Is The Gangster The Cop The Devil Based On True Story -

The film’s primary inspiration is the prolific serial killer Yoo Young-chul, who terrorized Seoul and surrounding areas in 2003-2004. Known as the “Raincoat Killer” (for wearing a raincoat to avoid blood splatter), Yoo confessed to murdering at least 20 people—mostly wealthy elderly individuals and female masseuses.

Here’s where the connection gets specific:

For those unfamiliar with the plot, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil follows Jang Dong-su (Ma Dong-seok), a powerful crime lord who runs a modest loan-sharking operation. One rainy night, he is deliberately rammed by a car and then stabbed repeatedly by a mysterious, emotionless killer. Miraculously, Jang survives due to his immense physique and willpower.

Humiliated and enraged that someone dared to touch the king of the underworld, Jang vows to find the killer himself—because involving the police would make him look weak. Enter Jung Tae-seok (Kim Moo-yul), a hot-headed detective who hates gangsters almost as much as criminals. The two form a "frenemy" pact: Whoever catches the killer first gets to decide his punishment—execution (gangster style) or prison (cop style). is the gangster the cop the devil based on true story

The twist? The killer is a random, chaotic serial killer with no motive other than the thrill of murder. He is not a rival gangster or a hitman; he is a ghost who kills indiscriminately.

In the pantheon of modern Korean cinema, few films blend brutal action with moral ambiguity as deftly as Lee Won-tae’s 2019 masterpiece, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (Korean title: Akinjeon). Starring the legendary Ma Dong-seok (also known as Don Lee) as a crime boss and Kim Moo-yul as a rogue detective, the film delivers a visceral cat-and-mouse game where the lines between law enforcement and organized crime vanish completely.

But after watching the film’s relentless violence and its central premise—a gangster and a cop forced to team up to catch a serial killer—viewers are left with a burning question: Is The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil based on a true story? The film’s primary inspiration is the prolific serial

The short answer is yes, but with significant dramatic license. While the characters are fictionalized and the plot amped up for cinematic thrills, the film’s core narrative engine—a serial killer who attacks a mob boss, leading to an unlikely alliance—is rooted in a bizarre and real criminal incident from the early 2000s.

Let’s dive deep into the true story that inspired the film, the real-life “cop-gangster” alliance, and how Hollywood and Korea adapted the same legend.

Director Lee Won-tae had a specific goal. He wasn't making a documentary about Yoo Young-chul; he was making a genre film about the blurry line between law and crime. The true story provided a fantastic hook—a gangster hunting a killer—but it lacked narrative symmetry. One rainy night, he is deliberately rammed by

In reality, Kim Tae-chon just beat the guy and let him go. That makes for a funny anecdote, but not a two-hour thriller.

By inventing the "pact" between the gangster and the cop, the film creates a tense moral chess match. The audience is forced to root for a murderer (the mob boss) and a rule-breaker (the cop) against a worse monster (the serial killer). The famous scene where Don Lee handcuffs himself to the detective to force cooperation is pure fiction, but it is the emotional heart of the movie.

Furthermore, the real ending—where the gangster goes back to his life of crime—is unsatisfying. The film’s ending, where the detective arrests the gangster even after they won, asks a powerful question: Does the end justify the means?