Kang Han Soo, a self-proclaimed lawyer, entered Hanyang to make money in “Joseon Lawyer: A Morality,” but he has an ulterior motive. He already had a target in mind, and he achieved it by imprisoning Jang on a false accusation of human trafficking. Jang was one of the men responsible for the deaths of his parents, and Han Soo is determined to find the other men and get his revenge in the same way, using the law rather than violence. However, Han Soo is not an altruistic man. He knows the world is twisted, and he needs to treat people the same way they treat others.
Spoilers Ahead
What Does Park Accuse Lady Yeon Of?
Princess Yeon Ju was the first person to find her father, the king, dead. Her father was still young, and he told her stories of the Joseon he imagined. Back then, Yeon Ju stole her father’s book of the law, which was supposed to be preserved, and now she hands it over to the current king, her brother, Lee Hyul. She tells him that to bring the previous king’s dream to reality, he should appoint wise people like Kang Han Soo to the royal assembly. However, to do that, Yeon Ju has to get Han Soo on her side; only then can she reveal her secret to him. Yeon Ju requests that Han Soo make her his assistant, but he refuses without a thought. However, later, his ship breaks down, and he has to find a place to stay until it gets repaired. Yeon Ju gives him a place to stay at the merchant’s house, but he still doesn’t accept her as his assistant. Instead, he gives her a task to sew a pouch as a test to become his assistant. She thinks that he is just joking with her, but she still tries to make a stitch, unsuccessfully. She immediately thinks of going to see Lady Yeon, one of the sponsors of the merchant house, who is currently staying there. However, Yeon Ju finds her near the river, trying to jump in. It turns out her husband, Commissioner Park, assaulted her after an argument.
While his wife tries to kill herself, Commissioner Park is busy with the party he has hosted to celebrate the promotion of Minister Yoo’s son. Yoo Ji Sun has been promoted to the district magistrate, and Park has held a party to win Minister Yoo’s favor. Han Soo enters the party disguised as a servant with the intention of poisoning Park and Minister Yoo. He knows that Park is one of the culprits in the deaths of his parents and has a suspicion that Yoo could also have been involved in it. Han Soo doesn’t poison their drinks because he has decided not to act like the people who murdered his loved ones. He doesn’t even find any leads on Park that he can use against him, except for the fact that he is going to make Myung Wol his concubine. He bribes Myung Wol, who reveals to him that Park doesn’t have a single property under his name and everything belongs to his wife. He is looking for a way to get all the property for himself. Han Soo finds the weapon to use against Park, so he starts searching for his wife. He realizes later that the divorce case Yeon Ju brought to his attention earlier was for Park’s wife. Unfortunately, Park has already made his move and got Lady Yeon arrested on a false accusation of having an extramarital affair. While no other lawyer is ready to take Lady Yeon’s case, Han Soo agrees to do it, but Yeon Ju won’t let him do it. Han Soo suggested to Lady Yeon that she had to break her leg to prove domestic violence, saying that only then would her divorce be possible.
What Secret Does Myung Wol Find Out?
In Joseon, if a woman asks for a divorce, she gets punished, and even if she gets a divorce under valid circumstances, she is shamed by society. Lady Yeon is already accused of having an affair, and Joseon’s laws are unfair to women. She is going to get punished and shamed either way, and she can’t lose her parents’ wealth to Park. She also knows a truth that no one else does: that Park killed her father by feeding him sweet Yakgwa when he had diabetes. She initially intended to sue him for this reason, but now she wants to go all out and get a divorce as well to retain her father’s property. Yeon Ju has taken the matter into her own hands and is using all the tactics that Han Soo had mentioned. She gets written statements from Lady Yeon’s neighbors and puts a man on Park’s tail. Later, she meets Myung Wol and requests that she testify for Lady Yeon, but at the same time, Han Soo is also there for the same reason. Both of them handed an envelope to Myung Wol to consider their request. Yeon Ju gave her a business proposal to open a store dedicated to her own cosmetics, which she is famous for, instead of being a courtesan. On the other hand, Han Soo gave her yakgwa, which reminds her of Park feeding it to his father-in-law. She didn’t know that he had diabetes until Han Soo told her, and she realized that Park had killed his father-in-law.
Han Soo gets caught by Park after merchant Cho reports his suspicious activities to him. Han Soo tells Park that he was his wife’s lawyer, and hence, he was spying on him, but he is not her lawyer anymore. Park asks Han Soo for legal advice in exchange for forgiveness, and Han Soo just tells him to lie, but grandly. Meanwhile, Yeon Ju has found a new lawyer and doesn’t want Han Soo to become a hindrance. She gets suspicious when she sees Han Soo outside the courtesan house with Park’s men. Han Soo is annoyed with serving Park and his guests, who have been drinking from noon to midnight, so he decides to annoy Park a little. He tells Park not to trust Myung Wol because she has taken a bribe from his wife. Park is drunk and rushes to Myung Wol’s room. He gets violent and tries to choke her, but she starts bleeding from her head and passes out. Han Soo sees it and tries to get Myung Wol to a physician, but Park tells him to let her be so that his men can bury her and the secrets she holds. Han Soo passes out after Park’s men hit him, and he wakes up on a ship at night. On the other hand, Yeon Ju’s lawyer betrays her and runs away with all the evidence, leaving Lady Yeon empty handed on the day of the hearing.
‘Joseon Lawyer: A Morality’ Episode 4: Ending
Magistrate Yoo Ji Sun is different from other officials. He is not biased toward people based on their social class. He knows that his father helped Park destroy evidence against him, but he can’t let that affect his judgment. Lady Yeon is all alone while Park’s lawyer keeps on slandering her. Yeon Ju and her maids have been looking for Han Soo the whole night, and Yeon Ju luckily manages to find him when he almost dies by drowning. She drags him to the hearing, and he defends Lady Yeon. He claims that Park is after Lady Yeon’s property and is accusing her falsely. As a witness, Myung Wol arrives at the magistrate’s office and reveals everything she knows about Park and his attempt to get Lady Yeon’s property. She even exposes the truth that Lady Yeon was too afraid to reveal—that Park killed his father-in-law. Han Soo’s friend, Dong Chi, saved Myung Wol without letting anyone find out, and it helped Han Soo and, consequently, Lady Yeon win the case.
Han Soo has taken down one more enemy in “Joseon Lawyer,” but just like how Jang was found dead in prison, when Han Soo goes to visit Park, he sees that Park has hanged himself. Han Soo wanted to talk about his father with Park, but he lost his source of information once again as if someone was doing it on purpose. Han Soo has more eyes on him now as he won a case against Commissioner Park, including those of magistrate Yoo Ji Sun and the king himself, who had disguised himself among the public.
