'Taxi Driver 3' Lee Je-hoon set out to dismantle a Japanese yakuza organization that committed crimes against minors.
On the 21st, the first episode of SBS's Friday-Saturday drama Taxi Driver season 3 aired. That day Kim Do-gi (Lee Je-hoon) announced a flashy comeback from the opening by knocking out yakuza who were trafficking people at the port. When a yakuza member asked, "Who are you?" he subdued him at once, saying, "I am a taxi driver."
Afterward, the circumstances that brought them to Japan were revealed. Yoon I-seo (Cha Si-yeon) who had been kidnapped by the yakuza barely escaped, accidentally found Rainbow Transport's flyer and called for help from a payphone. Jang Seong-chul (Kim Eui-sung), who answered the call, asked, "I'll come there. Where are you now?" but Yoon I-seo was caught by the yakuza who had followed her and was dragged away again.
Jang Seong-chul found Yoon I-seo's student ID in the payphone booth, and after returning to the country informed the Rainbow Transport members of this fact. Kim Do-gi said, "It would be good to find out what happened to student Yoon I-seo," and added, "If you want to ask the students something, it's easier if a teacher does it," summoning his alter ego 'teacher Hwang In-seong' and infiltrated Yoon I-seo's school.
It was confirmed that Yoon I-seo had submitted a field trip application saying she was going to a school camp. Meanwhile, Yoon I-seo's grandmother thought she had gone to a boarding academy. While puzzled, Kim Do-gi met student Oh Ye-ji, who knew about Yoon I-seo's whereabouts, and heard the circumstances. Yoon I-seo had been introduced to illegal mobile gambling by Oh Ye-ji's suggestion and became increasingly addicted to gambling to raise money for her grandmother's eye surgery. In that process she agreed to the terms to participate in an event called "advance points giveaway," which turned out to be, in fact, a loan agreement.
This was because Oh Ye-ji, who had first fallen into illegal gambling and unknowingly taken on loan debt, enticed Yoon I-seo at the instruction of a loan shark who told her to bring friends to reduce her debt. The loan shark urged Yoon I-seo to "sign up five friends by next week," but Yoon I-seo was tormented by guilt and struggled.
After learning the situation, Ahn Go-eun said, "The advance-giveaway event the two received while playing the game is a loan. They split a 300,000-won loan into contracts in 100,000-won units," and Jang Seong-chul explained, "Under current law there is no interest limit on loans under 100,000 won. They exploited that." The annual interest rate on the loan they actually contracted was 5,000%. While loan contracts with minors are illegal, the fact that they had engaged in illegal gambling alone left the children unable to seek help from those around them.
Ultimately the two decided to follow the loan shark's offer that "if you go to Japan and work for a month, we'll wipe out the principal and interest." But Oh Ye-ji revealed that she had been caught by her father on the day she was supposed to leave with I-seo and even had her phone taken, so she had no way to contact I-seo, explaining why Yoon I-seo was kidnapped alone. She cried, "It's all my fault. Because of me I-seo ended up like that. I was too scared to tell anyone. Please find my friend," and Rainbow Transport set out to rescue Yoon I-seo.
Ahn Go-eun said, "The ones who took I-seo were captured on the port. But if they had debts, why would they send them abroad?" Chief Choi said, "Sending them to Japan must be much more profitable," and Ahn Go-eun said, "The two who left together returned soon after. They were moved like deliveries. They could be simple couriers," adding, "If it's okay, could you leave this to me this time? I have a way."
Later Ahn Go-eun persuaded Oh Ye-ji to get the game URL and deliberately gambled until she lost all her money. As expected, Ahn Go-eun was able to meet the loan sharks at once and accepted the offer to go to Japan, just as Yoon I-seo had. Ahn Go-eun explained, "It was a chain company called Neko Money. Its founding and operating funds all came from Japan. The mobile game was also made in Japan." Jang Seong-chul suspected, "A private finance office established with Japanese funds. The gambling game they made. Do they send children who owe money there to Japan?" and ordered, "Leave the ominous loan companies for later and focus on finding student Yoon I-seo."
At that moment Ahn Go-eun received contact from the loan shark and headed to the passenger ship terminal, and Rainbow Transport members followed her across to Japan. Ahn Go-eun got into a waiting car and entered a suspicious building, but communication was cut off by a signal-blocking wall. Alarmed, Kim Do-gi, anxious, ran into the building himself and subdued the yakuza, but Ahn Go-eun had already knocked down a yakuza trying to take her belongings.
In the room where Ahn Go-eun had been were photos and belongings of women who appeared to have been kidnapped like Yoon I-seo. Kim Do-gi threatened a yakuza he had subdued at the scene to ask about Yoon I-seo's whereabouts, and the yakuza explained, "If I send people, I just erase that person's identity and traces. I don't know what happens after that," and added, "A car always comes and loads cash and goes. If you check that car you can find out. That's all I know."
Ahn Go-eun said, "I photographed the license plate of the car that brought me," and immediately did location tracking, and Kim Do-gi and the Rainbow Transport members moved to the building they found through the tracking. Then Kim Do-gi disguised himself as a yankee to enter the building where outsiders were prohibited, caused a disturbance and was able to enter the building as planned.
After defeating a yakuza member in a confrontation he left a contact, saying, "Tell your oyabun (boss). Tell him to call this number when he buys new shoes," and left. Toward the end of the broadcast the yakuza boss Matsuda Keita (Kasamatsu Sho) appeared. He watched Kim Do-gi's CCTV footage that served as a declaration of war against him and smiled meaningfully, adding to the intrigue.
[Photo] SBS
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