# A Violent Prosecutor (검사외전)
**A Violent Prosecutor** (검사외전) is a 2016 South Korean crime comedy film directed by Lee Il-hyung, in which a hot-tempered prosecutor framed for murder works from prison, with the help of a con artist, to expose the scheme that put him behind bars. It stars [Hwang Jung-min](https://www.edgepedia.org/hwang-jung-min) as prosecutor Byun Jae-wook and Gang Dong-won as the con artist Han Chi-won, and it was released in South Korea on February 3, 2016.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20145507&strMenuId=010301) • [2](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20160104194000005)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 검사외전 (literally "prosecutor outside [the office]"), released in English as A Violent Prosecutor[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-violent-prosecutor) |
| Release | February 3, 2016, South Korea; 126 minutes; Korean age rating 15[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20145507&strMenuId=010301) |
| Director | Lee Il-hyung, an assistant director on *The Warriors* (군도, 2015), for whom this was a debut feature[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20160104181906015) |
| Leads | Hwang Jung-min as Byun Jae-wook; Gang Dong-won as Han Chi-won, a con artist with nine prior convictions[2](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20160104194000005) |
| Box office | 9,707,581 admissions and $66,654,694 in South Korea, the second-highest-grossing Korean film of 2016[5](https://www.bifan.kr/download/made_in_asia_2017.pdf) |
| Production | Sanai Pictures and Moonlight Film; distributed by Showbox[6](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2017031519081) |
| Reception | IMDb 6.7/10; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 68% from three reviews[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-violent-prosecutor) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_violent_prosecutor_2016) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Byun Jae-wook (Hwang Jung-min) is a prosecutor known for rough interrogation methods. When a suspect he questioned is found dead, the evidence points to Jae-wook, and he is convicted of murder and imprisoned. In prison he meets Han Chi-won (Gang Dong-won), a good-looking con artist, and finds clues indicating that his conviction was planned. Jae-wook uses his legal knowledge to clear Chi-won's record and get him out of prison, then trains him to work outside on his behalf, uncovering the plot and taking revenge on those who framed him.[2](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20160104194000005) • [1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20145507&strMenuId=010301)
The sources disagree on the length of the sentence Jae-wook receives: the Korean Film Council database states ten years, while the Korean Cultural Center in Los Angeles and Netflix's listing describe a fifteen-year sentence.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20145507&strMenuId=010301) • [8](https://www.kccla.org/uploads/pr/archives/18134720170419olgql25744exkvc.pdf) • [9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/a-violent-prosecutor-2016)
## Production and cast
Lee Il-hyung wrote and directed the film as his commercial debut, after working as an assistant director on *The Warriors* (군도), which also starred Gang Dong-won.[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20160104181906015) It was the first screen pairing of Hwang Jung-min and Gang Dong-won, a combination that drew public attention before release.[2](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20160104194000005) The supporting cast includes Lee Sung-min as Woo Jong-gil, Park Sung-woong as Yang Min-woo, Kim Eung-soo as Kang Young-sik, and Park Jong-hwan as Lee Jin-seok.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-violent-prosecutor) The film was produced by Sanai Pictures and Moonlight Film and distributed by Showbox.[6](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2017031519081)
At the January 4, 2016 production briefing, Lee described the film as, in his words, "simply a fun crime entertainment movie," and Gang Dong-won said his character impersonates a study-abroad student in short English and, as the plot requires, poses as an election campaigner, a prosecutor, and a gang member.[2](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20160104194000005)
## Box office
The film opened during the [Lunar New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/lunar-new-year) holiday season and passed 8 million admissions on February 14, 2016, eight days after release, having drawn 4.76 million viewers during the five-day holiday, a record for that holiday period at the time.[10](https://m.etnews.com/20160215000344) It finished with 9,707,581 admissions and $66,654,694 in gross, ranking second among Korean films of 2016 behind *Train to Busan* (부산행) and first among first-half 2016 releases.[5](https://www.bifan.kr/download/made_in_asia_2017.pdf) • [11](https://v.daum.net/v/20160723080015453) For Gang Dong-won, it exceeded his previous personal best of 6.06 million admissions set by *Woochi* (2009).[12](https://www.xportsnews.com/article/694989) Showbox's investor analysis cited the film, alongside *Lucky* (럭키), as a major hit produced under its in-house production system.[13](https://newstomato.com/ReadNews.aspx?no=727004)
## Reception and criticism
The film holds an IMDb rating of 6.7 and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer of 68% based on three reviews; critics described it as entertaining but light, with one HanCinema review noting that, despite being billed as a prison buddy comedy, relatively little of the action takes place in prison and the two leads share little screen time.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-violent-prosecutor) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_violent_prosecutor_2016)
Korean legal commentary was less favorable. A review in the May 2016 issue of the Korean legal-affairs magazine *Beommusa* argued that the film disregards criminal procedure: because the prosecution is the state body responsible for investigation and indictment, the premise that truth in the Korean legal world cannot be revealed through lawful procedure exaggerates the prosecution's role and loses realistic plausibility, even as the film satirizes prosecutorial power.[14](https://ebook.kabl.kr/magazine/ebooks/201605/files/assets/common/downloads/2016%20%EB%B2%95%EB%AC%B4%EC%82%AC%205%EC%9B%94%ED%98%B8.pdf)
## Festival screenings and availability
The film screened at the New York Asian Film Festival (2016), the Fantasia International Film Festival (2016, its Quebec premiere), the London Korean Film Festival (2016), and festivals in Buenos Aires, Shanghai, and [Frankfurt](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankfurt).[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20145507&strMenuId=010301) As of the most recent streaming checks, it streams free with ads on Xumo Play in the United States and is available on Netflix in South Korea, with availability varying by country.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-violent-prosecutor) • [9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/a-violent-prosecutor-2016)
## References
1. [A Violent Prosecutor (2016), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20145507&strMenuId=010301)
2. ['검사외전' 감독 "재미있는 범죄 오락영화", Yonhap News (January 4, 2016)](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20160104194000005)
3. [A Violent Prosecutor streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-violent-prosecutor)
4. ['검사외전', 황정민X강동원 男男케미는 단연코 진리, Herald POP via Daum (January 4, 2016)](https://v.daum.net/v/20160104181906015)
5. [Made in Asia 2017: 2016 Korean film market trends, BIFAN (KOBIS data)](https://www.bifan.kr/download/made_in_asia_2017.pdf)
6. [쇼박스, 영화 9편에 488억 투자해 454억 벌었다, Hankyung (March 15, 2017)](https://www.hankyung.com/article/2017031519081)
7. [A Violent Prosecutor (2016), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_violent_prosecutor_2016)
8. [LA Korean Cultural Center newsletter, March 2017](https://www.kccla.org/uploads/pr/archives/18134720170419olgql25744exkvc.pdf)
9. [A Violent Prosecutor (2016) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/a-violent-prosecutor-2016)
10. [한국예술원 영화과, 800만 관객돌파 검사외전 이일형 감독 특강 개최, ET News (February 15, 2016)](https://m.etnews.com/20160215000344)
11. [CJ·쇼박스·NEW·롯데 '빅4' 배급사, 여름 극장가서 격돌, Daum news (July 23, 2016)](https://v.daum.net/v/20160723080015453)
12. ['검사외전'이 900만 되면 달라지는 5가지, Xports News (February 21, 2016)](https://www.xportsnews.com/article/694989)
13. [쇼박스 실적 분석, Newstoma토](https://newstomato.com/ReadNews.aspx?no=727004)
14. [2016 법무사 5월호, 영화 「검사외전」 리뷰, 한국법무사협회](https://ebook.kabl.kr/magazine/ebooks/201605/files/assets/common/downloads/2016%20%EB%B2%95%EB%AC%B4%EC%82%AC%205%EC%9B%94%ED%98%B8.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Heist and crime comedy films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license