In the fifth episode of "The Judge Returns," the narrative unfolds with Han-young, standing resolute at the scrapyard, clutching a smoking gun—a ledger revealing the top names of law enforcement and judicial figures who have dodged South Korea's mandatory military service through falsified medical reports. As he edges closer to exposing the truth, Han-young is suddenly confronted by Shin-jin's ruthless assassin, the same man who had earlier choked him unconscious in their timeline. The assassin attempts to wrest the ledger from Han-young by force, but this time, Han-young is prepared.
A fierce battle ensues, with Han-young outwitting Shin-jin's goon and racing away just before the assassin can seize the evidence. Shin-jin's frustration is palpable when he learns of the failed attempt, determined to test Han-young's limits and uncover his ultimate goal.
Meanwhile, Han-young is summoned to a meeting with Kim Jin-han, one of the presiding judges we've seen scheming with Han-young's father in previous episodes. However, in this encounter, Jin-han focuses solely on Han-young himself. He attempts to buy Han-young off with a lavish promotion and all the trappings of power that come with it—in exchange for the ledger. But Han-young is too wise to be bribed. He understands that if Jin-han gets his hands on this information, he could easily amass a cabinet of wealthy and influential allies around him. Thus, Han-young tactfully declines the offer.
Parallel to this, former President Park Kwang To gathers all the VIPs together, intending to enact a third cabinet reshuffle for Korea. Shin-jin flanks him as the VIPs deliberate on who the next officials will be.
The episode teems with tension and intrigue, painting a vivid picture of a complex web of power and corruption that Han-young must navigate to uncover the truth and bring justice to light.
Drawing from this, Kwang To hands over a folder to Shin-jin, which is a detailed dossier on all those who come and go from Soujae. He grants Shin-jin the authority to eliminate anyone who stands in his way. With this folder, Shin-jin manages to release CEO Jang Tae-sik without any charges. As for Han-young, he meets with Yi-seok and shows off the ledger. Now, Yi-seok is on the verge of a big promotion, but he's also one of the few officials here who is virtuous and will do the right thing. It's a poisoned chalice, and he knows it, but Yi-seok does come through for the good guys. The news goes to the press and sends shockwaves across Korea. Every single official is read out live on air, sending these VIPs scrambling.
Kwang-to comes down hard on Shin-jin, who in turn takes his frustrations out on Jin-han. When he realizes that Han-young isn't in Yi-seok's shadow, he decides to give this a personal touch and go after Han-young himself. Shin-jin has his assassin send a message to Han-young that night, trying to run him down on his bike. Han-young doesn't seem too phased, but the assassin believes the message has been sent loud and clear. Im Jeong-Sik is with him, and while he's being patched up in the hospital, Jeong-sik is convinced that the biker is a man from a past case who has a serious grudge.
When Han-young exits the hospital, Shin-jin reaches out a hand to him. They sit together and share a meal, with Han-young maintaining his cautious demeanor, despite Shin-jin's infectious charisma and apparent thirst for success. It's here that we learn that Han-young grew up as an orphan, and he decides to use this knowledge to his advantage.
As they talk about his upbringing, Han-young also claims that the ledger contained the names of old acquaintances from law school and that he acted out of personal revenge. Shin-jin is unsure if this is the truth (it obviously isn't), but Han-young does a convincing enough job to allay his suspicions.
While they're talking, Shin-jin receives a call informing him that Tae-sik has an arrest warrant and there will be a detention hearing. Han-young puts the pieces together and realizes that the frazzled CEO on the other end of the line is Chairman Yong-hyeon of S-Group. Of course it is!
Han-young plays his hand here, offering himself up to be "indispensable" to Shin-jin. The guy scoffs, but it's clear that Han-young intends to infiltrate his inner circle. While Tae-sik is released, much to the uproar of the press, attention turns to Lee Chang-hyo, the director of Hankuk Hospital. He's killed, but it's made to look like a suicide. A note is stuffed in his jacket pocket, courtesy of Shin-jin's assassin.
A seized USB contains the same material as the draft-dodging ledger, and as a result, Shin-jin's ruthlessness has put the investigation into draft-dodging on hold, at least for the time being. Han-young realizes that Chang-hyo knew too much and was killed for it.
In retaliation, Park Cheol Wu, a Korean prosecutor, shows up and arrests Jeong-gyeon for violating the Military Service Act. Given that Justice Jun-man has also been arrested, his initial cocky façade shatters as the solid foundation for this group of high-ranking officials starts to crumble.
As the scandal erupts, the Chief Justice resigns, and the Presidential office hits a massive snag as a result. Jeon Heung-wu becomes the new Chief Justice and immediately focuses on Yi-seok. The latter is heading to the Seoul Central District Court with Jeong-sik and Han-young.
Shin-jin has given Han-young a task to follow through with; a test of his loyalty and credentials. Han-young is told to take care of Wu Gyo-hun, while Jin-han is going to be digging into Han-young's past.
Han-young is obviously at an advantage here, given that he remembers Gyo-hun's kid got into trouble in the past. Now though, the hard work is going to begin at Haenal Law Firm. He's determined to rewrite his fate and come out on top.
