On Channel A‘s real-life detective drama ‘Detectives’ Trade Secrets’ corner ‘24 Hours’, the Seagull Detectives wrap up the ‘Famous Table Tennis Player with Disabilities Fraud Case’. Also, in the ‘Case Notebook’ corner, comedian Oh Ji-heon, ‘Sean of the comedy world’, appears and gets lost in the surprising story of a remarried family.

On the ‘24 Hours’ of Channel A‘s real-life detective drama ‘Detectives’ Trade Secrets’ aired on the 23rd, the Seagull Detectives confronted the grandfather who raised the famous table tennis player since elementary school and is a conman who embezzled all of the assets of a mentally disabled man. The grandfather, who walks by hanging from a rope from the ceiling, has already lost 30-40 million won in old-age pension, his aunt‘s money, and 6 million won in support from his grandmother who passed away 3 years ago. Defconn expressed his sorrow, saying, “I’ve dealt with many cases, but in all of them, the family suffers the most.” The grandfather said that he blocked her contacts due to her continued financial demands, but he expressed his unchanging affection, saying, “Please don‘t lie and live a good life. Don’t worry about us...” and tugging at our hearts.

The Seagull Detectives took note that, unlike the ‘self-harm photo’ and ‘grandfather‘s hospital bed photo’ of the famous table tennis player that were found to be stolen from the Internet, the ‘photo of the firefighter and police officer dispatched photo’ did not have the original copy online, and assumed that it was a real incident. The Seagull Detectives flew a drone, their secret weapon, to find the exact location of this photo, and found a house that met the conditions using the fence and tent in the photo as clues, drawing admiration.

The Seagull Detectives later met with the boyfriend of the table tennis player and were able to hear about her recent situation. He said, “We used to make money online, but we started gambling online. We kept fighting, and I’ve reported it to the police hundreds of times over the past five years.” He also said, “I’ve even broken my girlfriend’s laptop because of gambling.” He also revealed that his girlfriend left home two months ago. However, when he learned that she had touched her family’s money, including her grandfather’s pension, even the boyfriend expressed shock, saying, “I’m really disappointed… I thought I was responsible because I started playing games with her.” Meanwhile, the table tennis player, who found out that the detectives were chasing him, left a text message to his client threatening suicide and saying, “Don’t come looking for me.” However, news spread that he was in the process of paying off a small amount of the debt, and the case was closed with this.

Comedian Oh Ji-heon, a devoted ‘father of three daughters’ and known as the ‘Sean of the comedy world’ for his consistent volunteer work, appeared as a guest and watched the detective true story drama ‘Case Notes - My Daughter’s Secret’ together. The client for that day was a father who was receiving outpatient treatment for stomach cancer that relapsed after his divorce five years ago. He suspected ‘school violence’ of his third-year middle school daughter after seeing her attitude that had gotten significantly darker and bruises on her wrists, and came to the detective. The detective‘s close surveillance found nothing unusual during her school life. However, except for when her stepmother and father were present after remarrying three years ago, the mother-daughter relationship was cold, and abuse was suspected. The detective who contacted the daughter’s biological mother received a file recording the abuse by the stepmother from the biological mother. However, the detective realized that the file was a ‘fabricated’ recording, and the situation was reversed. In the end, the daughter confessed, “I did it so that mom and dad could live together”, and the bruises on her wrists were also made by her biological mother who suddenly visited her two months ago. Oh Ji-heon was shocked, saying, “My daughter was controlled by her biological mother. She gaslighted her”. Defcon nodded, saying, “Satan originally comes in sweetly”.

Afterwards, when the father‘s condition worsened and he was hospitalized, his ex-wife came to visit him in the hospital room. The ex-wife offered her ex-husband a deal, asking for the inheritance after death in exchange for raising her daughter. The daughter and the stepmother, who found out the truth about her biological mother from outside, were shocked. However, the stepmother informed her that she had used a ‘testamentary trust’ to return all the inheritance to her daughter. Also, the stepmother comforted her daughter, who was wiping away tears, saying, “I’ll be by your side,” which created a heartwarming atmosphere. Finally, the client in the story became a true family by suing the biological mother for child abuse and appointing the stepmother as the daughter’s minor guardian. Oh Ji-heon left his thoughts, saying, “I have friends around me who adopted children. If there were more people like that, wouldn’t the world become a warmer place?”

“Detectives’ Trade Secrets” airs every Monday at 9:30 p.m. on Channel A.

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com