The Price of Confession ending explained: Who is the real killer of Lee Ki-dae and Se-hun?

Released on Netflix on December 5, 2025, The Price of Confession is a seven-episode Korean thriller written by Kwon Jong-kwan (Proof of Innocence) and directed by Lee Jung-hyo (Crash Landing on You, Romance Is a Bonus Book). 

The series stars Jeon Do-yeon as Ahn Yun-su, a soft-spoken art teacher wrongfully convicted of murdering her husband, painter Lee Ki-dae, and Kim Go-eun as the enigmatic inmate Mo Eun (real name Kang So-hae), who offers Yun-su a dangerous deal from behind bars.

The real killers are revealed in the finale: Choi Su-yeon, wife of Jin Yeong-in and a cellist, murdered Lee Ki-dae during an argument over a plagiarized painting he created, which the couple donated to the university. Jin Yeong-in killed Ko Se-hun to protect his wife and frame Yun-su, strangling the teen after Yun-su spared him and hiding the body.

After Yun-su is sentenced to life for stabbing Ki-dae in his studio, Mo Eun confesses to the crime in exchange for one condition: Yun-su must kill Ko Se-hun, the teenage son of a wealthy dentist couple whom Mo Eun already poisoned. Se-hun had sexually assaulted and filmed So-hae’s younger sister during the COVID lockdown.

The video went viral, but the family covered it up, and the sister later died by suicide. Stranded in Thailand and grieving, So-hae assumed the identity of her deceased friend Mo Eun to return to Korea and finish her revenge.

Supporting cast includes Park Hae-soo as Prosecutor Baek Dong-hun, Jin Seon-kyu as Yun-su’s lawyer Jang Jeong-gu, Choi Young-joon as Mo Eun’s attorney Jin Yeong-in and Han So-hee in a brief but pivotal role as Yeong-in’s wife, cellist Choi Su-yeon.

The Price of Confession ending explained: Two cold-blooded murders and a twisted revenge

The real killer of Lee Ki-dae is his wife, Choi Su-yeon, a cellist married to Jin Yeong-in. During an argument at Ki-dae's studio over a plagiarized painting, the couple discovered that Yeong-in had donated to the university, originally Ki-dae's work that Yeong-in had passed off as his wife's. Su-yeon snaps. 

She smashes a wine bottle on his head and stabs him with a studio knife. Yeong-in arrives, stages the scene to frame Yun-su by planting evidence and harassing Ki-dae beforehand to create a narrative of stalking.

For Ko Se-hun, the killer is Jin Yeong-in. After Yun-su confronts Se-hun but lets him go, faking his death with a photo, Yeong-in ambushes the teen at an abandoned site.

Motivated to protect his wife and bury their crime, Yeong-in strangles Se-hun, hides the body in a freezer, and uses doctored webcam footage to implicate Yun-su again.

A hidden video from a schoolboy captures the murder, which is later key to exposing him.

The series opens with Ki-dae's murder. Yun-su discovers him bleeding out, her hands covered in blood as she tries to stop it. Police arrive, and Prosecutor Baek fixates on her: the knife has her prints, texts suggest marital strife, and a hooded figure she glimpsed matches no one.

Convicted quickly, she's sent to prison, separated from her daughter.

There, Mo Eun, a witch, communicates with Yun-Su through a wall crack. Mo Eun already poisoned a dentist couple and is waiting for trial. She knows details about Ki-dae’s murder that were never made public and offers to confess if Yun-su kills the couple’s son, Ko Se-hun.

Flashbacks show why: during COVID, teenager Se-hun assaulted So-hae’s younger sister So-mang at a villa party, filmed it and posted it online, then used family money to bury the case. So-mang hanged herself. Their father followed. So-hae, stuck in Thailand, found her friend Mo Eun dead from COVID, burned the body, and took her passport to come home.

Yun-su accepts the deal to see her daughter again. Mo Eun confesses on live TV, the case reopens, and Yun-su is released on bail. She tracks Se-hun, corners him in an empty arcade, but can’t stab him. She takes a fake “dead body” photo instead and sends it to Mo Eun.

Soon, Se-hun's mutilated body surfaces, footage pointing back to Yun-su. She flees, uploads a partial online confession demanding answers and enlists lawyer Jang for help.

Baek, haunted by his rush to convict, reexamines evidence. Yun-su attends Ki-dae's art retrospective, spotting a photo linking him to Yeong-in.

Digging reveals the donated painting's origins: Yeong-in stole Ki-dae's design for Su-yeon's faltering career, pressuring Ki-dae to stay silent. Harassment calls trace to Yeong-in, building the frame job.

Mo Eun, suspecting Yeong-in's involvement, shares clues from prison visits. Se-hun's grandfather, suspecting Yun-su, shares evidence with Yeong-in, who manipulates it. The boy’s video surfaces via Mo Eun's contacts, showing Yeong-in's attack on Se-hun right after Yun-su leaves.

In the finale, Yun-su and escaped Mo Eun confront Yeong-in at the studio. He's destroying a printing plate with Su-yeon's fingerprint. Yeong-in confesses to the cover-up, blaming reputation over guilt.

Chaos erupts as Mo Eun stabs him fatally, but he wounds her. She bleeds out, telling Yun-su it's for her second chance at life. Police arrive; Baek corroborates with the video and plate remnants.

Yun-su is cleared of Ki-dae's murder but gets a two-year suspended sentence for the conspiracy with Mo Eun. Su-yeon was questioned, and she blamed it all on the deceased Yeong-in; her prints were explained away as a visit.

Lacking direct proof, she walks free, her status shielding her. Baek vows to pursue but knows the odds.

The credits roll as Yun-su moves to Thailand with her daughter, leaving Mo Eun's watch at a beach, a tribute to So-hae's losses. The ending highlights the fact that justice is often incomplete: truths surface, but power often evades accountability.

Stream The Price of Confession on Netflix; all episodes are available since December 5, 2025.

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