Parole Examiner Lee episode 3 recap: How does Examiner Lee get Choi Hwa-ran on his side?

tvN's Monday-Tuesday drama Parole Examiner Lee premiered on November 18, 2024, at 8:50 pm KST. It presents a gripping legal story centered on parole hearings. Directed by Yoon Sang-ho and penned by Park Chi-hyung, the series explores the challenges faced by a parole judge in a justice system riddled with corruption and power struggles.

Go Soo takes on the lead role of Lee Han-shin, a principled parole judge confronting ethical dilemmas and systemic issues. Baek Ji-won portrays Choi Hwa-ran, a formidable private lending tycoon, while Girls' Generation's Yuri portrays Ahn Seo-yun, a sharp detective in the Violent Crime Investigation Unit. Lee Hak-joo rounds out the main cast as Ji Myung-seob, a privileged chaebol heir and the story's antagonist in Parole Examiner Lee.

In episode 3, Lee approaches Hwa-ran, promising to help her get her money back from Park Hee-jun and Kim Bong-su.

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Parole Examiner Lee episode 3 recap

In episode 3 of Parole Examiner Lee, news breaks that Chairman Ji's parole has been rejected. Chief Park calls Lee to check if he is safe. Meanwhile, Won-mi has a swarm of reporters waiting to get her statement on why she sued the Chairman. Tired of hiding, she claims she did it for justice.

In Parole Examiner Lee, Chairman Ji, brought back to his lavish prison cell, yells at Eun-jung, his secretary, and Dong-hun, his legal aid, asking them to fix the mess and get Won-mi to withdraw her charges. He calls Lee, who is treating Seo-yun to some alcohol for her help. He asks why Lee decided to change sides, to which he responds that Chairman Ji had not been repenting and enjoying his time in jail with unfair privileges and hangs up.

Won-mi's statement earns her the title of Justice Girl Won-mi. Her new drama becomes top-ranking, and she starts getting advertisement offers.

Lee looked through videos of Jubong Holdings Investment fraud since Kim Bong-su, an accomplice of Park Hee-jun in the fraud, had applied for parole. In a flashback, the two are hosting their clients, and attending it is Choi Hwa-ran, the CEO of Smile Cash.

In the past, as an attorney, Lee had submitted evidence against Hwa-ran and had been warned. Now, to stop Bong-su's parole, he needed her help. In prison, Bong-su is attacked by one of his clients who he had scammed. Turning against the client, he stabs himself and puts the blame on him.

In this episode of Parole Examiner Lee, Lee visits Hwa-ran while she is trying to extract money. He offers to help her retrieve the money Hee-jun and Bong-su had scammed. Before she could get to them, the two were arrested, and she was unable to get her money back.

Seo-yun is keeping an eye on Choi Jeong-hak to stop him from hurting any more women. Dong-hun approaches Won-mi during her ad shoot. He has brought her flowers and a warning note along with it. She has to go with him unless she wants to die.

Lee talks to Bong-su before his parole review and tells him that he has few chances of being granted parole unless he does some reparation for the damages he has caused.

Chairman Ji tries to threaten Won-mi to drop the charges, but she stands her ground. He tries to pull her by the hair, but Dong-hun stops him, and she leaves. Outside the prison, she takes a deep breath and meets Lee. Though her legs are trembling, she feels great.

Hwa-ran gets a background check done on Lee and decides to accept his offer. She visits him and asks about his plan. Lee believes that Bong-su and Hee-jun have the money hidden somewhere. To get them to spill their secrets, he decides to create a gap between them.

He has Ji-soon follow Lee Dong-myeong, Hee-jun's fund manager. Finding a restaurant that he often visits, they decide to go there. Later, Lee visits Hee-jun as an attorney and tells him that Bong-su is on the parole review list and is planning on paying damages to the victims.

Hee-jun asks Dong-myeong to sell his car and settle the amount with the victims. He again visits the restaurant, making Lee and Ji-soon's hunch stronger.

While in Jeong-hak's case, Seo-yun gets a call from Lee. Lee calls her to the restaurant and complains about a violation of origin labeling. He also tells her that he believes Junbong Holding Investments' stolen money is being kept hidden in the restaurant.

The two show up in the restaurant under the pretense of checking the ingredients. What they find inside surprises them. Here, episode 3 of Parole Examiner Lee ends.

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The next episode of Parole Examiner Lee is scheduled to be released on November 26.