The Chaser () is a 2012 South Korean television drama series about a grieving father out for revenge against corrupt officials.
Despite no hype or big stars, the thriller gave a strong performance in the ratings, ending its run at 22.1% (number one in its timeslot). Its rise in popularity was based on the tightly written and well-structured storyline, solid direction, and cast members' acting skills.
Plot The series tells the story of Detective Baek Hong-suk, a happily married family man whose life is shattered when his 15-year-old daughter is killed in a car accident, causing his wife to go into a state of shock, eventually killing herself and leaving Hong-suk a widower. He later discovers his daughter's death was the result of a conspiracy led by politician Kang Dong-yoon, to secure his political future as a presidential candidate. Hong-suk goes from loving, doting father and cop to harrowed man hellbent on revenge, as Kang continues to rise in power. With the help of Kang's sister-in-law, a reporter, Hong-suk takes revenge against the man who ruined his life.
Cast Main Son Hyun-joo as Detective Baek Hong-suk Kim Sang-joong as Presidential candidate Kang Dong-yoon
Supporting Go Joon-hee as Reporter Seo Ji-won Kim Sung-ryung as Seo Ji-soo Ryu Seung-soo as Choi Jung-woo Park Hyo-joo as Detective Jo Kang Shin-il as Squad Chief Detective Hwang Lee Yong-woo as PK Joon Jang Shin-young as Shin Hye-ra Lee Hye-in as Baek Soo-jung (Hong-suk's and Mi-yeon's daughter) Kim Do-yeon as Song Mi-yeon Jo Jae-yoon as Park Yong-sik Choi Joon-young as Yoon Chang-min Lee Re as Yoon Chang-min's daughter Park Geun-hyung as Company president Seo Jeon No-min as Seo Young-wook Nam Da-reum as Kang Min-sung Jeon Gook-hwan as Jang Byung-ho Song Jae-ho as Yoo Tae-jin Ryohei Otani as Bae Sang-moo Kim Min-ha as Hyo-jin
Special appearance Lee Jung-gil as Jo Dong-soo Jung Soo-in as Choi's secretary Jo Young-jin as Kim Chang-jae
Original soundtracks
The Chaser OST
The Chaser OST Special
Ratings In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.
Episode #Original broadcast date Average audience shareTNmS RatingsAGB NielsenNationwideSeoul National Capital AreaNationwideSeoul National Capital Area 1 28 May 201210.0%12.6%9.3% (13th)10.3% (8th) 2 29 May 201210.9%13.5%9.9% (9th)11.0% (6th) 3 4 June 201211.6%14.7%9.2% (16th)9.7% (11th) 4 5 June 201211.5%14.1%9.8% (9th)10.3% (9th) 5 11 June 201213.2%16.5%10.6% (7th)10.7% (7th) 6 12 June 201212.5%15.1%11.1% (5th)11.9% (4th) 7 18 June 201213.2%14.5%11.5% (5th)12.4% (4th) 8 19 June 201213.2%14.1%13.3% (4th)14.2% (4th) 9 25 June 201213.6%16.3%12.4% (4th)13.1% (4th) 10 26 June 201213.8%15.8%13.2% (4th)14.2% (4th) 11 2 July 201214.0%15.9%13.1% (4th)13.9% (4th) 12 3 July 201215.3%16.2%13.5% (4th)14.3% (4th) 13 9 July 201220.0%22.4%17.9% (3rd)19.7% (3rd) 14 10 July 201223.1%26.7%20.7% (3rd)22.3% (2nd) 15 16 July 201222.1%26.6%20.4% (3rd)21.5% (1st) 16 17 July 201225.1%28.3%22.6% (2nd)23.8% (1st) Average 15.2% 17.7% 13.7% 14.6%
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Recipient Result 2012 Best Drama The Chaser Top Excellence Award, Actor Son Hyun-joo Kim Sang-joong Excellence Award, Actress Jang Shin-young Grand Prize (Daesang) Son Hyun-joo Top Excellence Award, Actor Kim Sang-joong Excellence Award in Visuals Jung Ki-hyun, Kim Dae-kwon Popularity Award, Drama category Go Joon-hee Grand Prize (Daesang) Son Hyun-joo Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Son Hyun-joo Excellence Award, Actor in a Miniseries Kim Sang-joong Excellence Award, Actress in a Miniseries Kim Sung-ryung Special Acting Award, Actor in a Miniseries Ryu Seung-soo Jo Jae-yoon Special Acting Award, Actress in a Miniseries Jang Shin-young Kim Do-yeon Producers' Award Park Geun-hyung Top 10 Stars Son Hyun-joo New Star Award Park Hyo-joo Go Joon-hee Best Drama The Chaser 2013 Best Drama The Chaser Best Actor (TV) Son Hyun-joo Best Director (TV) Jo Nam-kook Best Screenplay (TV) Park Kyung-soo 40th Korea Broadcasting Awards Best Mid-length Drama The Chaser Best Actor Son Hyun-joo Best Screenwriter Park Kyung-soo Silver Bird Prize (Runner-up, Best Series Drama) The Chaser
International broadcast It aired in Japan on cable channel KNTV from 20 September – 8 November 2013, and was re-aired on cable channel BS-Fuji.
It aired in Thailand on Workpoint TV in midyear 2015.
References
External links The Chaser official SBS website