Episode 4 – Confession

A beacon of hope.

Assemblyman Oh Yeong-Seok was found alive two days after the bombing.

Blue House attacked!

In the Blue House, Sec. Cha shows Pres. Park his approval ratings which bothered him since he doesn’t want to run for presidency. Sec. Cha tells him they can’t do anything about it and that he likes it because it reflects his leadership. No matter what Pres. Park wants, he will be considered a presidential candidate.

The lights suddenly went out and they were informed that the Blue House is under cyber attack. NSC gathered for a meeting and a video made by North Koreans confessing to the bombing and the cyber attack was revealed.

Is the video authentic?

Jeong Han-Mo confirms that the person on the video is indeed North Korean. However, North Korean government still denies being involved with both attacks. Pres. Park orders the NIS and military to locate the man on the video and prohibits the video from being leaked.

Park Mu-Jin’s confession.

Pres. Park confesses to Sec. Jung that he was worried about himself when he saw the video. For the first time, he seems to have strong interest in keeping his position as President.

I lost everything.

Han Na-Kyung interviews Assemblyman Oh. He claims he doesn’t remember anything pertinent about the bombing. He seems to dislike being called a miracle because he lost a lot of people he cared about in the bombing – his sunbaes, friends, and colleagues – the people he spent most of his time with.

Honesty is my political stance.

Pres. Park shares the video with Rep. Oh and she gives him a lesson about politics. She tells him that if it was her, she would have revealed the video and use the fear to control people. Representative Oh calls Reporter Woo and urges her to take advantage of a situation.

Search and Rescue Team packs up.

Han Na-Kyung realizes that Assemblyman Oh was found on the opposite side of where he claims to have been when the bomb exploded. She shares the information to her hoobae at NIS, Seo Ji-Won. They found a video recording that Assemblyman Oh was seated where he claimed to be, however, 1 minute and 35 seconds of the video is missing. (We all know a lot can happen even is this short amount of time.) Han Na-Kyung urges Seo Ji Won to do illegal surveillance. They found a picture proving that Assemblyman Oh knew that the bombing was going to happen.

That’s an order.

Gen. Lee offers black ops in order to catch the man on the video alive. Pres. Park declines to send anybody without the consent of Cambodia’s government – firmly. Gen. Lee decides to disobey him.

President Park goes live.

The presidential secretaries are nervous about the live interview. Sec. Cha warns Reporter Woo about putting the president on the spot by asking questions not on the list. He also tells Pres. Park privately that honesty is weakness and people will only use it to attack him.

The interview goes by smoothly. Pres. Park declines to reveal if he will be running for presidency. As it comes to a close, Reporter Woo asks him a surprising question – if it is true that the previous President fired him before the bombing. Sec. Cha tries to stop it from being aired but fails.

Everyone waits for him to answer. It seems like everyone had a hand in this – Representative Yun for putting Reporter Woo into it and Director Kim Dan who allowed the live interview in favor of Mayor Kang.

True to his political stance – President Park goes with honesty and admitted the truth.

Sigh. So now we wait…

I like decisive people – I try to be decisive myself. I prefer being a follower than being a leader. And I have to say if I’m a character in this drama, I wouldn’t follow him either. Pres. Park has been firm with most of his decisions however his overall demeanor shows incompetence and lack of confidence. But this only makes me expect more from this drama because I want to see how they can make him THE leader that everyone will be rooting for.

Until next week…

Episode 2 – Maintaining Status Quo

A fish out of water – Park Mu-Jin struggles to learn the ropes of his new role. Last week, even though he’s shown how smart he was by successfully stopping conflict between both Koreas, it doesn’t really prove his capability as a politician.

While Pres. Park’s family gets settled into the Blue House, the First Lady finds out she’s losing her freedom. Sec. Jung joins the presidential secretariat as per Pres. Park’s request.

Due to Sec. Cha’s pep talk, Kim Nam Wook takes over press briefings (because his sunbae was basically useless) and was able to calm the press. Afterwards, that stupid sunbae gave him shit for being a North Korean defector but he also got through that because he’s a cool guy. (This character is starting to shine. He was introduced as a gutsy guy and now they’re starting to show what his role eventually is going to be in Pres. Park’s regime.)

In a meeting, Sec. Han lost it when the secretaries start bombarding the acting president with a lot of issues and he kicks them all out. It shows that he owns the Blue House. Pres. Park declares he only wishes to finish his duty as a citizen and will go back to his old life once the 60 days are over.

Han Na-Kyung finds a possible lead on the bombing – the internet wires were used as bomb detonators. She tracks down the contractor who installed them and remembers that he’s the guy who switched her fiancee’s cellphone. After a skirmish and chase, they cornered him at a rooftop. However, he tries to escape by hanging on to the electric wire which only electrocutes and kills him.

Trouble brews in Seoul as scared citizens attacks the North Korean defectors’s communities. Pres. Candidate Kang Sang-Gu takes the opportunity to control people and discriminate against North Koreans. One of the defectors affected by Kang Sang-gu’s war against crime is the First Lady’s client.

Scared of getting judged and affecting her husband’s work, the First Lady was not able to help her client. She decides to join her husband and visit the search and rescue area. She convinces her husband to do something about Kang Sang-gu’s police task force instead.

Pres. Park gives a speech in front of the people that was cut short by his security personnel who dragged him away. They thought his life was in danger when a guy suddenly tried to approach him but later they found a banner instead of a gun.

Pres. Park tries to convince Kang Sang-gu to disband his police force but failed. Yoon Chan-Kyung gives him a tip to make Kang yield since he failed to convince him.

The First Lady tells Pres. Park that her client died because she was not able to give her medicine. She blames herself and the President for not doing anything. Not knowing what to do, Pres. Park spent his night studying the constitution but still unable to find the answer.

His duty as Acting President to maintain the status quo means that he can’t issue orders that will change things up. Even so, Pres Park still decided to go with issuing an executive order with the excuse that discriminating against North Koreans was not ordered before he took over.

Sec Han was against it and said that Pres Park should fire him first in order to go through with it because nobody will follow him if he’s around. And so, Pres Park fires Sec Han.

Sec Han points out that what Pres Park did is the right way to use authority and questions him whether he still does not want power.

Frustrated, Sec Cha once again pushes Kim Nam-Wook to step up and become Press Secretary since he’s the only one who can do it. So Press Sec Kim steps in front of the journalists and cameras and announced that Pres Park released an executive order to shut down the police task force discriminating against North Korean defectors.

Meanwhile, they find a survivor in the rubble …

Episode 1 – The Acting President

In the absence of the president or if the president is unable to perform the presidential duties, the prime minister or lawfully chosen cabinet member shall be acting president.

Article 71, The Constitution of the Republic of Korea

While on the road, Park Mu-jin, his wife Choi Kang-Yeon and his son Park Si-Wan, witnesses the explosion of the National Assembly building in Seoul. His daughter, Park Si Jin, is inside the building so he runs toward the building as fast as he can.

Flashback to 9AM – The day of the attack

The officers and the President prepares for the State of the Union Address. The President Yang Jin Man jokes about his single digit approval rating and told his secretary, Gang-ho, to stop worrying about polls and approval ratings after the State of the Union Address since it’s just embarrassing for them.

The State Minister of Political Affairs Sin Seong Jun approaches Secretary Cha and urges him to get a copy of the President’s speech. Secretary Cha expresses his disgust and declines. Sin Seong Jun tells Secretary Cha that the President’s boat is sinking – meaning they’re about to lose to the opposition.

The President and Secretary Han talks about his regime and FTA negotiations. The President gets upset because Secretary Han implies that he should stay put and not do anything because he wants him to stop getting hurt. Secretary Han tells the president that he can go ahead and change history but his main priority remains to be the president.

Chief of Economic Affairs Gu Yong-Wan and Secretary Cha is in Park Mu-Jin’s offices requesting for the environmental standards of vehicles from the US to be lowered. While the two are talking, Park Mu-jin just focuses on his calculator and the documents while looking uncomfortable with his shoes. He declines to share his water bottle saying that a contaminated water bottle will no longer be recyclable just a regular garbage. As Park Mu-Jin prepares to leave for a meeting, Secretary Cha tells him that if the negotiation falls off he will be held responsible. Park Mu-Jin then just points out that their data or math is incorrect before leaving the room.

On the way to the meeting, his secretary Jung Su-Jong expresses her disappointment with the president for threatening Mu-Jin’s job when he’s the one who appointed him as a Minister of Environment. Park Mu-Jin just remains quiet.

Gu Yong-Wan and Secretary Cha talks during the press conference. Secretary Cha thinks that Park Mu-Jin will follow their wishes because he will be scared to lose his job just after six months since his appointment. They called Park Mu-Jin “Cinderella” since the president appointed him as minister even though he doesn’t have any political background.

During the FTA conference, the US wants Korea to open their agriculture and livestock market as well which triggers negative response from the South Koreans. The US representative wants to halt the negotiations because they felt insulted. Park Mu-Jin suddenly decides to speak and points out that the EPA calculations is incorrect. While trying to clarify his point, he accidentally sprays fine dust to the US representative. (The first funny scene on this drama. I hope it’s not the last.)

Jung Su-Jong finds out from Secretary Cha that Park Mu-Jin’s video went viral. She finds Park Mu-Jin to tell him that the president is looking for him. She also tells him that she found the incident in the conference funny and that she’s too good of an adviser to fall for his lame acting. (Wait, what? Is she saying he did that on purpose?)

Unexpectedly, the President praises Park Mu-Jin because of the positive reactions from the citizens to his viral video. Although, afterwards, he tells him to just sign the agreement allowing US vehicles that are below environmental standards. (He really intends to make him his puppet.) Park Mu-Jin points out that the calculations were incorrect. (He said a lot of jargon afterwards which basically explains why he thinks their calculation is incorrect.) He tells the president that the reason why he voted for him was because he’s someone he can trust but now he’s asking him to lie. He stood firm on his beliefs and so the president fires him.

Park Mu-Jin looks back to six months ago when the President appointed him as a minister. The president gave him dress shoes to wear saying once he becomes comfortable in them and get calluses he would be a true politician.

In Park Mu-Jin’s office, he tells Jung Su-Jong that he appreciates all her hard work. (Is he saying goodbye?) He looks around and reminisces about his memories in his office. Then afterwards changes to his comfortable clothes and shoes. (This is symbolic for me because it means that he’s going back to his comfort zone.) He then calls his wife and offered to pick her up while driving away.

Park Mu-Jin meets his wife and son in front of the school. He sees the bruise on his son’s face and expresses his concern but his son just treats him coldly. His wife basically tells him that it’s his karma because he’s a bad parent. (I’m not liking her already.)

The president gives his speech and declares that the war between the North and South Korea is over. They are signing the peace treaty. Then the explosion happens.

Park Mu-Jin finds his daughter unconscious while being carried by a fireman. His wife goes with their daughter in the ambulance and he is left with his son. As he consoles him, a couple of presidential security service personnel approaches him and escorts him inside the conference room.

Han Na-Kyung sees the news about the explosion while trying out a wedding dress. She rushes to the scene carrying a silver briefcase. She introduces herself as a member of NIS Terrorism Task Force and starts investigating. Jeong Han-Mo the NIS Terrorism Task Force Chief comes in and tells her that nothing will change even if they catch the culprit. He says that the task force should have prevented this from happening.

Han Na-Kyung can’t contact her fiance, Kim Jun-O, so she calls someone from the NIS to track him.

Park Mu-Jin arrives at the blue house with his son where the people separates them. On his way in, the chaos overwhelms him. Secretary Cha tells him that it has been confirmed that the president is dead along with prime minister, house speaker, the ministers and the cabinet members. The only survivor in the line of succession is PARK MU-JIN. (Let that sink in.)

Secretary Han greets Park Mu-Jin and introduces the secretaries who will be assisting him. He then proceeds to announce him as the ACTING PRESIDENT! (Freeze!)

Han Na-Kyung’s beau is confirmed to be at the scene of explosion as per his cellphone’s GPS. Meanwhile, the investigators find another bomb.

Secretary Han tells Park Mu-Jin that he is acting president for 60 days before the next presidential election. He also hands him a document to sign – the declaration of martial law – and he signs it!!! (Intense!)