Memories of Murder ending explained: Was the killer caught?

Memories of Murder is a film that put Bong Joon Ho on the map before he went global with Parasite. This neo-noir crime thriller was released in South Korea on May 2, 2003. Bong wrote the script with Shim Sung-bo as an adaptation of Come To See Me, which was a 1996 play by Kim Kwang-lim. The play itself was based on Lee Choon-jae, who committed South Korea's first confirmed cases of serial killing. Here's the official synopsis:

"In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit."

The film stars Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roi-ha and Song Jae-ho among others.

What is the plot of Memories of Murder?

A still from Memories of Murder | Image via YouTube/Neon

Memories of Murder takes place in 1986 when two dead bodies of two women are found by Detective Park Doo-man. There are several mishaps in the investigation, including the improper way of collecting evidence. Even forensic technology does not exist, and that makes things trickier. He is assisted by a Seoul-based detective named Seo Tae-yoon, and the entire film is their pursuit of the killer.

How does Memories of Murder end?

Memories of Murder is based on the killings of Lee Choon-jae that took place between 1986 and 1994. He was eventually caught years later in 2019 and was given a life sentence. But things did not proceed as the statute of limitations had expired.

As the film reaches its end, Cho Yong-koo gets tetanus in his leg, and it has to be removed. Meanwhile, semen samples are collected from the recent victim, which is sent to the United States so that a comparison can be drawn with Hyeon-gyu's. Seo Tae-yoon is tasked to keep an eye on Hyeon-gyu, but he falls asleep, and someone is killed that night. Because Seo knew the victim, he attacked Hyeon-gyu. But the DNA result is vague — it can't confirm if he is the main suspect. Seo wants to kill Hyeon-gyu, but Park Doo-man intervenes and the former is allowed to leave.

The storyline jumps to 2003, and we see that Park is doing business and has a family. He revisits the first crime scene where the first body was found. A young girl, who is nearby, tells him that a man was at that spot and was talking about something he had done here. She describes his appearance as ordinary. Park then looks straight to the camera as the film ends.

The last scene of Memories of Murder signifies that Park is looking at the real killer, who might be watching the film. The authorities took nearly sixteen years since the film came out to finally nab the actual killer, Lee Choon-jae. In his interviews, he expressed his surprise at how the cops could not catch him. The film examines how clumsy the authorities were, and they were dealing with their own issues while trying to investigate. Even Park had not come across something this serious and grotesque in his career before this case.

Had the killer not been caught in 2019, the last frame of the film would continue to send chills down everyone's spine, realizing that the killer is on the loose and might have seen the film.