Original subtitles

Hey!

Cha Taemin, aged 25

What're you doing? Huh?

Get up, you little brat. Huh? Huh?

Hey, you little shit! Get up!

Why are you hitting a kid?

Hey.

I told you. Stay out of it.

What?

Get back to work, asshole.

You little shit. Cut it out. Get outta my face!

Piece of shit.

Go!

A few of them ran away toward the ocean.

This one died while running.

- Get rid of him. - Yes, sir.

Hey, Cha Taemin.

Cha Taemin!

Throw him out.

Hurry up, just do it.

Hey, where are you going?

Hey! Where are we going? Wait!

Kang Seongmin, aged 16

The Sineui Alliance opposes the authorities and powers

that oppress our people and our nation.

"The Sineui Alliance opposes the authorities and powers

that oppress our people and our nation."

The Sineui Alliance fights against injustice.

Our violence is a necessary evil.

"The Sineui Alliance

does not hold power over others for personal gain.

We condemn philosophies, people, and groups

who monopolize authority and power.

We'll prepare the weapons and violence needed to enact this.

Proponents of suppression and persecution…

will feel the wrath of the Sineui Alliance."

It's the Sineui Alliance Code of Conduct that 16-year-old Kang Seongmin wrote.

You remember it?

Uh…

Kang…

Seongmin…

…is the Sineui Alliance's final target.

No, wait! Just wait!

Give me a chance.

- What kind of chance? - Whatever it is,

I'll do it well.

Whatever it is, I'll do a good job, hyung.

I can't…

I can't just die here.

Why should I?

Taemin, please!

You've got one chance.

I have my eye on you.

Uncle Samsik

Uncle Samsik

The Simmering Furnace

March 15, 1960 Masan, South Korea

Hey, what do you think you're doing?

- Hey, you need to settle down. - Wait, what are you doing?

- Get outta here. - What's going on?

- You need to get out of here! - Hey, what do you think you're doing?

Hey, you can't be taking pictures. No photographs!

Look at these! These all have been pre-filled out, haven't they? Huh?

-Hey, you can't be doing that! - Let go! This is a fraudulent election!

These ballots are already filled out!

- Stop, you assholes! - Stop right there!

Hello, sir.

Yes, the protests… the protests are getting more and more violent.

People who haven't received their ballots are out fighting and going crazy.

And the Democratic Party Masan branch declared the election results invalid.

Hey, hey, hey, Woojin.

Get yourself back here if it's dangerous out there.

I don't want you to stay there, okay?

Yes, sir, I'll head back soon.

Yes, sir.

Seodaemun-go, Seoul

- Let's go. - Let's vote.

Let's vote, all right?

I'm within my rights to be here. Come on!

Let me vote!

Come on, let us vote!

- Watch out. Be careful. - Okay.

Dongdaemun-go, Seoul

Come on, hurry.

Sail Bakery

Jongno-go, Seoul

The series of public disturbances in Masan, Daegu, and Yeosu,

were the actions of rebellious forces following orders from the North,

in an attempt to invalidate the presidential election.

The press must refrain from publishing any unconfirmed details

before the facts of the matter have been verified,

for the sake of the nation.

That's all.

I'm not taking any more questions.

Somewhere near Seoul

Under maintenance

Come on.

I said I'm not taking questions.

Those cops that Pak Jiwook called upon. You know where they are, don't you?

I just need an address.

An address?

Thank you, sir.

Move outta the way!

Get out.

- What the hell? - Get out.

Hurry up! Get out, asshole!

- Leave the ballots and go. - Huh?

I'll let you walk away.

You fucking asshole!

Hey.

You fucking asshole!

You fucking asshole!

Why did you kill Haejun?

You fucking asshole!

What the fuck?

I'm sorry.

I sincerely apologize.

I never intended to kill him.

I'm very sorry.

I'm so sorry.

Stop taking orders from Uncle Samsik.

We're taking the ballot boxes.

Come here.

Come here!

What the fuck?

Fucking asshole!

They're sure it was Cha Taemin?

Why did he… How did he do it?

Call the National Security Bureau…

No, wait. Wait, wait.

I'll put Pak Jiwook's lackeys on it instead.

No one can know anything about this. Huh?

- Where're you going? - Oh, just…

Something urgent has come up.

What is it?

Cha Taemin has stolen the ballot boxes…

- Are you serious? - Yeah.

Why didn't you notify the Democratic Party?

You just watched them steal the ballot boxes?

Samsik had already done what he wanted.

I didn't think stealing the ballot boxes would…

would really affect the outcome of the election.

Why would he do that?

I bet… I bet he'll give the story to the press.

If the press gets wind of this, it'll cause a riot.

Hanmin has…

he's repositioned troops on behalf of General Choi Hanrim.

Hanmin did that on his own?

Yes. He's gonna make a move. I have a feeling.

He's meeting with General Jang later. What do I do?

That's not true. It's completely absurd.

It was Kim San's idea to meet with Jang Doosik.

He was the one suggesting we stage a coup if the…

if the Democratic Party ever lost the election.

Field grade officers are incredibly dissatisfied.

This is not something anyone can shut down.

Doesn't matter if it's politics or the military,

all the people in power are idiots.

And General Jang?

Jang Doosik's an opportunist. Hmm?

He'll be fine on his own.

All we're doing is using him.

San.

I intend

to make a new world for you.

Just convince General Choi and the Albright Foundation for me. Yeah?

Okay?

The commanders who are already committed

are not gonna back down easily.

What about General Choi?

General Choi has not completely lost interest in this, but he…

he's concerned that if the Democrats win the election

then it won't be justified.

That's what I'm saying.

Justification's crucial with these things.

Yes, but sir, we make the justification.

General.

Are you satisfied commanding the Capital Defense Unit?

General Choi possesses none of the, uh… the courage to do great things.

General, you just say the word.

We're determined…

to make you the country's next president.

Got a cigarette?

You think I believed those guys?

I know exactly what those brats think of me.

I didn't know Hanmin would say such things.

That's a load of shit.

All I did was do what Kim San told me to.

He said we gotta convince Jang,

because he needed Capital Defense on our side.

We need General Choi Hanrim right now.

Right, sir, we do.

Get him to the bunker, all right?

Let's try to convince him.

We mobilize the troops if it doesn't work.

Yes.

I'll make sure to have him standing by.

Can you really just overlook

the death of a colleague?

We were all compensated.

You asshole.

Well, then how do you propose we catch Taemin?

Uncle Samsik…

Find Cha Taemin.

Hey, Oh Inwoo is in here.

Is he having a drink to clear his head?

Cha Taemin will turn up somewhere in the vicinity of the press tonight.

Contact me if he shows.

Kill him if we can?

You just call me first.

What if we die trying to take him alive?

Just spread out and call me if you see him!

Aemin Daily, Politics Department.

Yeojin.

Choo Yeojin speaking.

I killed Choo Intae.

- Are you listening? - Is this Cha Taemin?

Tell me where you are. I wanna meet right now.

Sinhwa Daily

Hyubryeok Daily

Aemin Daily

The 55th Howitzers, the 3rd Marines, and 12th Airborne Brigade

will move into the capital region.

Capital Defense can block roads around the Han River.

If they do, our mission will be a success.

How's the opposition?

The only unit that can mobilize within half a day is

the 15th Division.

In 12 hours, it'll be done.

By which point, our troops will have already been deployed.

They should… stand by for now.

General Choi, doing that could compromise our plans.

Let's wait to see the election results.

You've made up your mind, right?

There's no turning back now.

I'll never turn back.

So you've convinced General Choi Hanrim?

Yes, that's correct.

What made him change his mind?

His mind didn't actually change.

It was my mind that changed.

I don't think he's coming.

Let's go back.

Give it a minute.

Some people have been tailing us for a while now.

- Who? - I don't know.

I'll lead them away from here. Let's meet back at the office.

Okay.

Dammit.

We'll mobilize the troops even if we don't have

General Choi's permission.

The Reconstruction Bureau.

Have you given up on it?

No, we'll establish it.

If you're able to help us.

You see…

I never trusted those politicians anyway.

Don't you see what happened?

Kim San set everything up from the very beginning.

Who would think to exploit General Choi like that?

He's the only one.

So what does the Albright Foundation actually do?

South Korean politics, society, culture,

economics, etcetera, etcetera.

Everything you can think of.

Didn't you write a piece about South Korean politics?

I wrote about South Korea's inability to be a democracy.

That's no fun.

I've also drafted a Korea-US Economic Agreement.

The Korean government didn't like it.

It probably favored the US.

Well, it's Korea's loss.

You can't have dessert without eating your vegetables.

How else will they ever grow strong?

South Korea…

isn't capable of becoming a democracy.

You know that.

Let's follow General Choi's lead…

and do our best to save this nation.

I'll do what it takes.

We're out of time at this point.

Petron Harvest has sent

a secondary team to investigate the Philippines.

There's a chance that everything we put our effort into will disappear.

How much longer will Korea be held back by political problems?

Neither the Liberals nor the Democrats have any sort of future.

Would it, uh, would it be all right if I…

…if I told Uncle Samsik about our meeting?

Sure, go ahead.

I appreciate that.

Shit.

What?

Why are you chasing me right now?

Where's Cha Taemin?

- You're meeting him, aren't you? - Cha Taemin?

Ah… Yeah, we had a drink earlier. I guess you guys must've missed that.

You should be more observant.

Shit.

Choo Yeojin.

Have you seen Choo Yeojin?

Head over to Aemin Daily.

I'll give Uncle Samsik a call.

Okay.

Uncle Samsik wants to make Kang Seongmin the Prime Minister.

Is there even a chance for reform?

I'm not sure to be honest.

Parliamentary reform is unfeasible.

I've told my father as much too.

Everyone dreams of having absolute power.

But…

if you had the power to be Prime Minster after reform,

wouldn't you rather become president?

Is that what you want?

It's what my father wanted.

I didn't want it.

So why did you wanna meet me today?

Well, I was curious about Kim San.

Could you be more useful to me than Kang Seongmin?

It would take forever to become an assemblyman,

then a minister, and do everything you want.

If Choi Hanrim becomes our next president,

you can do all of it as soon as next week.

That's what you want, isn't it?

Yes, that's right.

You are far better than Kang Seongmin is.

I appreciate that.

May I smoke?

You knew about Kang killing my brother, didn't you?

An Kichul. He already knew

everything that Kang Seongmin and Uncle Samsik had done.

What the hell is this?

The whole thing was Kim San's idea.

Rachael Jeong was used by Kim San! It was all him!

That day, after meeting An Kichul,

he came to me, he was terrified.

Kim San did?

Kim San came to you terrified?

He was trembling all over.

It wasn't because I was afraid of An Kichul.

I felt that the world was changing.

I could sense the oncoming crash of massive waves

that couldn't be stopped by anyone.

Every time I felt like that, I wanted to see Uncle Samsik.

You see, he's a person…

that's decisive and full of confidence.

He's unshakable.

Every time I felt uneasy…

I would go find Uncle Samsik.

Uncle Samsik.

Uncle Samsik!

Uncle Samsik.

An Kichul knows everything.

What?

That you killed An Minchul.

How?

He knows about that?

Yes, he knows about everything.

He's gonna stage a coup soon, no matter what.

He wants me to convince General Choi.

He'll probably eliminate everyone after that.

Kang Seongmin, and me, and you.

And even General Choi.

My father told me to leave Kang Seongmin alone…

at least until the reform was finished.

But there's no need to wait any longer.

Kang Seongmin…

what will you do with him?

Kill him, of course.

In a legal manner.

Have you heard anything from Uncle Samsik?

I'm sure he has his ways.

That I don't know.

He's got the Sineui Code of Conduct

with Kang Seongmin's signature.

He came to Sail Bakery, trembling with fear

Kim San…

What? He really said he was trembling?

San doesn't…

tremble, he's not the type to do that.

It seemed like he knew every detail.

You told him about the Sineui Alliance Code?

Uncle Samsik, you should meet with An Kichul.

Excuse me.

My name's Cha Taemin.

Ballot boxes were stolen from opposition-led areas.

We were able to recover them all.

I wanted to meet in person and apologize

about Mister Choo Intae.

You should go.

- Cha Taemin. - Cha Taemin?

- Go after him! What if he's got a gun? - It's Taemin!

Where'd that come from?

That was Uncle Samsik, wasn't it?

Did you steal the ballot boxes?

Taemin.

Enough!

Stop!

March 15th. The historic election

for the fourth president and fifth vice president took place today.

Voting began at 7 a.m.

There was a calmness amid the 8,108 voting centers around the nation.

Some 10,861,519 people, amounting to 97%

of the total national electorate…

"Presidential Election ballot tally"

…of 11,196,490 people participated in the election today,

recording the highest voter turnout in South Korea's history as a democracy.

Voting concluded at exactly 5 p.m. this evening.

Sealed ballots from each voting center were delivered for counting.

The count has continued through the night

in 187 counting locations throughout the country.

Rhee Seungmin

Yoon Bohyun

Rhee Seungmin

- Ministry of Home Affairs. - Of course.

Gimhae

- Here's Gimhae. - The current number?

Yes. Changwon?

It's 1,180 votes.

- Can you repeat that? - This is for Changwon.

Thank you.

Please go ahead.

Jinju

Yoon Bohyun

Rhee Seungmin

Rhee Seungmin, Yoon Bohyun

Candidates: Rhee Seungmin, Yoon Bohyun Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon

Total

Rhee Seungmin, Yoon Bohyun

We won!

Yeah! Yes! Ah!

Great work. Very well done.

Total

The count has been finalized,

and as a result, it is President Rhee who wins the election.

He has been reelected with 9,633,376 votes,

86% of the total electorate.

Rhee Seungmin!

On March 18th,

during the first plenary session of the 35th extraordinary session

of the National Assembly House of Representatives,

the fourth president, who was elected on March 15th,

was officially sworn-in

according to Article 53 of the Constitution.

"The March 15th presidential election was fraudulent.

Riddled with collusion and manipulation,

it proved to be the worst election in history.

An infringement upon democracy.

We reject these fraudulent election results.

We demand a new election be carried out as soon as possible.

As students, we must continue

to fight to defend democracy.

We must condemn this blatant act of corruption

until justice is finally served."

The president had a landslide victory in the election.

Protests broke out all over the place over the election fraud.

General Choi was forced to examine it closely.

I see.

People are protesting the election.

This is happening everywhere in the country.

Let's give it more time.

General Choi, the protests are not a problem for us.

These protests justify our delay.

Go to your unit.

General, but…

There was intense backlash from the fraudulent election.

And it just provided more justification for staging a coup.

Jeong Hanmin threw an incredible fit.

Said he'd prepared all of this,

just to have General Choi ruin it.

He was on the second floor of Taepyeongga

screaming his head off at the top of his lungs.

Everyone there, everyone downstairs could hear it.

General, please…

Please take the lead, General!

Lower your voice.

The Capital Defense Unit is more than sufficient.

General Choi Hanrim, he won't be able to pull this off. No!

The guy just doesn't have a plan.

- Jeong Hanmin. - General Jang!

I told you, that's enough.

Sir, listen to me,

you've gotta make up your mind.

It's a mess 'cause of the election.

Don't go doing something rash.

General Jang.

Sir, you've gotta make a decision now! Sir, listen to me!

Jeez.

So many leftovers for someone who loves Chinese food.

Uncle Samsik.

Why are you in such an incredible rage right now?

Pathetic fucking generals… We should kill them all.

Our Lieutenant Colonel Jeong Hanmin.

He has a burning fire in his soul.

Yeah.

I wanna set everything I see on fire.

Be careful.

It could be you who burns to death in that fire of yours.

We'll stage the coup by ourselves.

We don't need Jang Doosik, that sad excuse for a general!

We could use the field grade officers,

wipe out all these incompetent generals with our own coup!

Yes, go ahead.

Captain.

This is Captain Lee.

Understood, sir.

What is it?

What?

Do… do… do they want me dead?

Huh? They don't, right? Huh?

- Just call… call Samsik, okay? - Arms up.

Ask Samsik about this.

The Punishment of Corruption Act. The coup d'état!

They're the ones who planned it all!

Why should I die?

- Sit still! - Ask Samsik about it.

Get Samsik in here! Call Samsik, please!

Get Samsik!

Samsik! Get Samsik!

It wasn't me!

The Punishment of Corruption Act. The coup d'état!

They're the ones who were doing it all!

Why should I die?

Ask Samsik about it! Samsik will explain things!

Get Samsik in here!

Get San!

Get San! Get San!

Wait.

San!

Where's Samsik?

Ask Samsik about it. Jang Doosik!

General Jang!

Please… please don't kill me!

General Jang, please help me!

I give you my complete loyalty!

Sir, please save me!

Please, help me, General Jang!

Ask Samsik!

Sam… Samsik!

Get Samsik!

Hanmin.

S… San.

You were here.

San, something is… something's wrong.

Something has gone wrong, San.

I tried to explain, but nobody's listening.

San, can you tell them? Huh?

There's been a huge mistake.

San!

You gotta tell 'em, San! Huh?

San, you have to!

Take him away. Let's go.

San! You gotta tell 'em, San! San!

Something has gone wrong here!

San!

San, you need to tell them!

Tell them everything! San! Tell them, San!

San!

San! San!

San!

General Jang!

Sir!

Sir!

Captain, this is wrong! Captain Lee!

Almost there.

San! San!

- San! - We're here now. We're here.

- San… - Get him down.

Save me.

This is wrong, Captain Lee.

Just wait. Just wait!

He had a burning fire growing in his soul.

But I guess it has finally gone out now.