A Tale about Sodeok-dong – I
The episode starts with an event where officials from Dong-Bang are explaining to the people of Sodeok-dong that a highway named Haengbok-ro would be constructed on their land.
The residents seem to be unaware of the fact and all the residents boil up and question the officials about it. So, the road is about to be constructed in the region of Sodeok-dong which is a suburb of Seoul and next to Gyeonghae-do.
The road Haengbok-ro is constructed by the company Dong-bang land and housing to respond to the transportation demand of the planned city Hamun. It seems both Gyeonghae-do and Seoul have approved the plan but the people of the Sodeok-dong are just now informed of the decision taken by the higher-ups.
The residents of Sodeok-dong start protesting against it and the officials just tell them that this has already been decided by the experts after much consideration so there won’t be any change in it as this is just a briefing session.
One man who seemed to be the leader of Sodeok-dong – Choi Han-Su, stands and points out that they can’t just plow through the town and tells them that already two constructions have happened in their area. The man is not very good with words and struggles to find the right words as one of his accomplices helps him out with various words.
First, a garbage incineration construction was finished that too it was not for dumping garbage of Sodeok-dong but it was constructed for Seoul. Soon after garbage incineration construction, Subway line 10 was constructed and they dug up the entire village and lots of people were kicked out. The man complains that now they have come up with the construction of a highway through the town. He asks what they consider the people of Sodeok-dong to be.
At Hanbada, Choi Han-Su along with his accomplice are explaining their problem to attorney Jung and his juniors. Han-Su’s accomplice tells them that if the highway is constructed then their village would be filled with noise, exhaust, and dust.
Han-Su tells them that the administrators have decided to build a soundproof wall to cancel the noise and also build a retaining wall splitting Sodeok-dong into two. (Man, it was frustrating when Han-Su struggles with words, and each time everyone around him tries to guess what he is about to tell. But frustrating only for me, Young-woo enjoys guessing those words and her face lights up each time she guesses it correctly.)
Attorney Jung asks about the Financial compensation they are about to get after highway construction. Han-Su tells them that during the earlier construction many people were expropriated and they didn’t even get proper compensation. How could they expect better compensation for the people who are going to stay behind?
Han-Su’s accomplice tells them that Sodeok-dong is a green belt area so the appraised land value is much cheaper. So, they built subway line 10 and the people who evacuated did not even get 10 million won in compensation, which is not even enough for an initial deposit to rent a house in Seoul.
Han-Su tells the attorneys that they took many measures like creating a resident’s countermeasure committee, submitting petitions, making 100s of complaint calls, and even protesting in front of the provincial office. Now they have left with only one option which is to file a lawsuit seeking revocation of the road zone decision of Haengbok-ro.
Before giving any commitments Attorney Jung tells them that they have no expertise in road construction so they need some time to look into it and then only they can decide if they can take up the case. Han-Su tells them to take the decision faster because the planned city construction has already started and it is not too long for the digger to come to their village.
After Han-Su leaves, attorney Jung asks his juniors about their opinion. Attorney Choi tells that if there is any possible detour and why the administration has not taken it and attorney Kwon replies that maybe building a straight road is cheaper than other alternatives that require going around Sodeok-dong.
Young-woo tells that if the decision was taken just considering the cost, then they could claim a violation of the principle of proportionality under administrative law. She explains to others that “An administrative agency has to choose the method that has the least infringement of rights for the other party. But even though Gyeonghae-do have an alternative detour they didn’t choose it with cost being the only reason. They violated the principle of minimal damage of the principle of proportionality.”.
Attorney Choi tells them that If they calculate the damage to the residents as a social cost, couldn’t it be greater than the benefits from the construction of Haengbok-ro? Then this route has a conflict of interest.
Attorney Jung considers both their points and says it is a good point but the judicial branch is typically reluctant to make a judgment on what the executive branch does. There is pressure on the judge to make a ruling on a field that they don’t know.
Attorney Jung asks his team to visit some experts and hear what they think about this matter. The team visits two people an architect and a civil engineer. The architect tells them that usually civil engineers are assigned for such jobs and they choose the easiest possibility.
The architect continues that the civil engineers ignored the shape of the land and took straight lines. The architect suggests that they could build an underground road if the cost of the land is expensive, that way the land can also be used parallelly.
The civil engineer tells them that this was a good idea to take a straight route and that the other 2 detours are not feasible. The first detour road would be built next to Pyeonghwa-ro which is a highway below Sodeok-dong but the issue is there would be a lot of tunnel construction and it is tricky to build an intersection.
The next option is right next to subway line 10 but it has the university of defense security’s land. So, they have to strike out both options. The engineer rejects the idea of an underground road as the land is not wealthy enough for preservation and though it is a suburb of Seoul, it also has a military purpose. So, Lifting the green belt area is not possible and Sodeok-dong has no possibility of becoming a planned city.
During the next meeting of Attorney Jung and Han-Su, Attorney Jung straight away tells them that after their analysis this case has very less possibility of winning and generally administrative litigation takes a minimum of 3 months for a ruling or up to a year and a half. So, he suggests that it is better to not file the case.
Han-Su is not in the idea of giving up and tells the attorneys that he is a well-off person and he can pay how much ever commission they want. Han-Su’s accomplice tells them that Han-Su has ancestral land all over Kiyoung. Han-Su asks them to take up the case even if the chances of winning the case are very narrow. He asks them to hit the boulder with an egg and he would pay the commission from his pocket. Han-Su then persuades Attorney Jung and the team to visit Sodeok-Jung once and then decide whether to take up the case or not.
They all take the client’s car and young woo remembers Attorney Kwon telling her that Jun-ho likes Attorney Choi and that they both look good together. She makes Jun-Ho and Attorney Choi sit together. Attorney Choi likes it and Jun-Ho is confused.
Han-Su shows Sodeok-dang so beautifully that they enjoy everything about the town. First, He introduces the people of the village and everyone in the town has a nickname for them. He introduces Kim Jang-hoon of Sodeok-dong, He is the donating angel who donates his rice to the less fortunate in Kiyong. Next, they meet Son Heung-min of Sodeok-dong and he was the one who led the people of Sodeok-Jung to the semifinals in a football match. Next, they meet President Teresa of the women’s association.
The head has the nickname of the Lee Kun-hee of Sodeok-dong as he is wealthy and his accomplice has the name of Jung Dong-gun of Sodeok-dong. Their next stop is Hackberry tree on the hilltop. Everyone’s jaw drops after seeing the beauty of the tree and Han-Su tells them that it is Sodeok-dong’s natural monument. It seems that they tried applying for the natural monument for the tree in 2016 in the provincial office but the officials told them that the tree was not enough to be designated. Attorney Jung tells them that it is so majestic that at least it should be a protected tree.
They all climb to the top one by one and young woo slips in her way and her jacket tears off at her arms. Jun-Ho gives his jacket saying she is on an official visit so she should not roam around wearing a torn jacket. Attorney Choi notices young woo wearing the jacket of Jun-Ho.
Han-Su makes them sit under the bench of the tree and gives them sikhye and then a person whom they call Eungene park of Sodeok-dong plays violin for them as they muse at the beauty of Sodeok-dong. Han-Su tells them that it’s just a neighborhood with very less population but It’s not a neighborhood that can just be torn down and disappear like that.
Attorney Jung and his team have changed their mind and they take up the case. Jung orders them that they have to start with all the materials and know everything about Haengbok-ro from the start to the end. Jun-Ho has already kept every material that is related to Haengbok-ro and they are dumbfounded to see the large piles of files occupying half of the room.
So, all the three attorneys Kwon, Choi, and Woo spend days and nights going through each and every piece of material. They don’t go home and just stay at Hanbada. As they nearly finish most of the materials Jun-Ho brings them more and he tells Choi who doesn’t want any more material that it is the Resident’s countermeasure committee sent to Gyeonghae-do and responses by Gyeonghae-do.
Jun-Ho keeps it near Young Woo who is totally immersed in reading the materials and turns the pages for her. He then sighs that she didn’t even bat an eye at him. Attorney Choi watches all these things and also the expression of Jun-Ho. (His expression is enough to tell that he likes and cares for Young Woo.).
After Jun-Ho leaves, Attorney Choi asks Young-woo if she doesn’t know or if is she acting like she doesn’t know that Jun-Ho likes her. It takes a minute for Young-woo who is completely immersed in the document to respond to Choi.
Young woo tells her that she already asked Jun-Ho if he likes her. Young-woo tells her the story where she interrogated Jun-Ho and he diverted the topic and didn’t answer. She tells attorney Choi that Jun-Ho doesn’t like her. Attorney Choi asks her if love is some kind of interrogation and even she wouldn’t have answered if someone would have asked her that way.
Attorney Choi then feels frustrated when young woo looks confused when she asked if she likes Jun-Ho. Young woo then answers that It’s not easy for someone to like her. Young woo tells Choi that Choi is a good-looking woman but She has autism. Attorney Choi screams at her to not talk like a loser.
So Young woo has the next question in her mind now- “does she like Jun-Ho”. As usual, she visits her friend Ra-mi to find out about it. Ra-mi’s owner tells Young Woo that Ra-mi won’t know anything about dating and Ra-mi starts bragging that She is the femme fatale of Ganghwa-do and She is the second most fatal thing after hwamunseok mats.
Ra-mi asks how Young woo feels about Jun-Ho. Young-woo tells her that Jun-Ho is a kind and warmhearted person. When Ra-mi asks if her heart beat ever raised when she was with Jun-Ho, She tells her heart raced when Jun-Ho was with her in Nagko lake and told her that – “I want an attorney like you to be at my side”. Young-woo starts blushing at this memory.
As usual, Ra-mi gives her a reckless idea to check whether Young Woo’s heartbeat rises when she touches Jun-Ho and when Young woo says that it is a crime to touch someone without consent, Ra-mi tells her to touch with consent. The worst part of it is Young woo plans to do the same.
The trial starts and attorney Kwon looks at the defendant’s teams and says that they are Head-to-head with Taesan kids. As everyone wonders who would be their senior attorney Tae Su-mi come in.
Attorney Kwon comments “Why is the king here herself?”. Attorney Choi tells Young Woo that she is CEO of Taesan and now she is an ordinary attorney as she stepped down as CEO. Young woo curiosity sparkles after seeing Tae Su-Mi. Attorney Kwon tells that she is also going to be a candidate for the ministry of justice.
The trial starts and Attorney Jung gives the opening statement that Haengbok-ro splits Sodeok-dong into two and though there are alternative routes south to Sodeok-dong or the north or the road can also be built underground, the defendant underestimated the rights of the plaintiff and overestimated the benefits of the construction of the road. They came to the decision that has a conflict of interest.
The judge asks the defendant if they reviewed the other alternatives and Ms. Tae answers that she will show why the other three alternatives are not good alternatives. She opens a 3D animation in the projector where three animated characters of judges are sitting in the car and Ms. Tae asks if they are ready for a ride on Haengbok-ro road. She simulates the road that is south next to Pyeonghwa-ro and explains to the judges that this stretches the road for an extra 5 km and various tunnels and elevated roads must be built for it. Along with-it sharp curves would be built to connect to Seoul.
Additional construction would cost an extra 300 billion won and the road would be bumpy like a roller coaster and this would even lead to countless accidents.
Next, she simulates the second route next to subway line 10 and it would pass the land next to the university of defense security. She tells them that if the university doesn’t permit them to enter the barn, then they would have to smash the doors and go. Everyone laughs at the animation.
Attorney Jung objects that the University of defense barn is considered important but the Sodeok-Jang people’s rights are not considered important.
Attorney Tae continues that if the planned city Hanum is built then there would be worst traffic unimaginable to Seoul and Gyeonghae-do by the next June. All the other regions coming under the Haengbok-ro highway understood the situation and gave away their lands but only Sodeok-Jung is doing this and it is regional chauvinism. Han-Su’s accomplice screams that other regions’ people are getting better compensation but their situation is different. Attorney Tae then asks if they are doing this to receive more compensation and if that is the case, they are wasting billions of taxpayers’ money and don’t care about the traffic disruption in the entire area.
She tells the judge that Haengbok-ro’s construction has already begun as it is planned to be completed by this year’s end and if the plan is revoked because of this trial then it won’t be completed on time and Tens of billions of won will be wasted. Young woo is totally in awe of the way attorney Tae is handling the case.
That night Young woo researches Attorney Tae. Her father goes in shock seeing her reading about Attorney Tae and asks why she is looking up her. Young woo tells him that she is in a case where Attorney Tae is in opposition and Attorney Tae is so amazing and she wants to be like her. Young Woo’s father is clearly uncomfortable seeing her daughter adoring Tae Su-mi (Are you thinking what I am thinking?).
The next day, a digger comes to Sodeok-Jung and they start destroying the village. As everyone protests against it that there would be suspension of effect, Han-Su calls Attorney Jung to inform him about it. Attorney Jung assures him that he will talk to the judge to speed up the suspension of effect.
Attorney Jung tells his team that the judges are purposely holding onto be suspension of effect, to dismiss it with the original draft. And at this rate, there is almost no possibility of ruling in favor of the plaintiff. Attorney Kwon speaks that pressure on the judge is high because the land value of the planned city Hamun depends on this case’s judgment and if they recklessly revoke it then they become the public enemy.
Attorney Jung points out that public illegality is the only way to revoke what the government is doing. Young woo immediately tells them that she has one cause of illegality – “They violated the process of strategic environmental Impact assessment. The matter of fact is when they did it.”.
She continues that according to the environmental impact assessment act; the strategic environmental Impact assessment should be done when the plan that impacts the environment has been established. The plan for the road is established in 2017 but the assessment was done in 2019.
Attorney Jung tells her that they can lead with this. Attorney Kwon asks if they should also prepare some 3D presentations like Taesan. Attorney Jung tells him that they can put the sincerity of Sodeok-dong’s residents first. And suggest that they can attack with emotional value. Young woo suggest onsite verification as even their mind changed to take up the case after they visited Sodeok-Jung. Again Attorney Jung is impressed and says that he will consider it.
Gwang-ho (Young Woo’s father) visits CEO Han at her office, She is surprised to see him at her office but later on, she is shocked to know why he came. He tells her that it was confusing when a major law firm CEO comes to a rookie’s house whom they rejected already to hire her back.
He continues that now he knows her intention. He accepts to CEO Han that young woo is the daughter of Tae Su-mi and She can never put young woo against Tae Su-mi deliberately as she did now.
CEO Han is dumbfounded and asks if she would do this to show the world that the child out of wedlock of Tae Su-mi is working in her firm. Gwang-Ho says that he will let her use young woo this one time.
He says that for a person like young-woo there won’t be any opportunity outside if CEO Han kicks her out. So, He will become the bad dad who let her bad friend use her in return for giving her a job.
Since CEO Han has her last chance of winning against Tae Su-mi and once Su-mi becomes the candidate for defense minister CEO Han cannot beat her.
When Young Woo’s father comes out of CEO’s office, he runs into Attorney Kwon and young woo. He tells young woo that he came to see someone he knows. After her father leaves, Attorney Kwon connects the dots that her father and CEO Han went to SNU law school so they must have been friends as he came from CEO’s office and he said that he came to see someone he knows. He then tells her that she got into Hanbada through connection and wonders that from the start he knew something was fishy.
In the Hanbada pantry, Attorney Choi sees Jun-Ho and tells him that she came with young-woo. Jun-Ho’s eyes immediately search for young-woo. Frustrated attorney Choi asks why is he confusing everyone. If his feelings for young woo are temporary, he should not give her any hopes. She continues if he wouldn’t listen to her whale talks forever, he should not listen from the start. Jun-Ho protests that his feelings are not temporary and Choi asks him to tell to young woo and not confuse others.
At the court, Attorney Jung argues that the defendant violated the process of Strategic Environmental Impact assessment and goes on about how the road was planned in 2017 and the assessment was conducted only in 2019. So, the environmental act is violated.
For the counter argument, Attorney Tae shows urban planning standard procedure on the screen and tells them that best route was determined only during later part of the planning in October 2019 and assessment was done in Jun 2019 so it is not illegal.
Young Woo’s whale flies now and she points out to the judge that the defendant’s claim is false. She tells them that the plaintiffs filed a complaint in April 2019 but the Gyeonghae-do’s reply was they won’t be able to change the route as the best route was already decided.
The judge asks her that there are so many materials so where is the statement that she is referring to is. Young Woo searches through her memory and every other attorney searches for the particular material.
Young woo remembers the material was the one Jun-Ho last gave saying it was the documents on the complaints the resident’s countermeasures committee sent to Gyeonghae-do and tells the judge about it. She even tells them the response written in the document – “the design is already completed so changing is impossible”.
Attorney Kwon then submits the document to Judge and the judge accepts that the plaintiff’s claim is true and the response was already given in April 2019 so the assessment was conducted late.
Everyone looks at young Woo in awe and Attorney Tae notices her now. Attorney Jung uses this opportunity and requests for onsite verification of Sodeok-dong so that they would know how much damage will road cause to the residents of Sodeok-dong. When the judges ask for just photo submission as they don’t have time, Han-Su’s accomplice tells them that it is just one hour from the court and requests the judge to see for themselves just this one time. This changes Judge’s minds and they decide to do onsite verification.
Attorney Tae finds young woo in the restroom and tells her that she was impressive earlier and she has quite the memory. Attorney Tae then shakes hands with Young woo introducing herself as Tae Su-Mi.
Jun-Ho takes all the material and says he has one seat left and offers to give a ride to one of the attorneys. Attorney Kwon tries to get in but Attorney Choi makes young woo to go with Jun-Ho and signals him through her eyes.
Attorney Kwon is frustrated now that she is partial to her because young woo has autism. He tells attorney Choi about how young woo got her job through connections but then attorney Choi tells him why he cares when all he wants is to bully young woo.
Attorney Kwon burst out that it is unfair employment as all the major law firms confirm employment before graduation young woo joined after six months of the orientation and workshop. When Attorney Choi asks if he is going to report it to the police or audit team and not to act self-righteous and if he wants to mess up, he should start with CEO Han who is strong and not Young woo.
Attorney Kwon tells her that young woo is the strong. He continues that young Woo is “First place is Woo young-woo anyway” and she wins every time and yet they shouldn’t attack her why? because she has autism. They have to be considerate and help her. He asks Choi not to think that young woo is weak.
Jun-Ho and young woo keep all the materials that they brought from the court at Attorney Jung’s office and when they finish Young woo brings her up to ask Jun-ho if she can touch him. She tells him that she wants to check if her heartbeat raises when she touches him. Jun-Ho tells her that it’s a shame that her heart doesn’t race if they are not touching and even when she is with him. He goes close to her locking her to the sofa. (That’s it we are not shown what happens afterward.😆).
Young Woo is tired and excited when she reaches her home. She tells her father that they can talk the next day when he was about to tell her something important. Her father spills the truth to her that CEO Han is a friend of his and they are friends from university and it is time that she knew this.
Young woo asks if she got the job through connections. He tells her that it was painful to watch his child getting discouraged. Before he tells why CEO Han gave young woo the job (because she is the daughter of Tae Su-mi.). Young woo tells that “I want to be completely discouraged. If I have to be discouraged, I would like to face it and cope with it myself. Because I am an adult. I don’t like when you intervene in my life and try to prevent discouragement all the time. Don’t do it.”. Young woo goes out of her home not turning back when her father tries to stop her.
The episode ends with Attorney Kwon at that night visiting an internet center and he puts an anonymous post on Hanbada’s bulletin board with the title – “Exposing Hanbada’s corrupt Hiring practices “
In this episode, I thought I don’t like how Attorney Kwon thinks of young woo but I like the fact that he thinks Young Woo is stronger, unlike Choi. But his ways and thoughts are twisted. I really want to know how the anonymous post would end up.
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