-hee (played by Lee Ji-hye). It had been classified as a simple runaway with no investigation, and on the day Yoon Hye-jin disappeared, the last person to see her was her homeroom teacher, Kang Sun-young (played by Seo Ji-hye). Kang Tae-ju suspected that the missing Yoon Hye-jin might also have become a victim of the serial murders. The parents of Yoon Hye-jin disagreed with Kang Tae-ju, insisting their daughter must be alive somewhere, but they also pleaded, “Still, we are her parents, so we at least need to know whether she is alive or dead. Please help us find our child.” Kang Tae-ju requested search support from Cha Jun-young (played by Heo Jeong-do).
Cha Si-young grew uneasy about the search plan of Kang Tae-ju. With the search operation set for the next day, he asked him to appear as a witness at the trial of Im Seok-man being held at the same time. When told this could disadvantage Im Seok-man, Kang Tae-ju assigned command of the search to Park Dae-ho (played by Ryu Hae-jun) and took the stand. Citing the words of Bang Kyung-mun, who had said a copycat killing would be impossible without directly seeing the body of the sixth victim, Cha Si-young raised the possibility that Kang Tae-ju was the culprit. However, he had a solid alibi, and he asserted, “It is only a matter of time before it is revealed that Im Seok-man is not the serial killer. A serial killer will not be able to stop on his own. The murders are not over yet.”
At that moment, a body was found at the search site. Contrary to the expectation of Kang Tae-ju, it was not Yoon Hye-jin. Even so, because strangulation with stockings was again unmistakable, the Gangseong serial murder case entered yet another new phase. Above all, the flashback revealed after Cha Si-young’s muttered line at the end of the broadcast, “Kang Tae-ju, after everything I did, you ruined it,” was a twist in itself. Detectives Jang Myeong-do (played by Jeon Jae-hong), Do Hyung-gu (played by Kim Eun-woo), and Park Dae-ho had already found the body of Yoon Hye-jin. It was, of all times, the night before the exemplary public servant award ceremony, and Cha Si-young said, “Bury it. Only for a short while. Just until we catch the real culprit,” and, together with the trio of detectives, hid the body of Yoon Hye-jin.
And another twist was that Lee Gi-hwan was there. In 2019, Lee Gi-hwan vividly described the events of that day as if they had happened only yesterday. He said, “Of all places, the spot they were digging was the very place where I killed the child. When one guy left, two came. Then those guys picked up the child and disappeared,” and he was certain they were all police officers. Then he threw a cutting question at Kang Tae-ju, “This time I will ask. You, what did you do with the child?” heightening the curiosity.
Episode 10 of the ENA MondayTuesday drama ‘Scarecrow’ airs today (19th) at 10 p.m. on ENA and can also be viewed on KT Genie TV and TVING.
