The final episodes of “The Auditors” aired on August 10 and 11, 2024 on tvN and Viki. This K-drama thriller, starring Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Jung-ha and Jin Goo, tells the story of an audit team investigating corruption at South Korean conglomerate JU Construction.
In episode 11, Shin Cha-il (Shin Ha-kyun) investigates the mysterious murder of the former president of JU Construction. He informs Mr. Jang, one of the company’s shareholders, that he believes the former president was assassinated. Mr. Bang Ki-ho asks Shin Cha-il to provide evidence so he can order an autopsy. Meanwhile, Shin Cha-il suspects Vice President Hwang Dae-woong (Jin Goo) as the culprit. Episode 12 deepens the investigation, with Shin Cha-il being attacked and nearly killed during his attempt to unmask the real murderer.
Episode 11 of “The Auditors” begins with the assassination of the ex-president of JU Construction in his hospital bed by a mysterious man. As funeral rites are held by his family, Shin Cha-il suspects that the ex-president’s death could be murder. He discovers that the ex-president had hidden funds through which he laundered money through a front company called Archcle Design Firm.
Shin Cha-il launches an investigation because he believes the president may have been assassinated by a member of his entourage after his shell company was discovered. He learns that the shell company was taken over by someone after the ex-president fell into a coma following his accident. Shin Cha-il decides to gather enough evidence in four days to convince the family to conduct an autopsy.
Meanwhile, Vice President Hwang Dae-woong appoints Mr. Choi as the new head of the company’s purchasing department. Later, Shin Cha-il follows Mr. Choi in a car and records him giving a bribe to the police commissioner.
Later in “The Auditors”, after conducting an investigation, the audit team discovers that Archcle Design CEO Benjamin Lee has never been to New York. They discover that Benjamin Lee is a 28-year-old young man who lent his name to the shell company’s documents and received compensation from the former president.
Shin Cha-il becomes increasingly suspicious of Hwang Dae-woong, who has a history of petty bribes. Episode 11 of “The Auditors” ends with Shin Cha-il following Mr. Choi in a car while Goo Han-su (Lee Jung-ha) follows company president Hwang Se-woong and Seo Ye -jin follows the vice president.
The three members of the audit team follow the three suspects, suspecting that one of them might be the murderer. Meanwhile, Shin Cha-il arrives at a bungalow and finds Mr. Choi unconscious on the floor. Someone from behind tasers Shin Cha-il, who passes out. The mysterious man sets the bungalow on fire and leaves Shin Cha-il and Mr. Choi tied up.
Episode 12 of “The Auditors” begins with Shin Cha-il briefly regaining consciousness and discovering that the current president of JU Construction, Hwang Se-woong (Jung Moon-sung), is the one who electrocuted them and plans to burn Shin Cha-il and Mr. Choi with the building.
Meanwhile, Vice President Hwang Dae-woong (the half-brother of the former president and Hwang Se-woong) goes looking for Mr. Choi to ask him about the secret and illegal fund. Seeing smoke in the distance, he instinctively steers his car towards that location. He enters the building and finds Shin Cha-il and Mr. Choi, tied up and unconscious, surrounded by flames.
Hwang Dae-woong manages to save Shin Cha-il and Mr. Choi and evacuates them from the burning building. At the hospital, Goo Han-su and Seo Ye-jin arrive and try to stop Shin Cha-il from leaving without receiving proper treatment. However, Shin Cha-il explains to them that time is running out and that if the former president’s body is cremated before the autopsy, they will never be able to apprehend the culprit.
Shin Cha-il, Vice President Hwang Dae-woong, Goo Han-su, and Seo Ye-jin arrive in front of the Buddhist temple where the former president’s funeral rites are taking place. They stop the ex-president’s wife’s car and Shin Cha-il announces that the latter has been assassinated. He accuses Vice President Hwang Dae-woong and demands an autopsy.
Later, Chairman Hwang Se-woong reprimands Shin Cha-il at work and demotes him to the support team. Hwang Se-woong orders the audit team to cut off all communication with Shin Cha-il and broadcasts a company-wide announcement that Hwang Dae-woong has been arrested for the ex-president’s murder .
Meanwhile, audit team members Goo Han-su, Seo Ye-jin, OK A-jeong, and Yeom Gyeong-seok secretly collaborate with Shin Cha-il to reveal the truth. Together, they manage to reveal the president’s actions during a shareholders’ meeting. Shin Cha-il releases a spy camera video that shows Hwang Se-woong injecting poison into Mr. Choi’s IV at the hospital.
The poison and injection were discovered in Hwang Se-woong’s personal safe in his office. Shin Cha-il then revealed the true origin of the ex-president’s hidden funds that Hwang Se-woong used to bribe people. Hwang Se-woong was arrested and imprisoned, while Hwang Dae-woong became the new president of JU Construction. In the meantime, Shin Cha-il resigned from his position.
The latest episode of “The Auditors” ends with Goo Han-su auditing a company employee, having now adopted Shin Cha-il’s behavior. Seo Ye-jin transferred to the building design department of JU Construction. Meanwhile, Shin Cha-il is on Jeju Island, where a director of an auditing company approaches him and offers to join him in tracking down other corrupt companies.
This scene foreshadows a possible renewal of the K-drama, with Shin Cha-il who could embark on a new quest with this auditing company and further investigate corruption. There also appears to be a hint at a new cast for “The Auditors” season 2, as the chapter of JU Construction and its employees ends with this season. However, it is important to note that no official or new announcements have been made regarding a second season of the series.