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Chief Kim: Episode 10

It’s another hope-filled hour as Business Operations stays strong against setback after setback. With such a dependable, motivated team at your back, it seems like anything can be accomplished – until Yul strolls in with that manic, unrelenting grin on his face, of course. Hopefully, their teamwork can withstand the darkness that is Yul before his corrupt side leads them all over the edge.

 
EPISODE 10 RECAP

At Sung-ryong’s outburst, Yul retorts that he should have been honest with his employees about the consequences of failure. Before Sung-ryong can argue, however, Director Chu tells him to return to his seat. Bowing his head to Yul in apology, Director Chu promises that Business Operations will do their best. Yul: “I don’t need you to do your best. Just stop messing up.”

Sung-ryong starts after him, but Director Chu stops him, unable to lift his head. Even Myung-suk shakes his head, muttering about how young people shouldn’t be so disrespectful.

Outside, an annoyed Yul is informed that Go and Gu Law Firm has taken on the TQ Delivery labor union case.

In the tense atmosphere, Sung-ryong asks Myung-suk to excuse them so that the department can talk in private. Sung-ryong, Director Chu, and Ha-kyung apologize to the others for deceiving them, but understandably, the team isn’t happy – it’s bad enough that their chief lied to them, but the cost of failure is suddenly so high. Director Chu simply urges Ha-kyung and Sung-ryong to hurry ahead and do what they’ve been asked to do: find the person who’s been pocketing money from the company.

In her office, Ga-eun checks her surroundings before unloading a pile of shredded paper onto her desk. She’s on a mission to tape together the shredded document and faces her daunting task with energy and passion.

Clad in matching black suits and smart-looking glasses, Sung-ryong and Ha-kyung stroll out of TQ disguised as the Inspection Division. Ha-kyung complains about the costume, but Sung-ryong assures her this is the best way to look like insufferable jerks. Ha-kyung sighs that she’s not good at being insufferable because she looks too kind. Sung-ryong: “Great! That was perfectly insufferable.” LOL.

They sit outside of a convenience store drinking yogurt as they wait for Sung-ryong’s colleague from Gunsan. Sung-ryong informs Ha-kyung that he doesn’t know much about cars, but his colleague is a mechanic who worked at a repair shop. When the colleague arrives, he gushes about how great they look together and how beautiful Ha-kyung is, completely deaf to Ha-kyung’s insistence that they’re not together.

Ha-kyung splits ways with Sung-ryong and his colleague, who go to meet with someone in the delivery car upgrades division at TQ. Under the guise of the Inspection Division, they claim that they’re here to investigate rumors that they are pocketing money. The man insists that it’s untrue, but Sung-ryong’s colleague pulls out the evidence of the unreasonably high upgrade prices.

The man just scoffs, saying it’s their choice to set their profit margins wherever they want, but Sung-ryong tells him that headquarters is becoming concerned about how much they’re pocketing. Annoyed, the man notes that that’s strange, since they’d agreed to split the profits with headquarters. Sung-ryong grins – he’s heard all he needed.

Ha-kyung, meanwhile, meets with a repairman on her own. She tells him she’s been sent to investigate the unreasonably high parking fees set for TQ Delivery employees. This man, too, lets slip about splitting the profits, and Ha-kyung tells him (insufferably, hee) that there’s no taking it back now.

Chairman Park meets with Yul over lunch to thank him for his work. He reminds Yul of when they first met, when he’d promised he wouldn’t compensate him with just money. Now, he wants to follow through – once Seoahn Jangryong officially invests, says the chairman, Yul will become the head of TQ Retail.

Yul is surprised, but Chairman Park tells him they need someone like Yul to lead the front in retail. The chairman tells him he plans to recommend him to the board too, so he shouldn’t do anything controversial in the meantime. Yul promises.

Having finished their investigation as the Inspection Division, Sung-ryong and Ha-kyung treat themselves to kimbap. He asks Ha-kyung how they can make the two profit-pocketing groups fight against each other, and she answers: “Make the ones that were paid look like they weren’t, and then make it seem like those that were paid are complaining.” Sung-ryong praises her for learning so fast.

Manager Lee gathers Hee-jin, Ki-ok, and Sang-tae to complain about their superiors’ deception, while the other three sullenly try to keep their faith in their team leaders. Manager Lee isn’t so forgiving, however, and tells them he’ll speak up – the others just have to follow his lead.

So Manager Lee confronts Director Chu in the office, demanding that Business Operations request Madam Jang to pull out of the revival project. Manager Lee argues that everyone in Business Operations has personal circumstances and needs to earn money; they can’t afford to take a gamble on this project. Ga-eun listens in while working on piecing together the shredded strips of the document, and curses Manager Lee for his yapping.

Fed up, Director Chu argues back: “Of course I’m terrified too. Of course I could tell Madam Jang that we’re not doing this project. Then I wouldn’t have to listen to Seo Yul yell at me all day.” But the real reason he’s chosen to accept it? “Because… I finally feel like I’m doing something worthwhile.”

He asks Sang-tae what he’ll lose if this project fails: his job, his insurance, his paycheck. But what will he gain if they succeed? Sang-tae: “Myself.” Sang-tae explains that he put his pride and self-esteem aside to gain his insurance, but he’d like to find it again.

Director Chu agrees – but for him, his pride and self-esteem are so crumpled and forgotten that he can’t even find them anymore. By the time his kid had gone off to college, he realized his self had disappeared. “But then I met Chief Kim, and I started to gain myself back.” They all agree (even a sobbing and emotional Manager Lee), and gather for a team moment.

As Manager Lee goes home that night, he notices a dark figure following him. He quickens his steps, but when he turns around, the figure has disappeared – only to suddenly appear before him and hit him in the forehead with a spoon. Manager Lee falls to the ground while the figure (Ga-eun, obviously) scurries away. LOL.

The next day, Kwang-sook is working in the TQ café when her superior asks her to deliver some coffee to the Accounting Department. Kwang-sook skips away with the coffees, marveling at the nice interior and greeting every employee she passes. When she arrives at Accounting, Ga-eun points her toward the conference room for the delivery, where Director Go is meeting with the three heads of the Accounting Department.

Just as Kwang-sook distributes their beverages, however, the employees discuss whether Business Operations really will be demolished. Manager Go confirms, saying Yul has set a lot of traps. Shocked by the news, Kwang-sook leaves, cursing.

In his office, Yul is informed that Go and Gu have managed to get one of the labor union leaders released from detainment due to his injuries. Yul is annoyed, but in Business Operations, the news is met with joy – the released labor union member is Ki-ok’s father.

Manager Lee arrives late, a fresh bandage over his nose from where Ga-eun hit him. Manager Lee just says he bumped into something, and they tease him good-naturedly before returning to divvying up tasks for the revival plan. Hee-jin will calculate the rebates, and Ha-kyung and Sung-ryong will seek out another person to testify against TQ Delivery along with Ki-ok’s father.

That other person is TQ Delivery’s General Manager Lim, who Sung-ryong and Ha-kyung meet with at a café. General Manager Lim attempts to claim innocence, but Sung-ryong reminds him that they’re already estimating the rebates, and the truth will come out anyway. Ha-kyung adds that this isn’t about accusing him, it’s about protecting the 3,400 people who were laid off.

They ask him to testify that the rebates are the cause of the deficit, and to testify against the board members who got the rebates. General Manager Lim leaves before they can persuade him any further.

The next day, Manager Go asks Sung-ryong for an update on the revival plan. Sung-ryong warns him that they don’t have much of a plan yet, and when he gives Manager Go their progress, it’s just a single sheet of paper that says: “Find who’s pocketing the money.” Lol. Manager Go accuses Sung-ryong of playing around, but Sung-ryong just says that they have to look for a leak in management.

Manager Go reports this to Yul, saying that there’s a chance that Sung-ryong is on to something. Yul suggests that they take care of him, just to be safe, and then orders Manager Go to bring him materials on TQ Retail. Manager Go then reports Yul’s orders to Executive Director Jo, who is concerned at Yul’s sudden interest in TQ Retail – especially because she was supposed to be appointed head of TQ Retail next year. Uh-oh.

Yul meets with Director Chu and Sung-ryong, demanding an interim report on their progress in three days. Yul promises that if the interim report looks successful, he’ll defy the board, disassemble the Restructuring Team, and support their revival plan. At that, Sung-ryong wants to add one more item: move Business Operations to the 17th floor, and Yul must personally apologize to Business Operations for his rudeness. Yul agrees – but if they fail, he can do whatever he wants to Business Operations.

As they leave, Director Chu throws a fit at Sung-ryong for continuing to gamble with their jobs. When they inform Business Operations, they just stare at him in misery. Sung-ryong encourages them to do their best, at which the team holds him down for some corporal punishment.

Ga-eun finally finishes piecing together the document, and is surprised to find that the paper is from Taipans Bank. Confused as to why this document is at Accounting, she starts to call her prosecutor friend, but she suddenly hangs up.

That evening, Business Operations is gathered in the office for a review of their plan. They only have two days now, and in those days, they absolutely must do two things: secure testimonies and estimate the rebates. They have their work cut out for them, but they work hard late into the night.

Sung-ryong receives a text message from Ga-eun, who wants to show him the document she put together. He realizes that it’s a transaction record from a Taiwanese bank, and then wonders why she took the time to tape it together. She tells him it was because she was curious, but he looks at her suspiciously. Ga-eun sweats in nervousness at the prospect of being found out, but Sung-ryong just says: “By any chance, are you… a total nerd?” Lol.

Ga-eun explains that the two names at the bottom of the document are not TQ employees, which Sung-ryong agrees is awfully strange. He tells her to keep it safe for now, since it’ll come in handy later.

Sung-ryong visits Ki-ok’s father while he’s still in prison, asking for a favor. He needs him to testify against TQ Delivery for their interim report. Ki-ok’s father gladly agrees, happy to lay everything out in the open.

Sung-ryong passes by Yul in the hallway of TQ. Yul notes that it feels like just yesterday when Sung-ryong knelt down to him, but Sung-ryong just replies that it was for momentum: “If you just bend down a little, you can jump really high.” LOL. Yul attempts to provoke him by using his money laundering past, but Sung-ryong says he’s paying for it now by doing the right thing. Yul tells him that sometimes people make wrong decisions to do the right thing. Sung-ryong mumbles the words to himself, marveling at how cool they sound.

Trying to get General Manager Lim’s testimony, Sung-ryong “coincidentally” runs into General Manager Lim at a restaurant, at a golf course, and outside TQ Delivery. He’s relentless.

In the office, Ha-kyung goes over their progress on estimating rebates with Sung-ryong. The estimates are already huge: over the last three years, it was at least twelve million dollars.

Meanwhile, Yul checks employee records at TQ Retail as he makes sure his underling is still keeping watch over Business Operations.

The next morning, Sung-ryong “runs into” General Manager Lim in the elevator. General Manager Lim tells him to leave him alone, but Sung-ryong just wants to talk. They finally sit down at a café, where Sung-ryong asks him for any detail he can.

General Manager Lim is unwilling to dig his own grave, but he seems to waver when Sung-ryong explains that he knows General Manager Lim won’t be affected by the moral argument for the poor TQ Delivery employees, so he instead offers to share his know-how on stabbing people in the back and getting out of this cleanly. This piques Lim’s interest, who wants to leave TQ as soon as possible to avoid getting caught, but Sung-ryong refuses to explain further until Lim agrees to help.

In the office, Ha-kyung and Director Chu note that they really need General Manager Lim’s testimony for the interim report to hold any weight at all, so they have to bank on Sung-ryong’s persuasion skills.

After their meeting, Sung-ryong finally receives General Manager Lim’s promise to help via text message. When Sung-ryong walks into Business Operations, he pretends to be depressed before sharing the good news: They have a revival plan and two testimonies! The Business Operations team heads out for a round of beers, all smiles and cheers.

The next morning, Business Operations shares a cheer before their presentation. Ha-kyung notes Sung-ryong’s exaggerated trembling before they all head to the auditorium, where Madam Jang and the TQ executives have gathered.

Sung-ryong begins his presentation, titled “Shit Group, Shit Delivery’s Revival.” A panicked Director Chu yells at Sang-tae for forgetting to change the letters to English (the Korean keys that correspond with “TQ” spell out “shit,” LOL).

Brushing over the mistake, Sung-ryong continues on with the presentation. He explains that TQ Delivery executives used their employees to gain rebates from their subcontractors, forcing employees to pay for expensive services. The profits gained from these services were then split amongst the board, driving a deficit and hurting employees. Sung-ryong says that TQ’s corruption must be erased to solve this problem.

Yul calls out that he’d better have the evidence to back up his claim, and Sung-ryong introduces his two witnesses: Ki-ok’s father, who was laid off, and General Manager Lim, a whistleblower who will reveal the inside workings of TQ Delivery. Executive Director Jo mutters that she wasn’t expecting this.

Ki-ok’s father stands to share his story and the reality of TQ. To Business Operations’ horror, however, Ki-ok’s father begins by saying that his firing from TQ delivery was just and proper. Old employees like him, he says, cannot work well. Furthermore, there are no problems with their subcontractors, and he has never felt abused or taken advantage of. Ki-ok’s father concludes by thanking TQ for hiring him for sixteen years.

Executive Director Jo and Yul look on smugly as Sung-ryong glares at them. As Ki-ok’s father leaves, a devastated Ki-ok demands to know what happened in there, but Ki-ok’s father just brushes him away and leaves.

At that moment, however, General Manager Lim arrives for his testimony. This time, Executive Director Jo and Director Go look shocked at the fact that Business Operations managed to persuade him to testify, but Yul still looks calm. Sung-ryong ushers him to the podium, begging him to say exactly what they’d agreed to.

But General Manager Lim speaks up to say the accusations of illegal slush funds and rebates are all false. He says Sung-ryong threatened and blackmailed him to do as he said, and he had no choice but to come here today. He leaves.

As the audience files out, the Business Operations team falls into solemn despair, looking like they’ve given up. Yul scans the scene before heading out too.

Yul catches up with Madam Jang, asking whether she thinks there’s still value in pushing for TQ Delivery’s revival. Madam Jang agrees that there’s no value, especially when it could threaten the employees of Business Operations. She adds one more thing: She’s also lost all hope she had in Yul. “I thought you at least knew where to draw the line,” she says. Yul’s smirk disappears as she turns away.

Chairman Park, meanwhile, receives news of what happened and laughs gleefully to himself.

Alone in his office, Yul sits pensively with his employee records, which are open to Ki-ok’s father’s resume as well as Ki-ok’s. We flash back to Yul meeting with Ki-ok’s father in prison, when he’d told Ki-ok’s father what to say at the testimony. Ki-ok’s father had flatly refused, but Yul had simply threatened Ki-ok’s livelihood. Similarly, Yul’s prosecutor underling had gotten to General Manager Lim. Yul walks away with a manic grin on his face.

In the auditorium, Business Operations grieves their failure, knowing exactly who was behind this. At that moment, Yul himself strolls in, spreading his arms smugly to gloat. An infuriated Sung-ryong launches himself at him, but is held back while Ha-kyung growls that he didn’t have to go this far.

Yul just claims his innocence, however, before getting down to business: According to their deal, Business Operations is officially dissolved.

 
COMMENTS

Was Yul’s manic smile creepy or what? It feels like as he falls deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of evil and corruption, Yul seems to be losing what he used to stand for. We don’t know much about Yul’s past or his motivations, but it did seem like he hated corruption, only yielding to it because it was the force that seemed to always win. Corruption, after all, forced him to abandon faith in the Prosecutor’s Office and turn to the private sector, and he’s also expressed frustration with the way TQ used threats and thugs to take care of its business. Now that he’s doing the same, however, it’s funny and strange to me that I still can’t bring myself to hate him, despite how much worse and worse he’s getting to be as a person. It may be my naïve hope and love for his character, but it still doesn’t feel like he’s beyond the point of redemption. Chairman Park’s offer to let him head TQ Retail does seem to have deeply blinded him with greed for power and status, but I don’t think that he’s so far gone. At least not yet.

In that vein, I so, so wish that Ha-kyung will have a bigger impact on Yul. The Yul/Ha-kyung scenes were really great moments to cherish and squeal over, but as they’ve practically disappeared from recent episodes, it almost seems like it was never there at all. If a romantic subplot between these two doesn’t become a bigger point, however, I’m not entirely sure what the point of it was before. I think there would have been a lot of interesting potential for Ha-kyung’s trust and affection to drive a change in Yul’s transformation toward corruption, or at least provide some inner conflict as he struggles with his identity on the good-evil spectrum, the same way she managed to affect Sung-ryong. I won’t lose hope that Ha-kyung will disappear from Yul’s motivations, however, and I hope the show hasn’t abandoned the subplot – I’m really looking forward to Ha-kyung becoming a part of the drive to change Yul, for better or for worse.

Meanwhile, the team dynamic became a renewed source of emotional depth in this episode. Director Chu’s speech to Hee-jin, Ki-ok, Sang-tae, and Manager Lee was really well-done, both in the writing and in his character development. None of the minor characters in Chief Kim develop in ways that are surprising, but heck, does it feel warm and genuine. As Business Operations worked on their revival plan late into the night in their cramped, dimly lit office, it was clear that they drew strength from each other, both as coworkers and as people. Sung-ryong was, beautifully, the driving force behind that “revival” in their teamwork by making them come together and drive forward, and he connected them through himself as a single point for everyone to look at and draw hope from.

Finally, I really enjoyed the antics in this episode, as I have been more and more lately. Namgoong Min’s acting is always hilariously off the wall as it was in Beautiful Gong-shim, and it’s probably half the reason for the enjoyment factor of this show. But what makes it increasingly fun is the way it seems to be rubbing off on Ha-kyung, too. Rather than the responsible and consequence-based employee she was before, she seems to be embracing her goofy side. I’m not sure whether Namgoong Min rubbed off on Nam Sang-mi subconsciously as an actor, but it’s so fun and sweet to watch these two characters work together.

 
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Yul really acts and behaves like a thug/gangster,a highclass one but a thug neverless...Can't wait for Chief Kim to take care of that arrogant smug off his face....Yul really doesn't know shame...I'm sure he won't let this one chance go to fully humiliate Sung Ryong and make a show of that he is the one with power and SR is nothing but a "low thug" meant to obey...

Like they say in baseball"It's not over till it's over!"

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hear hear! I was like, "who is being the thug now?" Originally I thought he was on a lone ranger undercover mission, but now I'm not sure.

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Well, nobody can say Yul is undercover now! My only hope, if there is any hope left, is that Yul can't get much worse than this, and will somehow improve. And if that's what the writer intends I am ok. Make him reach the lowest point and then be reborn (that only really worked in Gaksital so I may be wishing for too much, oh well). But hey, the message of the drama is that people can change!

About that ending: way to go show, leaving us to stew in misery until Wednesday! I get that the bad guys need to win sometime, but ugh this is frustrating. Plus Chief Kim wasn't as bright as usual and didn't realise the importance of the shredded document.

I'm just going to sit in a corner and whimper about losing Yul to the dark side. :(

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I wouldn't mind at this point if Yul ends up being thrown in jail and realize that he has become the person he hated as he becomes darker and darker,doubt he can even stop now that he tasted the power and that his actions do have consequences..The same way i also wouldn't mind the not so twist for Yul to switch in the last minute with SR as re realizes he went too far...Both ways i'm sure he will have to pay for all the things he already did and people he hurt...

Hope by next episodes SR will realize the meaning of that paper Ga Un showed him(Taipans Bank transactions) and also that he'll find the evidence that the Charmain and his minions suspected he left behind before the previous Chief commited suicide...
Chief Kim won't go down that easy even more now that he isin't alone...I can't wait to see him use his brain and outsmart them with their own toys...

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Actually Chief Kim was pretty naive about his whole approach to the revival plan. He easily revealed his strategy to his enemies, giving them enough room and opportunity to counter him.

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Agree. I think Chief Kim somehow was too confident for his skills but didnt careful enough with his opponent. Yul is a prosecutor, obviously he will be more meticulous in his plan.

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I think his recent successes made him too confident, but it also didn't cross his mind that Yul would be that devious. For some time, Yul was really all bark and no bite and Sung-ryung was able to be dismissive of him with no real consequences.

And with SR's successes, the enemy is now on guard to take him more seriously. Messing up the botched labor union bribe could have been viewed as SR being clumsy. Him forcing them to close the TQ waiting room was something planned. It was a days' long campaign and he had a prepared list of demands when they were through with his nonsense.

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It was also for plot's sake. Scriptwriter's incompetency as well as inconsistency. Turn Intelligent Person into a dumb one so that Opposition could march ahead. Any normal human being prepares better than what Chief Kim did.

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"Make him reach the lowest point and then be reborn " - I want this too. I no longer think he is working in undercover mission, and also dont care about the plot twist now. He is probably want to be the most powerful guy, and make use of his knowlege as a prosecutor in not a good way. Maybe because he saw so much corruptions when he was a prosecutor that he already immuned and know how, where and when to make use of it. He probably thinks as long as no one knows about it, it will be fine.

More Yul and Ahjumma cleaner moments please lol. But I guess Ahjumma will be scared to do anything to him now, since she knew already who he is. If only they make these two have more moments before the revelation haha.

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"I no longer think he is working in undercover mission" - i agree here. It's an almost sad realization. But I'm still quite fond of him, and I hope he can be brought back to the good side. >_<

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Yes I am fond of him too, so I hope he can be be good guy back. Maybe I missed it, what motivated him to work at TQ and quit being prosecutor? I can at least has the last hope if there was something happened related to TQ when he worked as a prosecutor that he firmly decided to join TQ because of this certain thing.

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I think Yul's ambitious side was revealed this episode. Chairman Park mentioned their conversation when he first invited Yul to TQ and promised him not money but power. I really did not like the look in Yul's eye then.

Gah, he really is flushing all my hopes of being good down the drain.

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The scene with Chairman Park proposing to give him TQ Retail made me confused about Yul. I thought Yul looked angry and that taking over TQ Retail was not in his plans.

If Yul isn't on a mission, then it could be that he felt disgusted by the people he is working for and giving him TQ Retail for doing dirty work is making him feel angry. Perhaps even if he professes that it doesn't matter if he works for a corrupt private company since the prosecutor's office was equally corrupt...deep inside he's conflicted.

I really want Yul to have a change of heart and join team Business Operations in their quest.

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The scene with Chairman Park proposing to give him TQ Retail made me confused about Yul. I thought Yul looked angry and that taking over TQ Retail was not in his plans.

That's what I thought, too - what I took away from that scene was that he knew if he got shunted off to Retail that he wouldn't be able to catch the really big corruption going on. It made me more suspicious that Yul is undercover.

And that would make more sense with him trying to kill the accounting department (because he knew Chief Lee was corrupted, so why not all of them?)

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LMAO @ Kwang-sook's real voice when she's not happy :D

When Madam Jang spoke to Yul, his reaction was perfect. It gave me hope that maybe , just mayyybe we can have him in in the lighter gray area by the end of the series. I can't hate this liltle f*cker lol. Junho's performance is to blame, it's outstanding really.

Ga-Eun is so funny, I couldn't stop laughing at her revenge. Girls in this show are so great, I love them!

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I love badass Kwang Sook. Cannot wait to see how she will do the undercover mission for Business Operation (hopefully there is). They won't put her in TQ Cafe without any good reason? And I love Gaeun!

Here the example of shows which done female chararacters right. Including Ahjumma cleaner.

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hehehe I thought of this as well Sera. There must be a reason she's in TQ cafe. And not just for the love that will brew between her and the geek of the Business Operations department. ^^

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I want to see her 'bad' side? like Chief Kim, when he turns to his scary face, Gwang Sook will do too. I bet she has more than just being so cute. hehe.

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Here the example of shows which done female chararacters right. Including Ahjumma cleaner.

Heck yeah! I love all the women characters in this show - they're all competent & self-assured & smart (even the evil one is sure of her own skills). That's so rare for any television show these days.

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Yes I LOLed too! Her voice change was too funny.

And yes the girls in this show are all pretty darn awesome so far.

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Hahaha the high pitched aegyo voice suddenly got very low and growly.

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i like ahn dante, but i love chief kim!! namgoong min is such amazing actor, i remember i can't finish sensory couple because of him, he was way too scary.. i got chill everytime he appears.. chief kim fighting!!

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I do suspected that Yul is an undercover aiming for the top guns, that is Chairman Park. The setback provides an avenue for Chief Kim to go for the biggest fish and not just the smsll timers. To allow Chief Park to succeed now when Yul is itching closely to the core of it will undo whatever work that the prosecutor's office has put into all these years. Anyway let's see and wait for the plot to unfold.

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I thought that Yul was going for Chairman Park too, at first. But I'd reckon he has enough evidence by now.

I guess he's just the top baddie of this show after all.

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The TQ/ㅅㅂ joke was hilarious. I'm wondering if the writer thought of that first and named the company TQ because of it.

Did Yul eat anything this episode? I don't think he did. That's probably a bad sign.

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Hahahaha I'll pay attention to his eating habits now.

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Yul offered the fellow half his sandwich, then told him to leave. And put the sandwich down. It was a great little episode of Yul being a total jerk.

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That was an awesome joke! I didn't realize it until this recap! I wonder if the korean viewing audience knew it from the getgo.

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From the number of comments on Chief Kim recap pages, I guess not many beanies are watching this show. Which makes me think about the kind of audience Korean dramas have, outside of Korea.

This is a generalization and not true of everyone of course, but because Chief Kim is (in my opinion) a satire of your typical office life, it is a show that will appeal more to office workers than to students, stay-at-home moms and others. And often, office-workers just don't have the time for TV in their own language, forget foreign shows.

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This happened with Defendant, Rebel and previously Romantic Doctor. All are high rated drama, but the comments in this site are not that much. I dont blame beanies too. Maybe this is not a show for everyone.

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I've noticed that Rebel hasn't been getting a lot of comments! Didn't realize it's also the case with Defendant and RDTK.
Hmmm...curiouser and curiouser.

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Yes so far those shows that I remember with less comments. Of course there are some other shows but those are not the high rated ones.

I think type of shows that most beanies will actively commenting are fluffy romcoms like WLKBJ, SKL and now Bong Soon also has many comments. Or hyped shows such as Goblin and Moonlovers.

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Yeah, not many beanies seem to be watching Chief Kim. Only Heads mentioned it in What We're Watching. Sad.

Agree with Sera the Miss Temper on the type of shows beanies watch. It was apparent in the 'Top 10 Dramas of All Time' that rom-coms dominated. Cozybooks actually went through all the comments and compiled a list of top 10, top 20, 15 + alpha club (comment no. 193). Very revealing regarding beanies tastes. There were no sageuks in top 20.

Personally, I started Chief Kim because I like Namgoong Min. And because the rest of the dramas on offer were all about crime and violence. There isn't much to analyse about Chief Kim (except Yul's ambiguous character perhaps) so I don't have much to say in the comments section either.

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Yeah and it's pretty sad. It seems that Korean viewers have different taste from international viewers.

Glad to see some beanies who have watched RDTK and now watching Defendant, Rebel and Chief Kim!

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I agree with WishFulToki's comment that there isn't that much to analyze with Chief Kim. There isn't a romantic line in this story (at least not yet), so that cuts out comments about does-he/she-have-feelings-for-him/her? There's only one mystery, but it's not a birth secret and it involves only the secondary character- Yul (is he undercover or not?). And it's a good drama that doesn't have a lot of glaring faults.

I wonder if this is why Chief Kim is so enjoyable. As an audience member, there isn't a lot of high emotion. I find a lot of comfort in it though I was angry at Yul by the end of this episode.

I also agree with the other comments that beanies focus more on rom-coms. I usually watch crime and procedural type shows from the US/England/Canada since they do them pretty well. They sorta suck at romance, so i go to korean dramas for that.

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Also agreed. I am watching this show but I don't feel I need to engage with the rest of the fandom to enjoy it. There aren't mysteries that need to be picked apart, and there's squeeing to be done but not so much you need to grab someone else to squee along with them.

I mean, I could write some Chief Kim x Yul fanfic but this is maaaaybe not the place for that.

The ratings are actually quite high, over 17%. It's a hit, not a blockbuster but solid.

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Chief Kim x Yul fanfic, that would be great! xDD

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Ugh, I'm so mad. I was so frustrated at the end of this episode that I went on a twitter rant. I considered never watching this show again. Shout out to the writer tho because this episode elicited so many emotions. I knew they wouldn't win but I hoped they would. I was shook that nothing worked out because you could see them trying. I mean he had the gosh darn bank statement, why couldn't he have recognized it's worth. I really wanted Yul to be redeemable but I can't think of a way for that to happen.
Anyway I wish this episode left us with a bit of hope. I'm already an emotional wreck I didn't need this episode to do me like this. I guess I'll have to watch the next episode, hopefully this time there's more comedic relief and justice

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I know how you feel. Chief Kim is usually my happy pill, but this episode left me very frustrated... I wish it hadn't been a Friday episode because now we have to wait until Wednesday to recover.

I wonder if this had anything to do with the extension?

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Clad in matching black suits and smart-looking glasses,

Subs I saw had SR saying "We need a makeover", which I guess is Korean for "We need more PPL income and I know a suit company".

But the subs didn't handle the TQ spelling joke nearly as well as the recap. Thank goodness we have recappers who know Korean.

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Yeah, I had no idea what was going on with that spelling joke. Shows the fine humour of Chief Kim, but which isn't always easy to translate (like the 'gritting of teeth' last episode).

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This drama is surprisingly good, at first I was caught off guard by the satire comedy and was going to drop it but it's gotten so addictive now lol. It's using the old Korean underdog formula we've seen in Baker King with a outlandish comical twist.

I hope Yul doesn't go over to the dark side completely, he had his good moments especially with HK.

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Whoa, I love this show more and more. Although the satire really creeps me out, too close to home. It makes me think, if you loose your job that you do, whether you love it or not, a job that has become your whole life, then what? In a drama, the consequence feels lighter because it shows your life in short-span, fast forward world. But, in real life? You have to start from square one and how many times you have to bear the ups and down, again and again?

That's what Chief Kim does to me...
Oh, and asking myself would it be nice to change line like Yul? If you want to be bad, be as bad as you can and be thoroughly bad, don't be in-between. However, I still convince that Yul is doing undercover job.

I notice that Ga Eun didn't report the shredded document to her superior, instead she showed it chief Kim. I think her superior somehow works closely to Yul. Hope it doesn't ruin the chance to catch the biggest baddie. Well... a girl can dream this is the twist :)

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I agree about the satire hitting too close to home.

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So, I am late to the party. Just started watching this show and marathoned it over the last week and a half. So you all may have already discussed this, but it struck me strongly enough, that I want to put in my two bits at the risk of beating a dead horse.

What struck me the most about this show is how important the way we treat other people is. The first time Yul pulled Chief Kim into his office, I was shocked that he was treating him as if Kim was a criminal and Yul was still a prosecutor. This is how you treat the person you want to cook your books??? And he treats him that way throughout all their interactions. And then is surprised when Chief Kim doesn't want to work with him. I kept wondering if the plot would have been completely different if Yul had just said, "Look, we hired you to cook our books. Don't skim too much. Have at it."

Then we have the accidental heroism. Which started as just a slip on the ice, but then everyone started treating Chief Kim like a hero. So he started acting like a hero. Surprise! It is more fun to be treated like a hero than a criminal. Shocking, I know.

And we have the Ethical Management lady. Who tries her best to shame people into doing what she wants them to. In one case, she nearly drives a man to suicide. In another, we have Chief Kim kicking against the pricks and flouting her instructions in a purely awesome manner. Neither result is what she is looking for, but what did she expect with the way she treats people?

Then we have Chief Kim himself. Who comes into the company with a huge disadvantage, but has by now managed to win over his entire team by treating them well. He cares about people and listens to them. And has created a cohesive loyal following. Which is much more reliable than Yul's scare tactics.

So while Yul's methods appear to be winning at the end of this episode, I have no doubt that this is a temporary state of affairs and that Chief Kim's methods will win out in the long run.

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Very well said.
The line where the Manager told Chief Kim that there's hope for him since he takes care of the people around him, really hit home. It made me think about how I treat the people around me, and I realised I am actually as nice as I think I am.

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It's also a good message to the audience to look beyond paper qualifications and to look at qualities like being ethical and taking care of people. I don't know much about employment in korea, but my impression is that getting hired for a full time job is very difficult.

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This is perfect summary of this drama. This drama is fun to watch, but it offers more than that, if we look deeper, they are approaching the issues that always happen in workplace and between humans.

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Thank you for your analysis. The real irony is that Yul is becoming the criminal and Chief Kim the prosecutor, because they have different methods and ways of treating people. If Yul doesn't realise and accept this there is no hope he will change (snif). He needs to be knocked off his horse, so I hope Chief Kim 'leaps back' next episode with a big victory. Fighting!

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So sad I'm late to this discussion! But there's a wonderful post by Neil Gaiman about the difference between a horrible person pretending to be nice, and a nice person being nice (spoiler: not much)

http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/116751720466/dear-neil-i-am-a-horrible-person-how-to-be

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Junho is really killing it with this role. I've never been so disappointed to see the villain doing real villain things lol. I'm still hoping for redemption tho, bc otherwise the whole buildup to his character feels so pointless. And even tho I'm not expecting a romance between Yul and HK I still hope this is not the end for them. They have such a great dynamic together.

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While this a wacky, zany comedic drama, I was wishing that the story stuck to the basic premise of the characters this episode.

1. This is an accounting team. So witness testimony would have been the STARTING point for the team to find accounting evidence of the fraud. But the writers made them into a legal prosecution team. Goes against type.

2. Restructuring plan? Saying that you find irregularities is not a restructuring or rehabilitation plan. For dramatic purposes perhaps but wouldn't it be nice not to patronize viewers?

3. Chief Kim is supposed to be an accounting genius. Why does the drama not show this? (Too boring? Too difficult to convey in a drama?)

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Sadly, I agree. Plus, I actually hoped that the drama can play around a 'real' problem and problem solving related to business or accounting while also showing good comedy, but..

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I have to agree as well. I hope this is not a sign that extending the show resulted in some bizarre writing decisions.

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This was in reply to @DramaDrama

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thank you lovepark & hanshimi for the recaps! as always DB is a great resource to find out if the new crop of dramas are good:) many thanks also to the beanut gallery, your comments makes kdrama watching more fun!!!

Decided to check out this drama and now I’m invested in Business Operations team. It was crushing that they were dealt with this blow so early in the game, they just started to depend on each other. This drama defines ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ so well. Each character shines with the little dialogues and moments they were given. Extra brownie points for Director Chu, he’s very discerning for a guy who’s weary from everyday office work. Hence, I was crying by the time he finished his speech. Props also to the writer for having superb women characters, Ha-Kyung for her intelligence and empathy, Kwang-sook for her loyalty and not to forget the spunky Ga-eun (she’s quick on the uptake also!).

Namgoong min is excellent as Chief Kim, very quirky indeed! And his discourse with Yul is plain fun:) I hope they don’t lose this dynamic throughout the shows run...

Again, thanks to hanshimi & lovepark, for pointing things out in the recaps that would have been lost in translation for me.

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"...however, it’s funny and strange to me that I still can’t bring myself to hate him, despite how much worse and worse he’s getting to be as a person."

We are ALL in this together! How is that we can never bring ourselves to hate Yul despite his villainous acts? Praying for his redemption. ><

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There's one thing I can't really understand... Why does Chairman Park want to "steal" the money from his wife company? (Which I think, it can be said that as TQ is "his own" company). Why wants to ruin TQ and conspire with his directors to do so?

I know, it's a drama. I'm just curious....

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Maybe because the company is their shared asset (plus the company's money isn't his money). But if he slowly steals some funds here and there and funnels them to a personal account, that money is his, regardless of what happens to the company or its employee or even his marriage?

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I'm actually kind of disappointed in Chief Kim. So far, he hasn't shown any outstanding skills or anything. I was surprised he was so easily outsmarted. As someone who is supposed to know underground stuff, he seems pretty naive.

Also, why are they acting like disbanding the accounting division is the worst thing? Most of them will work in, if not better, nicer departments. They complained everyone treated them like pushovers...well hey, they don't have to deal with that particular brand of crap now (as far as they know). I don't know why they didn't try to fire them. Seems like a better solution to Yul's problems.

And I'm completely unimpressed with them flinging accusations and insults at Yul, like they expect him to relent because of guilt. Instead of that, be smarter. Ugh. They should know by now the kind of person he is.

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