Lee Sung-min, jealous Cho Jin-woong and Kim Moo-yeol face off in fireworks

Actors Cho Jin-woong, Lee Seong-min, and Kim Moo-yeol engage in a fierce battle for power through the movie 'Confidential'.

On the afternoon of the 20th, a press screening for the movie 'Confidential' (directed by Lee Won-tae) was held at Megabox COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Director Won-tae Lee and actors Jin-woong Cho, Seong-min Lee, and Moo-yeol Kim attended the press conference held after the preview.

'Confidential' is set in Busan in 1992, and a fierce struggle between Hae-woong (played by Cho Jin-woong), a candidate for a member of the National Assembly, Sun-tae (played by Seong-min Lee), a hidden figure in politics, and Pil-do (played by Mu-yeol Kim), an activist gangster, to get hold of a secret document that will shake up the Republic of Korea and turn the tables. It is a crime drama that unfolds.

Director Lee Won-tae debuted his first commercial film with 'Captain Kim Chang-soo' and was officially invited to the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival with 'The Villain'. He directed the recently concluded drama ‘The Law’ and returned after 4 years with ‘Confidential’.

On this day, director Lee Won-tae said, "There have been many movies that deal with political subjects, but like 'Confidential', I wanted to directly show a politician as the main character. Through the three characters, including a hidden powerful person who drives the story next to the main character and a violent person in power, the main character is expressed in a colorful way. “I wanted to talk about the nature of power. This is what differentiates our film from other films.”

The English title of 'Top Secret' is 'The Devil's Deal', not 'Top Secret'. Regarding this, director Lee Won-tae explained, "In some ways, it may seem like a political movie since the main character is a political aspirant. I think the English title of 'Confidential' contains the theme of our movie."

Director Lee Won-tae said, "I wanted to tell a story about the attribute called 'power.' There's a line in the movie that says, 'To gain power, you have to sell your soul.' I thought that was the English title that corresponded to that line."

This is Cho Jin-woong's fourth collaboration with Lee Sung-min, following 'The Archipelago', 'Sheriff', and 'Duke'. Cho Jin-woong said, “Cho Jin-woong is excited (to act with Lee Sung-min). I know synergy well. Breathing is good. He expressed his satisfaction, saying, “I felt very comfortable because they clearly presented what the scene required, rather than whether or not we worked well together.”

Lee Sung-min added his strength, saying, "I don't know how you felt in the play, but acting with Jin-woong was difficult. It was hard not to let it show." Also, "Jinwoong is an actor who is expanding his clarity. While watching the movie, I thought, 'He's good at it,' and 'He's so good at that.' So I was very jealous. I thought, 'I should do what I can do.' I saw the movie. As I always say, I am both excited and nervous (acting with Cho Jin-woong). I am always looking forward to the synergy and ensemble that comes from acting with this friend. If I get the chance next time, I don't know about him, but I want to do it again." He responded.

Kim Moo-yeol, who was born in Seoul, confessed, “I found the Busan dialect difficult.” He said, "I really felt like I was learning a foreign language as Cho Jin-woong said. I was born in Seoul and grew up in the Gyeonggi area, so I have lived with this way of speaking my whole life. So it was not easy to change the habit." He added, "The acting of the two seniors is so shallow and cheap that I don't know how to express it. Nevertheless, I am proud of myself. I encouraged myself by telling myself not to act in the Busan dialect."

Jo Jin-woong, who saw Kim Moo-yeol's dialect acting, did not spare praise, saying, "You worked hard on the Busan dialect. I thought you were from Busan. I would like to tell you that you worked hard and thank you for your hard work. It was really good." Kim Moo-yeol gained about 10 kg. He said, "I thought increasing the volume would be difficult, but senior Cho Jin-woong said, 'You just have to boil the soup at 12 o'clock at night.' It was difficult this time, but I think I can do it more easily next time," causing laughter.

Suntae, played by Lee Seong-min, may remind you of Chairman Jin Yang-cheol in ‘The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family.’ However, Suntae and Chairman Jin Yang-cheol were not the same. Lee Seong-min said, "After the trailer for 'Confidential' was released, this was said during the production briefing. I was very worried, thinking, 'It's different, but is it similar?' I watched the movie carefully, and it was very different. Looking at the shooting order, 'Confidential' was filmed first. “As I went through Suntae, I added something of my own to the drama character,” he said.

Lastly, Director Lee Won-tae said, "I wish I could see the acting of the three on the big screen. I don't know if I can dare say this as the person who made this movie, but I think it shows that good acting is like this." “Wouldn’t it be good?” he said. Kim Moo-yeol hoped, “so that ‘confidential’ does not become confidential.”

Meanwhile, 'Confidential' will be released on March 1.

Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr