Son Hyun-ju's New Employee Hits 11% Ratings

The JTBC weekend drama 'Chief Detective 1958' recorded 10.9% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 11% nationwide for its 8th episode, breaking its own highest viewership ratings. The 2049 male and female target viewership ratings also ranked first among all programs broadcast on Sunday, with 3.1% in the Seoul metropolitan area and 3.6% nationwide. The highest minute-by-minute viewership rating surpassed 12%, and the 2049 male and female target viewership rating rose to 4.0% nationwide.

In episode 8, Hwang Jun-hyeon (Lee Jun-young), who has the soul of Choi Seong Group Chairman Kang Yong-ho (Son Hyun-ju), faced an unexpected crisis while trying to stop the rampage of his daughter and Choi Seong Chemical CEO Kang Jae-kyung (Jeon Hye-jin). Kang Jae-kyung cornered Kang Jae-seong (Jin Goo), CEO of Choi Seong Trading, by securing documents related to his slush fund and handing them over to the police. Afterward, she revealed her runaway desires, stating that Hwang Jun-hyeon and Kang Bang-geul (Lee Ju-myung) had provoked her.

Kang Jae-kyung accused Lee Sang-jae (Kim Jong-tae), Executive Managing Director of Choi Seong Group's Strategic Planning Office, of fabricating evidence. Under the guise of normalizing Choi Seong Trading, she pushed a large-scale restructuring plan onto the strategic planning team, pressuring Hwang Jun-hyeon, Kang Bang-geul, and Park Bong-gi. During this process, conflict arose between Hwang Jun-hyeon, who was trying to save the company, and Kang Bang-geul and Park Bong-gi, who were prioritizing the employees.

Hwang Jun-hyeon found it suspicious that key personnel from the hydrogen business division were included in the restructuring list. Upon investigation, he discovered that Kang Jae-kyung's true objective was to transfer Choi Seong Trading's hydrogen business division to Taeha Group. Kang Jae-kyung exacerbated the chaos by orchestrating the transfer of key personnel to Taeha Group and selling off the business rights.

Kang Jae-kyung expressed her resentment towards her father, mentioning how the hydrogen business she had been pursuing in the past was handed over to Kang Jae-seong by Chairman Kang Yong-ho's decision. In response, Hwang Jun-hyeon realized that the root of the conflict began with Chairman Kang Yong-ho and proposed a plan to attribute the slush fund incident involving Kang Jae-seong to Chairman Kang Yong-ho's orders, sacrificing his own reputation. Kang Bang-geul, Park Bong-gi, and Lee Sang-jae initially objected but eventually accepted the plan.