Seoul Busters Episodes 17 & 18 Recap: Professor Sim Reveals Potential Serial Killer

On October 30, 2024, Disney+ unveiled episodes 17 and 18 of the South Korean crime comedy series, Seoul Busters. The cast includes notable actors Kim Dong-wook, Park Ji-hwan, Seo Hyun-woo, Park Se-wan, and Lee Seung-woo.

This gripping series follows a detective team grappling with their failures after a significant case goes awry, leading them into disciplinary action and a reassignment. Their new leader, an impressive officer with both a doctorate and an FBI offer on the table, ignites a turnaround, helping the team tackle prominent cases with newfound vigor.

In the prior episode, the detectives established better teamwork dynamics while their individual lives and interactions were explored. Consequently, episodes 17 and 18 delve into a murder mystery entwined with Yu-bin’s haunting past, as the squad uncovers perilous secrets amid rising tensions, culminating in a shocking stabbing incident involving Jeong-hwan.

Seoul Busters Episode 17 & 18 Summary: Yu-bin’s Troubling Past Emerges Amidst a New Threat

The seventeenth episode of Seoul Busters kicks off with two students heading home, engaged in a discussion about their recent midterm scores. One expresses frustration over the math section’s difficulty, while the other insists it was manageable and proposes a trip to the arcade.

The first student envies his friend’s apparent ease. Suddenly, as the second student bends down to tie his shoes, the first one impulsively shoves him into oncoming traffic.

Next, we find Han Junho seated in a café, eavesdropping on a conversation at a nearby table, attentively noting a woman’s address while Professor Sim surveils him from his vehicle. However, when Sim turns his attention away for a moment, he discovers that Junho has vanished.

The scene transitions to the squad enjoying dinner. Dongbang Yu-bin (Kim Dong-wook) steps aside for a phone call, inadvertently leaving his wallet behind. His colleagues discover a photograph of Yu-bin with his former girlfriend, sparking curiosity about their history. The conversation is swiftly tabled when Yu-bin returns.

The following day reveals a woman’s corpse found in the mountains. The team promptly investigates the scene. Yu-bin deduces that the victim was an arts student, potentially the work of a serial killer, who may have moved the body post-mortem. Initially met with doubt, their preliminary findings ultimately support Yu-bin’s hypothesis.

The team splits up, with Mu Jung-ryeok (Park Ji-hwan) and Jang Tan-sik (Lee Seung-woo) heading to the university while Seo Min-seo (Park Se-wan) and Jeong Jeong-hwan (Seo Hyun-woo) investigate her apartment. They discover she was well-liked, academically gifted, and respected by peers and professors.

While at her apartment, Min-seo finds the slain woman’s cat and decides to take it in temporarily. They also learn she had a lucrative job that enabled her to afford a stylish living space.

Returning to the crime scene, Yu-bin examines footprints, concluding the murderer is left-handed but trained to act right-handed, standing under six feet tall, with smaller foot size. Toxicology reports indicate the presence of Ketaflurane, an anesthetic, in the deceased’s bloodstream. This discovery rekindles Yu-bin’s painful memories of his fiancée, Jae-in, who suffered a similar fate.

He recalls their romantic beginnings, from meeting during a cab ride to Seoul to reconnecting in the U.S. a year later. Their relationship blossomed into an engagement before tragedy struck and she was murdered.

Posthumously, Jae-in was found holding onto a necklace Yu-bin had given her, featuring a pendant reminiscent of the sign for “friend”in sign language. Yu-bin’s investigation into her friends revealed that Han Junho had no alibi and mysteriously left the country following her death. Tracking him down, Yu-bin returned to Korea and joined the Violent Crimes unit, concluding episode 17.

In episode 18, the squad delves deeper into the victim’s life, identifying a stalker who worked for a pharmaceutical company. Mu Jung-ryeok grows suspicious of him due to his access to Ketaflurane, but Yu-bin insists on meeting the suspect first. Jeong-hwan backs Yu-bin’s decision, inciting frustration in Jung-ryeok, who perceives him as a sycophant.

Jurisdictional conflicts at the crime scene lead the police chief to assign a different team to the investigation, with Professor Sim as a mediator. Yu-bin confides his concerns to Sim, drawing parallels between this case and Jae-in’s, suspecting Junho’s involvement. Sim reveals his ongoing surveillance of Junho, who vanished around the time of the murder.

Meanwhile, Jeong-hwan apprehends a voice phishing scam artist at an ATM, which could lead to a promotion, aligning him with Jung-ryeok’s rank. Jeong-hwan’s resentment flares as he perceives Jeong-hwan as advancing through favoritism. A scuffle erupts between the two, only to be quelled by Yu-bin.

Yu-bin and Min-seo meet the victim’s stalker and deduce he is not the murderer. Meanwhile, Jeong-hwan’s televised arrest garners attention from the scammer’s gang, prompting them to initiate retaliatory measures, including hacking into his phone.

Jeong-hwan and Tan-sik follow the stalker to a gambling den, where a confrontation arises with gang members, forcing Jeong-hwan to draw his weapon. The incident leads to disciplinary measures, but Yu-bin advocates for him, asserting his actions were justified.

Later, Tan-sik admits he lost his gun during the scuffle, a lapse that led Jeong-hwan to react. Yu-bin stresses that such mistakes could jeopardize their careers and urges Tan-sik to remain vigilant.

Professor Sim presents Yu-bin with evidence indicating that Junho was in contact with the victim multiple times, raising further suspicion. Following this, Sim’s team apprehends Junho, seizing shoes that correspond to the footprints found at the crime scene.

As Jeong-hwan departs the precinct, he receives a call from a monk at a nearby temple asking to review CCTV footage from the area. Meanwhile, Min-seo and her sister interact with the victim’s cat, only to be startled by Sim appearing on the news discussing the apprehension of the killer.

In a climactic finale to Seoul Busters episode 18, Jeong-hwan is attacked and brutally stabbed in the woods by an unknown assailant during a torrential rainstorm. The episode concludes with this cliffhanger.

Fans can look forward to the next two installments, episodes 19 and 20, premiering on Disney+ on November 6, 2024, at 4 PM KST.

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