In the opening of Episode 3 of "The Judge Returns," Han-young confronts and inadvertently runs over the murderer, Sang-jin, whose nefarious deeds have been uncovered by the police. Yun-hyeok, an eyewitness, observes this from a distance, witnessing the judge's confrontation with Sang-jin. As an ambulance arrives to take Sang-jin away, Han-young cleverly points out the skid marks on the ground, suggesting it was all an unfortunate accident.
The police, upon arriving at Sang-jin's apartment, uncover evidence of his serial killings. Meanwhile, Chief Judge Baek Yi-seok questions Han-young about his hunch regarding Sang-jin's identity as a serial killer. Although Yi-seok is pleased with Han-young's work, this case is beyond his current scope, and he is not yet overseeing it. Yi-seok remains fair and unswayed, as evidenced when he expels a lawmaker who tries to bribe him for a favorable verdict.
Han-young meets this individual and expresses his desire to be the presiding assistant judge. Yi-seok respects his tenacity and agrees to let Jeong-sik bring him in. At this point in history, Haenal Law Firm has taken on 12 cases and lost every single one. This is a bleak record for them, and Yoo Seon-cheol is preyed upon by Shin-jin and Jin-han who hold the keys to the locks. He has no choice but to concede.
For now, the focus is on wrapping up Sang-jin's case. After the hit and run, he's going to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Han-young gives the final verdict and steps up to deliver a rousing speech to the crowd who were victims of Sang-jin's malicious deeds.
In the dramatic conclusion, Sang-jin is ultimately sentenced to death, thereby saving a young girl and a wrongful verdict from our timeline. The aftermath of this verdict leaves Jeong-sik furious with Han-young. Jeong-sik is aware that every ruling is recorded, but Han-young remains unconcerned. The S-Group, too, are keeping a close eye on Han-young, and he senses their game when he spots them at the Prosecutor's Office. Han-young follows them to a restaurant, where he personally encounters Shin-jin. The man continues to scheme, working with Kim Jin-han to undermine the court system and play right into the party's hands.
After finally being part of a fair court case, Han-young appears lighter and more ready than ever to reunite with his family over a meal. His mother is currently at the scrapyard, and he warmly embraces her. This timeline is before Han-young's father was struck and hospitalized, but despite having another chance to right the wrongs of the past, Han-young struggles to look at his father.
Meanwhile, Han-young's sentencing causes ripples that could be his undoing. Jeong-sik is forced by his superiors to give a tough and messy case to Han-young. It's partly for punishment but also to test Han-young's competency; a play to see what he'll do with such a difficult case.
This case involves a man named Park Hyeok-jun, accused of killing his beloved, Seon-hui, with the motive of gaining insurance money. The insurance was taken out three months prior to her passing, and the beneficiary is not her family - it's in Hyeok-jun's name.
Hyeok-jun, in fact, operates his own restaurant, which generates roughly 300 million won in annual revenue. Notably, Hyeok-jun was apparently unaware of the life insurance policy, and there's no evidence to suggest otherwise. However, the total value of her life insurance policies comes to 1.2 billion won. It's a complex case, no doubt, but one that Han-young is determined to solve regardless. He begins by visiting Seon-hui's crime scene to get a better understanding of the situation. Seon-hui's car veered off a rural road and crashed into the woods below. Seon-hui seems to have died on impact, while Hyeok-jun survived and managed to crawl away.
While examining the area, Han-young is approached by Song Na-yeon, a legal affairs reporter from Daejin Daily. She's a big deal in the future, and given that Seon-hui was her friend, Na-yeon has a vested interest in this case too. Han-young uses this connection to push the case into the media and gather more information on Kim Ga-young, an important figure in Hyeok-jun's life, as we'll see later.
That night, Madam Shin herself shows up at the scrapyard. This hits hard for Han-young, given that it was his granddaughter involved in the Gojin Chemical case in episode 1. Han-young apologizes and does what he can to help her, although she has no idea why he's so emotional.
That night, Yun-hyeok is brought into a meeting with Kim Jin-han and Shin-jin. A new Chief Justice is about to step into the role, Kim Jun-man, while the Justice position will fall to Baek Yi-seok. Although this is a promotion, it's actually a way to shackle his influence.
Back to Hyeok-jun's case. In Han-young's previous life, he remembers that this case was found in Hyeok-jun's favor. He was found not guilty. However, three years later, it was revealed that Hyeok-jun did cause the traffic accident with the intention of killing Seon-hui. Han-young intends to use this knowledge to do his best to take down Hyeok-jun.
While this is going on, there's an amusing moment where Han-young gets the upper hand over his future wife-to-be Se-Hee. He intentionally makes her wait at the restaurant and when she slaps him across the face following an altercation with a waitress, the video goes viral on social media. Se-hee is reprimanded by her dad, and Han-young comes out smelling like roses.
At the court, Han-young presents his sentencing for Hyeok-jun's case. A good number of other lawyers and important officials are present too, just as Han-young wanted. This time though, Han-young is more thorough. He decides to blindside Kim Ga-young by asking for her personal phone, which could well have evidence of her conspiring with Hyeok-jun. Despite lying initially, Han-young rings the number and catches her in this lie right in the middle of the courtroom.
