Popular K-drama The Killing Vote aired its final episode on Thursday, November 16, 2023, at 9 p.m. KST on SBS and Amazon Prime Video. The series follows the story of Gaetal, a mysterious figure in a dog mask who carries his brand of vigilante justice against criminals. He does this through a mass voting system; if the votes are over 50%, he executes the punishment.
Episode 12 of The Killing Vote ends on a vague note. However, there are subtle indications of Gaetal continuing with a brand new face or even probably the return of Seok-Joo (Park Sung-Woong). The latter’s status remains missing but not dead. Meanwhile, Mu-Chan (Park Hae-Jin) wears the dog mask in the end, indicating him being the next Gaetal.
The Killing Vote Episode 12 Recap: Who is the new Gaetal?
The Killing Vote finale begins with Joo-Hyun’s background story. She mourns her parents’ death due to a car accident. The woman who was responsible for it, apologized to Joo-Hyun (Lim Ji-Yeon) and even gave an excuse. However, the latter can smell the alcohol and discover that it’s a case of drunk driving. But, all of her pleas to the police and the public go unheard. She then decides to become a cop and provide justice to people.
Meanwhile, Mu-Chan and his team look for Kwon Seok-Joo. The boss instructs them to kill the latter, but Mu-Chan is sure of bringing Seok-Joo alive. When the boss insists on killing both Seok-Joo and Chul-Min, Mu-Chan asks if this order is due to self-interest, which is true. On the other hand, Ji-Hoon (Seo Young-Joo) is trying his best to stop Seok-Joo’s livestream killing vote. Mu-Chan discovers from Joo-Hyun that Ji-Hoon has been using Lee Min-Soo’s computer for the live stream.
Ji-Young receives a call from the police head and discovers that Mu-Chan has gone to rescue Seok-Joo. She starts screaming and ordering for that not to happen. Meanwhile, the citizens abstained from voting for Seok-Joo, which meant the vote was canceled. Seok-Joo won’t receive the punishment. However, he plans to continue his mission when Chul-Min asks to hand over the Killing Vote program to him.
Ji-Hoon turns himself in, and Joo-Hyun goes to his location. Meanwhile, the cops try to enter Seok-Joo and Chul-Min’s hideout. Seok-Joo calls Mu-Chan and tells him that he will continue his plan and suffer for his actions. However, Mu-Chan asks him to reconsider, reasoning that his efforts to bring justice will be unsuccessful. Seok-Joo asks the detective to protect his son Ji-Hoon.
Mu-Chan arrives too late when he sees that Seok-Joo has hung himself. The police reach Ji-Young’s hideout only to discover that Do-Hee is safe. The latter lies that she wasn’t kidnapped and leaves the scene. She indicates having a conversation with Ji-Young, meaning she is hiding something.
Meanwhile, a group of people attack Ji-Hoon. Joo-Hyun arrives to save him, but he receives a blow on his head, causing him to collapse. She comes a bit too late as Ji-Hoon dies from the attack. On the other hand, Mu-Chan saves Seok-Joo, and Chul-Min witnesses it on the live stream. As they leave the hideout, Joo-Hyun and the rest of the police inform about Ji-Hoon’s death.
Seok-Joo is in disbelief at his son’s death, and Joo-Hyun blames him for dragging the poor little boy into this. The attackers are bullies from Min’s school who want the money from the bounty put on Ji-Hoon. They also supported Gaetal. Seok-Joo discusses his way of handing justice to Mu-Chan and how comforting it was to the victims’ families.
During their conversation, Chul-Min arrives and targets Jo-Hyun, who is observing them from afar. Chul-Min demands Mu-Chan to hand over Seok-Joo, blaming the latter for breaking his promise of dying and becoming a martyr. Eventually, both Seok-Joo and Chul-Min fall into the sea, followed by Mu-Chan. However, the latter is unsuccessful.
The police declared Seok-Joo, Chul-Min, and Ji-Hoon as dead, and The Killing Vote case closed. While investigating, Mu-Chan discovers a loophole. He, along with the police team, breaks down Ji-Young’s living room and finds blood stains. Mu-Chan discovers that Ji-Young bribed Detective Choi to forge evidence and aid in the murder. Ji-Young is arrested.
A year later, everyone resumes their work. After a presentation about Gaetal with students, Jo-Hyun finds Jo-Dan a part of a competition. He later revealed that he never won the same, but it was a hacker called Mystery X. Jo-Dan remembered the file name of the hacker to be LRAE, and Jo-Hyun remembered reading the file name previously. She eventually discovers it is Ji-Hoon.
By the end of the episode, Jo-Hyun meets Oh Ji-Hye in prison. Upon asking whether Seok-Joo might be alive, the latter explains that as long as the law remains lax, there will be someone to replace him. In a way, he will be alive. While investigating, Mu-Chan receives a pen drive in a parcel. Meanwhile, Jo-Hyun gets an e-mail with an update regarding Seok-Joo.
The final scene ends with Jo-Hyun taking on an unspecified event in Japan. Meanwhile, Mu-Chan also continues his investigation. Both of them still hide undisclosed information from each other. Joo-Hyun holds Seok-Joo’s petition for Ji-Hoon, and Mu-Chan has a pen drive of information. In the end, Mu-Chan holds a dog mask, with Seok-Joo’s narration stating, “I don’t know who it will be, but there will be another Gaetal.”
The Killing Vote episode 12 leaves viewers with the idea that the concept of Gaetal will remain prevalent until the law works in order. Mu-Chan holding the final dog mask might indicate him being the new Gaetal or a prospect for a new storyline.
All episodes of The Killing Vote are currently available on Amazon Prime Video.
