The Art of Negotiation ending explained (Image Via Instagram/@jtbcdrama) — The Art of Negotiation ending explained (Image via Instagram/@jtbcdrama)

The Art of Negotiation ending explained and season 2 renewal possibilities explored: Did Yoon Joo-no expose Ha Tae-soo's corruption successfully?

Modified Apr 13, 2025 23:00 GMT

The Art of Negotiation starring Lee Je-hoon, Kim Dae-myung, Sung Dong-il, and more, aired its episodes 11 and 12 on April 12 and 13, 2025, respectively on JTBC. The Art of Negotiation is a drama about Yoon Joo-no, a merger and acquisition expert who returned to Sanin Group to help the conglomerate pay off an 11 trillion KRW debt.

In the final episode of the show, Yoon Joo-no successfully exposed CFO Ha Tae-soo (Jang Hyun-sung) for stock manipulation. As a result, Ha Tae-soo was fired.

The final scene of the drama showcased Ha Tae-soo's comeback at Sanin Group in a new role, leaving all the executives, the chairman, and Yoon Joo-no in shock. This further raised the probability of the show's renewal for season 2. However, JTBC has yet to confirm this.

The Art of Negotiation ending explained: Yoon Joo-no makes an anonymous complaint against himself

In episode 11 of The Art of Negotiation, the audit team of Sanin did a cease and search on Yoon Joo-no for stock trading through undisclosed information. He was subsequently suspended.

Yoon Joo-no was accused of purchasing stocks worth 10 billion KRW. The audit team also received a complaint, which had the invitation of Jumbo Pharma's board meeting for Yoon Joo-no, who had 50,000 shares in the company. It was later revealed that Yoon Joo-no was the one who made an anonymous complaint with the shareholders meeting invitation against himself.

Ha Tae-soo's alibi

A few years back, when Ha Tae-soo was the director of the M&A department, he suggested that Sanin Group invest in Jumbo Pharma.

After Yoon Joo-no was suspended in the present, he made up a story in front of the chief of HR that the CEO of Jumbo Pharma came up to him asking for investment funds and even tried to bribe him. In reality, Jumbo Pharma CEO offered Ha Tae-soo stocks worth 10 billion KRW, and he had accepted the deal.

Ha Tae-soo pushed Yoon Joo-no to confirm the deal with Jumbo Pharma for investment. Yoon Joo-no made an early report based on documents and gave a green signal for investment.

However, he did further research and learned the company was running a scam. He made the second report, but Ha Tae-soo had already purchased the stocks, and as soon as he saw the report, he sold the stocks immediately.

The same day, he went to Director Lee, saying that Sanin Group must make an immediate press release denying making any investment with Jumbo Pharma, and played the hero who saved the group from a foreseen crisis.

Yoon Jae-seok's involvement

Still from The Art of Negotiation (Image Via Instagram/@jtbcdrama)

It was previously shown in The Art Of Negotiation that Yoon Jae-seok purchased stocks worth 100 million KRW at Jumbo Pharma after learning confidential information from his brother. Yoon Joo-no.

However, in reality, Jumbo Pharma CEO visited Yoon Joo-no with 100 million KRW in cash for the latter, who had been helping him with the investment from Sanin Group. He refused to take the money

Yoon Jae-seok once visited Yoon Joo-no's house and accidentally saw Jumbo Pharma-related documents. He believed that his brother's workplace was investing in the company, and so it would be alright to purchase its stocks. Yoon Jae-seok, a banker, illegally used a huge chunk of money, which was supposed to be given as a loan to a business, to purchase stocks.

Yoon Joo-no learned about this and stopped him, saying they will not be making any investments and that he should sell his stocks as soon as possible. However, Yoon Jae-seok hesitated. He sold out the stocks only to repurchase them again a few minutes later. Notably, the repurchased stocks were the ones sold by Ha Tae-soo on the same day.

As soon as the press release by Sanin Group was out, Jumbo Pharma's stock price fell down rapidly, and Yoon Jae-seok was unable to resell it. He took his life as a consequence. Yoon Joo-no adopted Yoon Jae-seok's daughter and took his inheritance. With this, Yoon Joo-no also had to repay Yoon Jae-seok's debt.

Yoon Joo-no's disciplinary meeting

In the final episode of The Art of Negotiation, Yoon Joo-no accepted the allegations for disclosing information about Jumbo Pharma to Yoon Jae-seok. Yoon Joo-no did not agree to the accusation of purchasing stocks with 10 billion KRW and instead accused Ha Tae-soo of stock manipulation.

With a senior's help, Yoon Joo-no found the laptop of Jumbo Pharma's CEO, revealing Ha Tae-soo's connection with the stock manipulation.

The Art of Negotiation season 2 renewal possibilities

In the final episode of The Art of Negotiation, Ha Tae-soo asked Yoon Joo-no if he blamed him for his brother's death. Yoon Joo-no replied with a "no." However, it was shown that after his brother's funeral, Yoon Joo-no believed Yoon Jae-seok died because of him.

Following the disciplinary meeting, Yoon Joo-no started preparing for the executives' meeting, where he would reveal future plans of repaying the company's debt.

He insisted the chairman also attend the meeting as PPF CEO David would also attend. At the meeting, David revealed that they recently hired a new director and wanted to introduce him to Sanin Group. It was Ha Tae-soo, surprising everyone at the meeting. Ha Tae-soo became Sanin Group's debtor as a PPF director.

The cliffhanger of Yoon Joo-no almost started to explain the future plan. This hints at the chances of a second season. JTBC and the production team of The Art of Negotiation have yet to comment on this.

Meanwhile, The Art of Negotiation is available on Prime Video in limited regions, and on Viki for streaming.

About the author

Inaas is a pop culture writer covering K-drama and K-pop at Sportskeeda. She graduated from the University of Mumbai with a degree in Mass Media, specializing in Journalism. Her love for the Korean entertainment industry started in college and shaped her assignments, eventually leading her to pursue a career as a Korean pop culture writer.

She previously worked as a Community Manager and oversaw more than 50 K-Content creators for an audio app. She has also had the pleasure of interviewing members of famous K-pop groups including BLACKSWAN, UNIS, and actors like Lee Se-young, Um Tae-goo, as part of her ongoing work at Sportskeeda.

Inaas believes in setting aside her biases and verifying news from credible sources when reporting on any topic. She also ensures she takes all the sides of a story into account and crafts holistic articles.

She loves BTS & SEVENTEEN and admires their passion, which continues to inspire her as an individual and a professional. If given a chance to go back in time, she would like to be a part of the famous Korean drama "Reply 1988," since it feels incredibly personal to her due to its portrayal of friendship dynamics.

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