In The Good Bad Mother, Hwang Soo-hyun is Assemblyman Oh’s secretary. When she gives birth to his illegitimate child, he decides to kill her to protect his reputation.
Hwang Soo-hyun used to work for Chairman Song. He feared that Assemblyman Oh might betray him, so he lent him his secretary, who was meant to keep an eye on Assemblyman Oh. One thing led to another, and Assemblyman Oh got her pregnant.
When Assemblyman Oh decides to run for president, he knows that he has to cut all ties with Chairman Song, as the two of them have committed numerous crimes together.
If Assemblyman Oh distances himself from Chairman Song and Chairman Song’s crimes come to light, he will take the fall alone. At a time like this, Chairman Song is desperate to either get Assemblyman Oh to side with him or take him down.
This is where Kang-ho comes into the picture. He tracks Hwang Soo-hyun down, who disappeared as soon as she found out that she is pregnant because she knew that Assemblyman Oh would not want a scandal when he is running for president.
Does Kang-ho kill Hwang Soo-hyun?
When Kang-ho meets Hwang Soo-hyun, she tells him about her pregnancy and pleads with him to tell Assemblyman Oh that she and his illegitimate child are both dead because if he finds out about the child, he might try to kill them.
Kang-ho promises to protect her and her unborn child, and in return, she gives him confidential files regarding the Woobyeok Group that will help him take Chairman Song down.
Kang-ho then gives Chairman Song the DNA test proving that Assemblyman Oh has an illegitimate child and asks Chairman Song to adopt him in exchange for giving him something that can be used against Assemblyman Oh.
Chairman Song agrees, which results in Assemblyman Oh getting blackmailed. Assemblyman Oh is forced to allow Kang-ho to marry his daughter, Ha-young. However, the two men want Kang-ho to get rid of Hwang Soo-hyun and her son.
Kang-ho gives them evidence to prove that he killed Hwang Soo-hyun and her child, but he does the exact opposite of killing them; he tries to protect them.
Kang-ho used to work at a restaurant, and the owner, Cho Yeong-jae, was like a father to him. Kang-ho asks Cho Yeong-jae to take Hwang Soo-hyun and her child to a stowaway ship that is supposed to take them to the Philippines.
Kang-ho even makes living arrangements for them and gives them money to live comfortably until Kang-ho could expose Assemblyman Oh and Chairman Song’s crimes; Hwang Soo-hyun and her baby will be able to return to Korea after that. However, things do not go as planned.
Who killed Hwang Soo-hyun?
Unbeknownst to Kang-ho, Assemblyman Oh had him followed the night he was supposed to kill Hwang Soo-hyun and her child, so he knew that Kang-ho never killed them.
Assemblyman Oh’s men reach Hwang Soo-hyun before Cho Yeong-jae could get her to the ship that was supposed to take her to the Philippines. They attack Cho Yeong-jae, who asks Hwang Soo-hyun to hide with her son.
When it becomes clear to her that there is nowhere to go, she decides to hide her baby and then jump off the boat with a fire extinguisher wrapped in her baby’s blanket to make it look like she died with the baby. Cho Yeong-jae survives, but Hwang Soo-hyun does not.
Cho Yeong-jae tries to inform Kang-ho about the same, but he is unable to contact him, as Kang-ho loses his memories when Assemblyman Oh tries to kill him as well.
Hwang Soo-hyun’s body is then found by the police. To save himself, Assemblyman Oh tries to frame Kang-ho for her murder, and Chairman Song tries to get Kang-ho killed once he joins hands with Assemblyman Oh.