The Witness () is a 2018 South Korean crime thriller film directed by Jo Kyu-jang. It stars Lee Sung-min, Kim Sang-ho, Jin Kyung and Kwak Si-yang. It was released theatrically in South Korea on August 15, 2018. The film is about a man who witnesses a murder and takes no action on what he has seen.
One night at his apartment, Sang-Hoon hears a woman's scream. He looks outside his apartment and sees Tae-Ho hitting a woman with a hammer. Sang-Hoon and Tae-Ho then make direct eye contact. Too terrified of what he saw, Sang-Hoon does not call the police for fear of retaliation from the killer. The next day, that woman is found dead. Detective Jae-Yeob investigates the case. Sang-Hoon is still terrified and does not tell Detective Jae-Yeob about what he witnessed. Soon, another resident who witnessed the same murder is killed by Tae-Ho. Sang-Hoon tries to protect himself and his family from the murderer.
Eventually, Jae-Yeob manages to track down the killer but he needs Sang-Hoon as witness to formally arrest him but he refuses out of fear. However, after the third witness is beaten to near death, Sang-Hoon breaks down and confesses witnessing the murder and willing to testify. Jae-Yeob and the police get the green light to arrest Tae-Ho but he escapes and hunt down Sang-hoo and his family. Sang-hoo's wife manages to fend off the killer, causing Sang-hoon to chase Tae-Ho through the forest. As they scuffle with each other, a downpour sweeps them under with Sang-hoon escapes while Tae-Ho is impaled by a tree branch and dies.
As Sang-hoon is recovering in the hospital, Jae-Yeob reveals that the police discovers a mass grave of Tae-Ho's past victims and they unable to find out his motives for killing. At the end of the movie, Sang-hoon and his family move out of the apartment but not before he yells out for help near the apartment to remind the people that "evil prevail when good men fail to act".
Principal photography began on September 23, 2017. Production ended in Paju of Gyeonggi Province on December 20, 2017.
The film released theatrically in South Korea on August 15, 2018, with age 15-rating. The Witness was released on VOD by Next Entertainment World on September 8, 2018.
The film attracted more than 360,000 moviegoers on its first day of release and finished third, behind The Spy Gone North and '. However, the film managed to top the box office on its second day of release. According to the Korean Film Council, the film surpassed one million moviegoers in four days.
On August 24, 2018, the film reached its break-even point, with more than 1.8 million moviegoers having watched the film. After finishing first during its first weekend, the film dropped to second place during its second weekend, trailing behind On Your Wedding Day. The film had a 45% drop in gross during its second weekend, earning from 433,006 attendance. During its third weekend, the film dropped to fifth place by attracted 102,080 moviegoers with gross, 77% lower gross compared to second weekend. The film dropped to ninth place during its fourth weekend.
As of September 10, the film attracted 2,515,758 admissions with gross.