No, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is .
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The terrifying antagonist in the film, Kang Kyung-ho (played by Kim Sung-kyu), is heavily based on a real-life South Korean serial killer named .
While the film draws from these real atrocities, it takes significant creative liberties. The core element of a cop and a gangster teaming up is not historically documented in the Yoo Young-chul case. This central premise, while compelling, is a dramatic invention. Although the official investigation into Yoo Young-chul faced initial skepticism and bureaucratic hurdles, there is no record of law enforcement forming an alliance with organized crime to capture him. The movie is thus better understood as a "loose adaptation," using the true-crime framework of a serial killer's reign of terror to build its fictional narrative of revenge and unlikely alliances. is the gangster the cop the devil based on true story
| Aspect | The Real Life (Yoo Young-chul Case) | | :--- | :--- | | | September 2003 to July 2004 | | Primary Targets | Elderly wealthy individuals and female massage parlor workers or sex workers | | Claimed Victim Count | Initially confessed to 19, then claimed up to 26 | | Confirmed Convictions | Convicted of 20 murders (one case was dismissed) | | Method of Killing | Bludgeoning, stabbing; known for dismemberment | | Shocking Confessions | Confessed to eating the livers of some victims |
The "Devil" of the title, the unassuming car repairman and killer K, is where the film’s claim to "true story" elements firmly resides. The character is explicitly and chillingly modeled on , one of South Korea’s most prolific and psychopathic serial killers. Active in 2003-2004, Yoo was a sadistic predator who targeted wealthy elderly people and, later, young female massage parlor workers and prostitutes. His methods were brutal: bludgeoning with a hammer and stabbing.
In the mid-2000s, Cho terrorized the city of Cheonan, located in the South Chungcheong Province. His real-life modus operandi matches the movie perfectly: No, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is
: The movie takes place in the city of Cheonan, grounding the fictional narrative in a real geographical location that was active during the mid-2000s crime waves. Summary Table: Fact vs. Fiction Feature Movie Depiction Real-Life Basis The Killer "K" (Kang Kyung-ho), an indiscriminate stabber Primarily Yoo Young-chul; convicted of 20 murders The Alliance Active tactical partnership between a Don and a Detective Informal cooperation; a brothel owner helped catch Yoo The Incident Killer attacks a mob boss by mistake Fictionalized "hook" to drive the action-thriller plot Justice Mob boss testifies and then seeks personal revenge Yoo Young-chul remains on death row in South Korea
The cinematic core of the film relies on the gangster and the detective signing a pact: whoever catches the killer first gets to deal with him by their own rules (the cop wants an arrest, the gangster wants a execution).
The South Korean police did not officially or unofficially partner with the mob to catch a serial killer. Organized crime syndicates and the police remained strictly adversarial. The real investigations were solved using traditional law enforcement methods, including security camera footage, DNA tracking, and analyzing footwear impressions. Why the Filmmakers Blended Fact with Fiction Learn more Can't delete the links right now
So, is The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil based on a true story? The film's horror is real, rooted in the monstrous actions of Yoo Young-chul. The "devil" is a chillingly authentic creation. However, the story of the cop and the gangster who unite to stop him is a work of fiction. As director Lee Won-tae stated, they used "two points that really happened" as a foundation to build something wholly original. The result is a film that feels true in its violence, its moral ambiguity, and its depiction of a society pushed to its breaking point, but it is a work of fiction where the lines between the gangster, the cop, and the devil are blurred in the service of a thrilling, cinematic experience.
However, one detail the film borrows accurately is the . In the movie, the gangster (Don Lee) deliberately rams his car into the killer's vehicle to disable him. In reality, Yoo Young-chul was caught because he rammed his car into a police surveillance vehicle by accident, leading to his arrest. The filmmakers inverted this—giving the gangster the agency to crash the car.
