Haechi: Throne of the King

The year was 1719, during the reign of King Sukjong, the 19th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. (Seja) Yi Yun, the eldest son of the king and heir to the throne, was unable to produce an heir.©SBS

Yoj, an official from the Office of Censors searching for evidence of murder by Lee Tan (Milpung-gun), was discovered and surrounded by Tan and his men. However, he was rescued by Lee Geum (Yeonryeong-gun), who was also investigating Tan's activities, and escaped safely.©SBS

The king's second son, Yi Geum (Prince Yeonryeong), appears before the Office of Censors as a witness to the murder committed by the royal family member Yi Tan (Prince Myeokpung).©SBS

Lee Geum (Yeonryeong-gun) is made keenly aware of the political power wielded by Min Jin-on, the senior Noron minister. To protect his younger brother Lee Hwang (Prince Yeonryeong), the heir apparent, he ends up cornering Han Jeong-seok of the Office of Censors, who had tried to expose the royal family's crimes alongside him.©SBS

Lee Geum (Prince Yeonryeong) was overcome with grief after losing his father, the king, and his younger brother. Having also lost Han Jeong-seok of the Office of Censors, who had sought justice alongside him, he realized his own powerlessness as he feared danger would now reach his comrades Park Mun-seok and Yeo Ji. One year later.©SBS

With King Gyeongjong having no children, the struggle for the throne reignited. Lee Tan (Mipyeonggun), a royal family member obsessed with the throne, used his lover, Unyeong, to gain favor with the queen.©SBS

Lee Geum (Yeonryeong-gun) sought to split the Old Loyalists by exposing corruption in the civil service examinations. While Min Jin-on panicked as senior Old Loyalist officials faced interrogation, Lee Geum boldly declared he too would build his power. Meanwhile, Munse was sentenced to flogging for halting the king's procession to make a direct appeal, but was rescued by Lee Geum midway.©SBS

Talmun rescues Lee Geum from a masked group attack and declares his resolve to fight alongside Lee Geum as comrades, believing in Lee Geum's goal of becoming a good king. At the palace, King Gyeongjong,©SBS

Lee Geum became the Crown Prince, but most of the senior officials refused to acknowledge him. Having anticipated this, Lee Geum personally paid his respects to the senior officials of the Soron faction, including Lee Gwang-ja, who supported the king.©SBS

Lee Geum, who had been present at the scene where an official was murdered in the brothel, was taken away as a suspect in the killing on the orders of Wi Byeong-ju of the Office of Censors. During interrogation, Lee Geum denies the crime, stating the official was already dead, but conceals that the perpetrator he witnessed was a young girl.©SBS

Min Jin-on appears at the Office of the Censor and confronts Lee Geum with the girl who killed the official. When Wi Byeong-ju presses Lee Geum, accusing him of knowing about the girl and her Killers' Guild's crimes yet covering them up, Lee Geum... Meanwhile, Park Mun-seok and his men storm a brothel to capture Do Ji-gwang, who was trafficking people, but are blocked by Lee Tan.©SBS

Lee Geum opposes Yeoji's wish to become a palace lady to protect him closely. After completing the royal rice-planting ceremony, Lee Geum is thanked by a farmer for his recent words showing concern for the people. However, a remark made by that farmer leaves King Gyeongjong, his elder brother, with complex feelings, clouding his face.©SBS

Lee Geum (Crown Prince) receives an ominous warning from Lee Tan: "A fierce headwind against the Crown Prince will soon blow." A petition arrives urging King Gyeongjong to appoint Lee Geum as regent, enraging both the king and Cho Tae-geu, a senior minister of the Soron faction. Lee Geum, unaware of the petition, senses the strange atmosphere within the court.©SBS

Due to Lee Tan's conspiracy, an accusation of rebellion reaches the palace. It claims there is a plot to poison King Gyeongjong and install Lee Geum (the Crown Prince) as king. By royal decree, a special tribunal is established to investigate those suspected of treason, and Lee Geum is also taken into custody.©SBS

King Gyeongjong personally interrogates Lee Geum, who is suspected of treason, when the senior Old-Line faction minister Min Jin-on appears. Gyeongjong responds to Min Jin-on's plea that Lee Geum should not be interrogated without clear evidence of suspicion... Meanwhile, Tal-mun pretends to become Lee Tan's subordinate, observing his movements to uncover his crimes.©SBS

Lee Tan, covered in blood after killing soldiers in the palace, appears before King Gyeongjong. Lee Tan, who had rushed to capture Lee Geum, flashes a defiant smile and says, "I'll take you down with me." Later, Wi Byeong-ju of the Office of Censors is also captured, and each undergoes interrogation.©SBS

King Gyeongjong suddenly falls ill with an unknown disease. Lee Geum suspects Lee Tan orchestrated the poisoning of Gyeongjong's decoction before his capture and orders the palace medicines not to be used. He then instructs that all physicians in the kingdom be summoned.©SBS

King Gyeongjong passed away. Lee Geum should have ascended the throne, but the opinions of the Soron faction were divided. While the faction led by senior minister Lee Gwang-ja supported Lee Geum, Cho Tae-geu, leader of the Soron faction, opposed his ascension, accusing Lee Geum of letting King Gyeongjong die without proper treatment.©SBS

Lee Gyeong ascended the throne as King Yeongjo. Shortly after his enthronement, an unexplained epidemic broke out in the provinces and had already begun spreading to the capital. Though puzzled by its rapid spread, Lee Gyeong summoned his senior ministers to issue directives. Patients poured into facilities treating the poor, their numbers steadily increasing.©SBS

Lee Gyeong (King Yeongjo) personally visited the Hwalinso, where many people suffering from the strange disease were gathered, and promised to find a way to cure them. Lee Geum learns the symptoms match a disease that recently struck the provinces and orders the use of the medicine that proved effective then. He suspects a conspiracy lies behind this disturbance.©SBS

Lee In-ja, leading the rebel forces that captured Cheongju Castle, declared Lee Gyeong-um unfit to be king. He incited the people to rise together and install Lee Tan as the new king, sparking rebellions across the land.©SBS

The rebel army led by Lee In-ja, who had elevated Lee Tan, avoided the location where the royal army was heading based on information from spies and marched toward the capital. However, Park Mun-seok's royal army lay in wait, having outmaneuvered the rebels. The royal army stood before the ambushed rebels, and a battle to turn the tide began.©SBS

King Lee Gyeong (Yeongjo) suppressed the rebellion and captured its leader, Lee In-ja. Lee Tan fled with Yun-yeong, yet still unable to accept his situation, he voiced his obsession with the throne. Yun-yeong persuaded Lee Tan that survival was more important than that. Meanwhile, Lee Gyeong-um announced he would summon the Namin faction to the court and grant them official posts. ©SBS

King Lee Gyeong-um (Yeongjo) declared a major reform of the Office of Censors, the agency responsible for investigating illegal acts by officials. He declared that the root cause of injustice and corruption lay in the fact that the personnel authority for the three crucial government offices, including the Office of Censors, was held solely by the Chief Clerk of the Ministry of Personnel.©SBS