The Whirlwind follows the political struggle between Park Dong-ho, a man determined to eradicate corruption, and Jeong Su-jin, the woman who stands in his way. The series is now streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Prime Minister Park Dong-ho and Deputy Prime Minister Jeong Su-jin have loyally served President Jang Il-jun, a beloved leader and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, for years.
Dong-ho turns against President Jang when he discovers his son’s involvement in a PE fund scam and President Jang’s attempts to cover up his son’s crimes instead of doing the right thing.
Vice-Chairman Kang of the Daejin Group, a wealthy individual who easily evades justice due to President Jang and Su-jin’s support, is also involved in the scam.
Dong-ho has two best friends—Seo Gi-tae, an assemblyman, and Lee Jang-seok, a prosecutor. Like Dong-ho, his friends are also honest men who wish for a world free of corruption.
When Seo Gi-tae starts investigating the PE fund scam, Su-jin, whose husband receives illegal investments from Vice-Chairman Kang, frames him for taking bribes.
As a result, Gi-tae, whose reputation has been sullied, takes his own life, and Dong-ho resolves to expose President Jang and all the other corrupt assembly members.
Aware that Dong-ho is no longer on his side, President Jang frames him as a corrupt politician. The night before his arrest, Dong-ho decides to take drastic measures.
He poisons President Jang, whose death would result in Dong-ho becoming the acting president, which would mean he cannot be charged with a criminal offense.
While the poison does not kill President Jang, it puts him in a coma. Dong-ho, now the acting president, aims to target the corrupt politicians.
He has the support of Gi-tae’s sister, Seo Jeong-yeon, who is Dong-ho’s secretary, and Choi Yeon-sook, President Jang’s Chief of Staff who knows about Dong-ho’s attempt to assassinate President Jang.
With their support, he starts his crusade against the corrupt officials and Daejin Group, but Su-jin stands in his way, even after he dismisses her from her position as a cabinet member.
Su-jin discovers that Dong-ho tried to assassinate President Jang, but before she can expose him, Dong-ho outwits her and blames the assassination attempt on Vice-Chairman Kang.
Dong-ho then asks Jang-seok to start investigating the PE fund scam. Jang-seok starts by bringing in President Jang’s son and a Daejin employee.
Su-jin realizes that even if President Jang gains consciousness now, he will not be able to save anyone, so she kills him, believing that his death will be more useful to her.
As Dong-ho targets President Jang’s family, she presents herself as President Jang’s successor who is willing to protect his family from false accusations, gaining public sympathy and support.
She intends to contest the next presidential election. To her surprise, Dong-ho also decides to contest the elections and joins forces with unexpected political allies to win.
He even uses Su-jin’s animosity and fear towards a right-wing extremist candidate, Jo Sang-cheon, to get her to help him win the election.
Dong-ho becomes the president, but Su-jin’s attacks on him continue. Eventually, he decides to appoint her as his prime minister, hoping that the politicians she has offended will rip her apart during her confirmation hearing.
However, in an unexpected move, Su-jin allies with Sang-cheon and gets away unscathed during her confirmation hearing, leading to her becoming the prime minister.
Dong-ho and Su-jin continue fighting and retaliating against each other with a series of political maneuvers.
Dong-ho comes close to taking down the Daejin Group, which would also reveal Vice-Chairman Kang’s investment in the company of Su-jin’s husband, Han Min-ho.
This leads to Han Min-ho taking his life to protect Su-jin and her career. Su-jin does not stop him from taking his life, but she is determined to avenge his death.
Su-jin has the investigation into President Jang’s death reopened and convinces Vice-Chairman Kang to give false testimony, accusing Dong-ho of assassinating President Jang.
The impeachment bill is passed against Dong-ho. To dismiss it, Dong-ho joins forces with Chairman Kang and coaxes President Jang’s wife to testify in his favor.
The Constitutional Court of Korea then dismisses the impeachment bill. Dong-ho is now prepared to expose all the corrupt officials, even if it means sacrificing himself.
Ending explained:
Dong-ho’s bold confession
In a press conference, Dong-ho reveals that he did try to murder President Jang as well as the fact that Chairman Kang, Jo Sang-cheon, and Su-jin bribed and threatened the constitutional justices.
He announces that taking them down will be his last duty as the president of the country. He trusts Jang-seok to carry out the investigation with fairness.
As he has video evidence against Chairman Kang, Jo Sang-cheon, and Su-jin, the three of them band together against Dong-ho.
Dong-ho advises Choi Yeon-sook to turn against him publicly to avoid becoming an accomplice in the murder, but she decides not to follow his advice.
When Su-jin turns public opinion against Dong-ho and mobilizes thousands of prosecutors to demand his arrest, Yeon-sook counters by providing the press with more incriminating evidence against those Dong-ho accused.
She requests the people of the country to let Dong-ho remain president until he exposes all the corrupt officials, which results in the dismissal of his arrest warrant.
As the constitutional justices are investigated, Dong-ho manipulates Vice-Chairman Kang to provide evidence against his father, Chairman Kang, leading to his arrest.
Dong-ho also exposes Jo Sang-cheon’s crimes, causing him to be expelled from his party and bringing an end to his political career.
A necessary sacrifice
After bringing the Daejin Group and Jo Sang-cheon to justice, the Prosecutors’ Office, led by Jang-seok, directs its investigation toward Su-jin.
Due to Su-jin’s husband’s association with the Daejin Group, her house is also searched. However, she is unwilling to give up easily.
She tampers with her husband’s tablet, which she then asks her secretary, Man-gil, to deliver to Jang-seok, pretending to betray Su-jin to protect himself.
The tablet contains evidence that Gi-tae was framed only because he started questioning the illegal PE fund, and Dong-ho finally proves his late friend’s innocence.
Jang-seok later discovers that Su-jin tampered with the tablet and shifted the blame for her crimes onto her husband, thereby proving her own innocence.
She also manages to plant false evidence to prove that President Jang was a just leader who was resolute about investigating his own son’s crimes.
Su-jin then starts inciting the public against Dong-ho, accusing him of murdering their honest president for his personal gain.
As a result, the people of the country demand Dong-ho’s resignation. They go on strikes, and Su-jin threatens to bring the whole country to a halt if Dong-ho does not comply.
Dong-ho tries to trick Su-jin by getting Jeong-yeon to steal Man-gil’s phone and convincing Su-jin that he has found evidence on the phone of her murdering President Jang.
He calls Su-jin to meet him on a cliff behind the Blue House, but his threats do not work, as Su-jin calls his bluff. Dong-ho then makes the ultimate sacrifice.
He jumps off the cliff but not before tearing off the buttons of her coat to make it look like there was a scuffle, which ended with Su-jin pushing Dong-ho off the cliff.
As he could not prove that Su-jin killed President Jang, he frames Su-jin for killing him. Dong-ho passes away, and Su-jin is arrested for his murder.
One last ploy
Dong-ho leaves his will for Yeon-sook to find, which states that Su-jin did not push him off the cliff but that he jumped of his own accord.
He also leaves behind a video for Su-jin, telling her that if she confesses to all her crimes, Yeon-sook will give the will to the authorities.
To save herself, Su-jin testifies to her own corrupt deeds as well as against all the corrupt assembly members of her party. In return, she is cleared of Dong-ho’s murder charges.
As Dong-ho is dead, Su-jin becomes the acting president, so she cannot be charged with a criminal offense unless it is treason.
To honor Dong-ho’s sacrifice, Jang-seok decides to spread lies in the media, claiming that Han Min-ho’s tablet contains evidence of Man-gil murdering President Jang in the hospital.
Man-gil knows about Su-jin tampering with the tablet and confronts her about framing him, unaware that Jeong-yeon had planted a hidden camera in Su-jin’s office.
In the privacy of her office, Su-jin admits to murdering President Jang. Her confession is telecast live across the nation, and all her crimes come to light.
As murdering the president is considered treason, Su-jin is arrested and sentenced to prison. In death, Dong-ho finally achieves his goal of exposing all the corrupt officials.
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