'Undercover Miss Hong' ignited interest with an exciting development that increasingly reveals a clear battle between good and evil.
On the 1st, the tvN weekend drama 'Undercover Miss Hong' (directed by Park Sun-ho, Na Ji-hyun; written by Moon Hyun-kyung) aired and continued its relentless upward momentum, setting a new personal best in viewership once again. Three-dimensional characters, diverse chemistry and an undercover story with a spoonful of fin-de-siècle sensibility are capturing attention.
In particular, as the undercover operation of Hong Geum-bo (Park Shin-hye) unfolds in the drama, the corruption and misdeeds within Hanmin Securities are revealed, and the actors who ordered and carried out those acts are unmasked, heightening the tension. Among them, chairman Kang Pil-beom (Lee Duk-hwa), who exists behind all the incidents, and his right-hand man, secretary general Song Ju-ran (Park Mi-hyun), draw attention with their meaningful moves. From a slush fund scheme disguised as order mistakes to the death of president Kang Myung-hwi (Choi Won-young), we examined the axis of evil in Hanmin Securities and the forces of good that rise against it, that is, the confrontation between 'light and shadow.'
▲A slush fund ledger that will prove Hanmin Securities' corruption, even a mysterious death… the answer is with 'Yeppi'!
President Kang Myung-hwi went against his father Chairman Kang Pil-beom's wishes, planned an internal whistleblowing operation and joined forces with securities inspector Hong Geum-bo. But he suddenly died in an accident, leaving questions, and thereafter Hong Geum-bo infiltrated Hanmin Securities undercover to find the slush fund ledger that had vanished without a trace and 'Yeppi,' who aided President Kang. The death of President Kang increasingly looks not to have been accidental, and suspicions are growing that Chairman Kang even harmed his own son to hide the corruption. Because 'Yeppi' is deeply connected to the whereabouts of the slush fund ledger and the truth behind President Kang's death, Hong Geum-bo's intense deduction is unfolding among a narrowed list of candidates. Who 'Yeppi' is, and whether, as he helped President Kang, he will join Hong Geum-bo to expose Hanmin Securities' corruption, is drawing attention.
▲The ugly backstage of the fox society! Director Song, who does not hesitate at murder, next target: the new outstanding employee?
Chairman Kang Pil-beom moved his subordinate, Director So Gyeong-dong (Seo Hyun-chul), to deliberately orchestrate order mistake operations and siphoned off slush funds by various means. The slush funds thus accumulated were moved somewhere, and evidence emerged that the Hanmin Securities fox society was none other than that hiding place. The accounts of female employees selected as outstanding employees of the fox society were used as slush fund holdings, and Secretary General Song Ju-ran secretly managed them. To protect the slush funds, Director Song hired fixer Bong Dal-su (Kim Roe-ha) and showed a cruel side by even carrying out murder, shocking viewers. Amid this, attention is focused on whether Hong Geum-bo, who aims to become bait by targeting the fox society's outstanding employee, can grasp and counter Director Song's dark intentions.
▲The Hanmin Securities accounting fraud case that left scars on Hong Geum-bo nine years ago
The Hanmin Securities accounting fraud case nine years ago that drove a wedge between Hong Geum-bo and Shin Jeong-woo (Ko Kyung-pyo) has also rapidly emerged as a core narrative of the story. The case that brought down Hong Geum-bo, who had been a righteous, brave and smart accountant, ultimately ended with the suicide of a fellow accountant, leaving a wound. Afterwards, Hong Geum-bo learned that Director Bang Jin-mok (Kim Do-hyun) had been involved in the audit at the time, and it was revealed that Bang, who had been living without ambition in the crisis management headquarters, a back-office department at Hanmin Securities, had been the operative at the center of a major secret, raising questions and confusion among viewers. Whether the accumulated corruption at Hanmin Securities, dating back to 1988, can be exposed piece by piece through Hong Geum-bo's efforts is a question for future developments.
[Photo] Provided by tvN
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