ON Nov 13, 1970, tailor Jeon Tae-il committed self-immolation and ran down the streets of Seoul, shouting pro-labour slogans. Though he succumbed to his wounds later that day, Jeon’s death served as the catalyst for major labour rights reforms in the country. Almost six decades later, Tae-il reappears – fictionally – in Oh My Ghost Clients, becoming the catalyst for renewed awareness on labour rights in the comedy-drama series.
Following a series of poor decisions involving quitting his job, dumping his severance pay into cryptocurrency and then becoming a labour attorney in the belief it would lead to easy paychecks, No Mu-jin (Jung Kyung-ho) comes face-to-face with death due to an industrial accident while trying to scam a steelworks factory.
In the several seconds it takes for the accident to start and end, Mu-jin is transported to another realm, where he meets Bo-sal (Tang Jun-sang) – heavily implied to be Tae-il – who grants the labour attorney a chance to survive the accident but with a caveat.
Bo-sal presents Mu-jin with an employment contract that would not only grant him life, but also the ability to see the ghosts of those who perished due to labour infractions. In order to stave off death, Mu-jin would need to help these ghosts to solve their labour-related problems so that they can move on.
Aided by his sister-in-law Na Hee-joo (Seol In-ah) and her unofficial boyfriend Go Gyeon-woo (Cha Hak-yeon), Mu-jin begins helping these ghosts, starting with a student that died mysteriously while working at the factory.
