Netflix’s MERCY FOR NONE draws viewers into a brutal underworld where loyalty is fleeting, betrayal is routine, and blood is the currency of power. Adapted from the webtoon Plaza Wars: Mercy for None by O Se-hyung and Kim Gyun-tae, and penned for the screen by Yoo Ki-seong, the film unfolds in a shadowy version of Seoul run by two powerful syndicates—the Juwoon Group and the Bongsan Group.
At the heart of this gritty noir is Nam Gi-jun (played by So Ji-sub), a once-feared enforcer who gave up the life of crime—until his brother is murdered. MERCY FOR NONE doesn’t just tell a revenge tale—it lays bare the rot in a criminal empire built on lies, ambition, and bloodlines.
THE BLOODY POWER STRUGGLE IN SEOUL’S UNDERWORLD
The story kicks off as Lee Ju-woon (Huh Joon-ho), head of the Juwoon Group, selects Nam Gi-seok (Lee Jun-hyuk) as his successor. This move sparks instant tension with their rivals, the Bongsan Group, particularly Gu Jun-mo (Gong Myung), the reckless son of Bongsan’s chairman Gu Bong-san (Ahn Kil-kang).
Humiliated by a scolding from Gi-seok, Jun-mo retaliates in the most destructive way: he puts out a hit. What follows is Gi-seok’s murder in a parking garage, setting off a chain reaction that collapses the fragile peace between the Juwoon and Bongsan factions. Watching it all from the sidelines is Gi-jun—older brother, former enforcer, and a man determined to settle every score with absolute finality.
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE WAR
Years earlier, Seoul’s underworld was dominated by a single gang—Beomyeongdong—run by Chairman Oh. His two most trusted lieutenants were Lee Ju-woon and Gu Bong-san, and their muscle was Gi-jun, who kept the peace with swift violence. But everything fell apart when Oh’s son, Seung-won, plotted to eliminate Ju-woon and Bong-san.
The one who actually pulled the trigger? A young Gi-seok, manipulated by corrupt cop Cha Yeong-do (Cha Seung-won), alias Mr. Kim. Believing his brother was in danger, Gi-seok killed Seung-won. In the chaos that followed, Gi-jun orchestrated a coup, splitting the original gang into Juwoon and Bongsan. He took the blame for Seung-won’s death, cut his own Achilles tendon to prove he was done with violence, and vanished.
But the past, as Gi-jun learns, never stays buried.
THE PARKING GARAGE ASSAULT
Gi-seok’s death is first blamed on random criminals who took the job on a shadowy assassination app called The Graveyard. But the truth runs deeper. Gu Jun-mo, angry at being humiliated, had placed the order himself. Even worse, he wasn’t acting alone—he was part of a much larger conspiracy.
As Juwoon and Bongsan descend into open war, Gi-jun comes out of exile. Not for power. Not for respect. Just vengeance.
THE RETURN OF GI-JUN AND THE BODIES THAT FOLLOW
Gi-jun is no longer the man he used to be. Limping from his self-inflicted injury and far removed from the world he once ruled, he reenters the underworld like a ghost made of fury. He tracks down and kills Jun-mo, but even that doesn’t bring him peace. The deeper he digs, the more rotten the foundation becomes.
Chairman Gu is killed by Lee Ju-woon. Then Ju-woon is killed by Cha Yeong-do. And behind it all is the unlikeliest of villains: Lee Geum-son (Choo Young-woo), Ju-woon’s own son.
THE MASTER PLAN: WHO REALLY KILLED GI-SEOK?
Geum-son, raised to stay away from the underworld, secretly yearns to rule it. He joins forces with Yeong-do and orchestrates a plan to start a gang war. Gi-seok’s murder is the spark.
Geum-son orders the hit and enlists the assassin Shimane to make sure Gi-seok dies. The plan is to blame Jun-mo and use the resulting chaos to wipe out the old guard. With Ju-woon and Bong-san dead, Geum-son becomes the uncontested ruler. But he underestimates one thing: Gi-jun’s resolve.
GI-JUN’S FINAL SLAUGHTER
Gi-jun’s rampage takes him through everyone involved in his brother’s death. He kills Shimane. He finds and kills Yeong-do. Then, he finally reaches Geum-son.
Before delivering the killing blow, Gi-jun reveals he leaked an audio recording to the press—Yeong-do’s confession implicating Geum-son in Gi-seok’s murder. Geum-son has lost everything—his father, his reputation, and the empire he schemed so hard to control. He tries to take his own life, but Gi-jun won’t let him.
“You don’t get to die like that,” Gi-jun growls, and ends Geum-son himself.
THE ENDING OF MERCY FOR NONE EXPLAINED
After all the carnage, Gi-jun doesn’t seek redemption or victory. He returns to his quiet life running a camping site, bleeding from the wounds he’s earned in battle. Alone, he sits by the fire—remembering a conversation with his brother.
Just days before his death, Gi-seok had visited him. “Should I just come work with you here?” he asked. It was a fleeting dream, but a real one. In his brother’s belongings, Gi-jun finds books about camping, revealing that Gi-seok had truly considered leaving the criminal world behind.
But as Gi-jun knows too well—there’s no escaping that life once you’re in. His final act of vengeance wasn’t for power, but for peace—peace that he couldn’t find for himself, but maybe his brother would’ve had, if the world had been kinder.
Gi-jun dies, not a hero, not a monster—just a man who kept one last promise to his brother.
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