# Yadang: The Snitch

**Yadang: The Snitch** (야당) is a 2025 South Korean crime action film directed by Hwang Byeong-gug about an informant who brokers between drug criminals and the prosecutors and police who investigate them<sup>[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20232394)</sup>. It opened in South Korea on April 16, 2025, sold 3,378,276 tickets, and finished the year as the second-highest-grossing Korean film of 2025<sup>[2](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9--m_0089cb61e4b0)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2025-12-21/202512170100104800016355)</sup>.

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | 야당 (Yadang); slang for a drug-world informant who secretly supplies information to prosecutors and police<sup>[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20250427110002240)</sup> |
| Release | April 16, 2025 (South Korea); 122 minutes; restricted to audiences 19 and older<sup>[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20232394)</sup> |
| Director and studio | Hwang Byeong-gug; produced by Hive Media Corp, distributed by Plus M<sup>[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/yadang/yadang_main.htm)</sup> |
| Lead cast | Kang Ha-neul (Lee Gang-su), Yoo Hae-jin (prosecutor Ku Gwan-hee), Park Hae-joon (detective Oh Sang-jae), Ryu Kyung-soo (Jo Hun), Chae Won-bin (Eom Su-jin)<sup>[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/yadang/yadang_main.htm)</sup> |
| Box office | 3,378,276 admissions and about 32 billion won in ticket sales; break-even point about 2.5 million admissions<sup>[2](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9--m_0089cb61e4b0)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9%28%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%29)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.ambitstock.com/film/yadang-the-snitch-2025/)</sup> |
| 2025 ranking | Second among Korean films of the year, behind *Zombie Daughter* (5.64 million)<sup>[3](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2025-12-21/202512170100104800016355)</sup> |
| Extended cut | A 137-minute version re-released August 6, 2025, drew 27,409 admissions<sup>[8](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=62441)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### Premise

The film follows three men with conflicting interests inside South Korea's drug trade. Lee Gang-su ([Kang Ha-neul](https://www.edgepedia.org/kang-ha-neul)) is framed on drug charges and imprisoned; prosecutor Ku Gwan-hee ([Yoo Hae-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoo-hae-jin)) offers him a reduced sentence in exchange for working as his informant, and Gang-su begins shaking up drug investigations from the inside while the ambitious prosecutor stacks arrest records and wins repeated promotions<sup>[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/yadang/yadang_main.htm)</sup>. Detective Oh Sang-jae (Park Hae-joon) of the drug investigation unit keeps losing suspects to the deals struck between the two, and digs persistently into their relationship<sup>[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/yadang/yadang_main.htm)</sup>.

The plot turns when Ku, tempted by Jo Hun (Ryu Kyung-soo), the son of a leading presidential candidate who has been arrested as a drug offender, moves to bury the case and eliminate Gang-su, Sang-jae, and the actress Eom Su-jin ([Chae Won-bin](https://www.edgepedia.org/chae-won-bin)), who knows what happened<sup>[9](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-04-21.pdf)</sup>. Gang-su, forcibly addicted to drugs, struggles to recover inside a private prison before taking revenge<sup>[10](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/culture/11310546)</sup>.

## The title

In the film's world, yadang does not mean the political opposition. It is underworld slang for a drug offender who acts as a broker between the drug trade and the investigating authorities: such figures supply information on drug crimes to prosecutors and police, negotiate reduced sentences for arrested offenders, and take a profit on both sides<sup>[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20250427110002240)</sup>. The production has said the title refers to this broker, not to a political party<sup>[11](https://www.koreafilm.or.kr/museum/theater/module/TI_00000093)</sup>. Korean media noted that the figure had not previously been treated as the central subject of a Korean feature film<sup>[9](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-04-21.pdf)</sup>.

## Production

**Origin.** Hive Media Corp chief Kim Won-guk sent director Hwang Byeong-gug a 2021 newspaper article describing drug offenders gathering each morning at a prosecutor's office in Suwon to exchange information; the article's mention of the yadang figure sparked the scenario<sup>[12](https://cine21.com/news/view?mag_id=106848)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/202504161139001/)</sup>. Hwang, whose earlier directing credits include *Wedding Campaign* (2005) and *S.I.U* (2011), had spent years as an actor and assistant director, including on *Seoul Spring* (2023)<sup>[5](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/yadang/yadang_main.htm)</sup>.

**Research.** Because he knew little about drugs, Hwang met drug-unit detectives, visited the Korea Anti-Drug Movement Headquarters, and consulted former prosecutors turned lawyers; he has said most situations in the film are based on real events<sup>[14](https://cine21.com/news/view?mag_id=107327)</sup>. Reporting for the scenario involved interviews with roughly 100 people, including detectives, prosecutors, and drug-world figures, and an episode in which the director himself was briefly mistaken for a drug offender and arrested<sup>[15](https://www.sbs.com.au/language/korean/ko/podcast-episode/k-art-korean-box-office-number-one-yadang-the-snitchreleased-in-australia-this-week/n55wtvpsp)</sup>. Hwang stated he wanted to raise social awareness of drug danger, noting that arrests of drug offenders had risen from 16,000 a year when he wrote the script to 23,000 by the time of a January 2025 interview<sup>[12](https://cine21.com/news/view?mag_id=106848)</sup>. Kang Ha-neul said a line in the film citing annual drug cases was re-recorded after the figure rose from 16,000 to 20,000 during shooting<sup>[16](https://v.daum.net/v/20250408172029552)</sup>.

Filming ran from July 15 to November 2023, on a production budget of 13 billion won<sup>[6](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9%28%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%29)</sup>. The screenplay is credited to Kim Hyo-seok, with cinematography by Lee Mo-gae and music by [Kim Hong-jip](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-hong-jip) and Lee Jin-hee<sup>[17](https://lsf.go.id/film/yadang-the-snitch/18)</sup>.

## Box office

The film opened first on 1,678 screens and led the daily box office from its first day<sup>[7](https://www.ambitstock.com/film/yadang-the-snitch-2025/)</sup>. It passed one million admissions on its eighth day, April 23<sup>[18](https://www.slist.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=637824)</sup>, passed the break-even point of about 2.5 million admissions on day 20, and overtook *Hitman 2* to become the year's top-grossing Korean film<sup>[19](https://isplus.com/article/search?searchText=%EA%B0%90%EB%8F%85+%EB%A7%88%EB%B8%94)</sup>. It crossed three million admissions on day 28, surpassing Bong Joon-ho's *Mickey 17* as the highest-grossing release of 2025 in Korea at that point<sup>[20](https://v.daum.net/v/20250516085540706?s=print_news)</sup>, and Yonhap reported it as the most-viewed theatrical release of 2025 in South Korea on May 13<sup>[21](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250513001251315)</sup>.

Its run was unusually long for a restricted-rated film. The distributor attributed the performance to word of mouth: the film dropped in rank when three new titles opened, then returned to first place within days<sup>[22](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250510045700005)</sup>. Final KOBIS admissions reached 3,378,276, with a peak single day of 263,212 and a second-week retention rate of 84.7 percent<sup>[2](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9--m_0089cb61e4b0)</sup>. In the full-year ranking it placed second among Korean films behind *Zombie Daughter*<sup>[3](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2025-12-21/202512170100104800016355)</sup>, and eighth overall in the 2025 Korean box office<sup>[23](https://www.kca.kr/Media_Issue_Trend/vol72/assets/pdf/Media_Issue_Trend%28vol72%29.pdf)</sup>.

## Reception and ratings

Audience scores were high: the film held a 97 percent CGV Golden Egg index, the highest among films then in release<sup>[24](https://sports.donga.com/ent/article/all/20250506/131551743/1)</sup>. Critics placed it in the lineage of Korean crime films such as *[The Unjust](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-unjust)* (2010), *Inside Men* (2015), and the *Veteran* series, while crediting it with a new central figure in the broker-informant<sup>[4](https://v.daum.net/v/20250427110002240)</sup>.

Ratings boards treated the film as adult content. Korea classified it as restricted to 19 and older<sup>[1](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20232394)</sup>, Indonesia rated it D21 for viewers 21 and over<sup>[17](https://lsf.go.id/film/yadang-the-snitch/18)</sup>, and Japan scheduled it as R15+ for release on January 9, 2026<sup>[25](https://eiga.com/movie/104996/)</sup>. The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification), which classified it on April 30, 2025 for a May 21 cinema release through Signal Pictures, advised for strong sex and drug misuse, listing scenes of intravenous drug use, withdrawal, forced ingestion of drugs, and a chemsex party<sup>[26](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/yadang-the-snitch-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi5odi3)</sup>.

At the 2025 Buil Film Awards (September 18), Hwang Byeong-gug won Best Director for the film<sup>[27](https://www.alio.go.kr/download/download.json?fileNo=3032925)</sup>, and Chae Won-bin was nominated for Best New Actress in film at the Baeksang Arts Awards<sup>[7](https://www.ambitstock.com/film/yadang-the-snitch-2025/)</sup>. The production also joined an anti-drug campaign with Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police, who cited the film's realistic depiction of drug crime as the reason<sup>[28](https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25327532)</sup>.

## References

1. [YADANG: THE SNITCH (2025), Korean Film Council database](https://koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20232394)
2. [야당 영화 정보·출연진·관객수·흥행 추이, CinemaBoard](https://cinemaboard.co.kr/movies/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9--m_0089cb61e4b0)
3. [SC결산: 25년 韓영화, Sports Chosun (December 21, 2025)](https://www.sportschosun.com/entertainment/2025-12-21/202512170100104800016355)
4. [《야당》, 대한민국 마약 범죄판을 설계하는 사람들, Daum/Vogue Korea (April 27, 2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/20250427110002240)
5. [야당 (YADANG: THE SNITCH), Korea Film](https://www.koreafilm.co.kr/movie/yadang/yadang_main.htm)
6. [야당(영화), Namu wiki](https://namu.moe/w/%EC%95%BC%EB%8B%B9%28%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%29)
7. [야당 (2025) 평점 관객수 출연진, R의 필름공장](https://www.ambitstock.com/film/yadang-the-snitch-2025/)
8. [야당: 익스텐디드 컷 상세정보, Cine 21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=62441)
9. [중앙일보 주간지 영화·문화면 (April 21, 2025)](https://www.kmediarods.com/fileUpload/bulletins/news_pdf_2025-04-21.pdf)
10. [대한민국 장악한 '야당'… 올해 최고 흥행 영화, 매일경제](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/culture/11310546)
11. [한국영화박물관: 기증된 영화유산, 한국영상자료원](https://www.koreafilm.or.kr/museum/theater/module/TI_00000093)
12. [[인터뷰] 사실적인 마약 범죄 영화, <야당> 황병국 감독, Cine 21 (January 23, 2025)](https://cine21.com/news/view?mag_id=106848)
13. ['검사는 대통령을 만들 수도, 죽일 수도 있다', 경향신문 (April 16, 2025)](https://www.khan.co.kr/article/202504161139001/)
14. [[인터뷰] 절대 휴대폰을 보지 못하게, <야당> 황병국 감독, Cine 21 (April 16, 2025)](https://cine21.com/news/view?mag_id=107327)
15. [K-ART: 한국 박스오피스 1위 '야당', SBS Korean](https://www.sbs.com.au/language/korean/ko/podcast-episode/k-art-korean-box-office-number-one-yadang-the-snitchreleased-in-australia-this-week/n55wtvpsp)
16. ['무해한' 미소는 잊어라···악질 '마약 브로커'로 변신, Daum (April 8, 2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/20250408172029552)
17. [Panduan Film - Yadang: The Snitch, Lembaga Sensor Film (Indonesia)](https://lsf.go.id/film/yadang-the-snitch/18)
18. [강하늘·유해진·박해준 '야당', 개봉 8일만에 100만 돌파, 싱글리스트 (April 23, 2025)](https://www.slist.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=637824)
19. [일간스포츠 기사 검색: '야당' 4주차 주말도 1위…300만 넘는다](https://isplus.com/article/search?searchText=%EA%B0%90%EB%8F%85+%EB%A7%88%EB%B8%94)
20. [언론사뷰, Daum (May 16, 2025)](https://v.daum.net/v/20250516085540706?s=print_news)
21. [(LEAD) 'Yadang' becomes most-viewed 2025 film in S. Korea, Yonhap News Agency (May 13, 2025)](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250513001251315)
22. ["오프닝 스코어보다 중요"…영화 흥행 가늠자 된 2주차 관객 수, 연합뉴스 (May 10, 2025)](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250510045700005)
23. [Media Issue & Trend 2026 Vol.72, 한국소비자원](https://www.kca.kr/Media_Issue_Trend/vol72/assets/pdf/Media_Issue_Trend%28vol72%29.pdf)
24. ["뻔한 전개? 오히려 장점!"…청불 한계 깬 '야당', 올해 최고 흥행 韓영화, 스포츠동아 (May 6, 2025)](https://sports.donga.com/ent/article/all/20250506/131551743/1)
25. [YADANG ヤダン : 作品情報, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/104996/)
26. [Yadang: The Snitch, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/yadang-the-snitch-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi5odi3)
27. [KOFIC 연구 2026-01, ALIO (Korean Film Council research report)](https://www.alio.go.kr/download/download.json?fileNo=3032925)
28. [영화 '야당' 팀, 경기북부경찰과 함께 '마약 범죄 척결' 캠페인, 중앙일보](https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25327532)

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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) › 2025–2026 films › Crime, heist, and gangster films*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license