this movie with other crime films featuring Ma Dong-seok.* Share public link
While the film focuses on the unlikely alliance, the core inspiration for the antagonist, "the Devil"—a serial killer known as Kang Kyung-ho (played by Kim Sung-kyu)—draws from the terrifying wave of serial killings that plagued South Korea in the early 2000s, specifically those linked to infamous murderers like Yoo Young-chul.
The film takes the documented horror of Yoo Young-chul and uses it to create a compelling what-if scenario. The real Yoo was captured by police after a failed carjacking, not because a crime boss he stabbed decided to hunt him. By introducing the gangster character, the film explores a deeper, more uncomfortable truth about the justice system: its inability to protect everyone. The cop cannot catch the devil alone. He needs a sinner to help him. This isn't historically accurate, but it is emotionally and thematically resonant. It asks us: what kind of monster does it take to catch a monster? is the gangster the cop the devil based on true story
The serial killer who kills at random, creating a sense of impending danger.
: The central premise—a mob boss teaming up with a detective—is a dramatized version of how real-life criminal underworld figures sometimes provided tips or "street intelligence" to help police track high-profile serial killers who were bad for business. Key Differences Between Film and Reality this movie with other crime films featuring Ma Dong-seok
Even though it isn't a "biopic," The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil feels authentic because it nails the setting. The early 2000s in South Korea were a time of rapid transition, and the film accurately portrays the tension between the police force and the organized crime syndicates of that era.
In the early 2000s, South Korea did not yet have the ubiquitous CCTV infrastructure or sophisticated digital forensics it possesses today. The film accurately portrays how heavily detectives had to rely on physical evidence, eyewitness testimonies, and traditional footwork. By introducing the gangster character, the film explores
The film’s central, unbelievable premise—a mobster and a police officer forming a pact to hunt a serial killer—actually happened in Seoul in 2005. The real-life case of Kang Ho-sung, the "traffic accident killer," provided the blueprint.
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.
The film’s screenwriters have confirmed in multiple interviews that the inspiration came from a real event that occurred in .
The story’s "truth-adjacent" grit was so compelling that it caught the attention of American producers. Sylvester Stallone’s production company, Balboa Productions, actually signed on for a Hollywood remake before the original was even out of theaters—with Don Lee (Ma Dong-seok) set to reprise his role as the gangster. Final Verdict