Discussion Film / ThePresidentsLastBang

Kim Jae-kyu

• Historical Domain Character
• Even Evil Has Standards: Kim insists that the military shouldn't be used against protestors too heavily or more anti-government riots will spring up.
• Idiot Ball: After the emergency cabinet meeting at Army HQ, with the situation very much in flux and power up for grabs, Director Kim takes a nap. While Kim is getting some shuteye, Secretary Yang alerts the Army Chief of Staff to Kim's role in the murder.
• Omniglot: Speaks Korean and Japanese. Which makes sense as symbolism since he lived his early days under Japanese occupation.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Gets the waiter's teapot and drinks the water after he ran to the adjacent house where the chief of staff was eating dinner.
• Rage Breaking Point: Kim flips out and decides to kill President Park and Chief Bodygard Cha pretty much on the spur of the moment after enduring one too many insults at dinner.
• Tragic Mistake: For Director Kim, agreeing to Army Chief of Staff Jeong Seung-hwa's suggestion that they drive to Army headquarters instead of KCIA headquarters in the immediate aftermath of the murder. This allows Jeong, after he finds out that Kim was the shooter, to arrest him and every other KCIA agent involved.
• Villain Protagonist: For the movie.
• Weapon Of Choice: Uses a PPK to assassinate President Park. Although it jammed after firing a few shots that he had to get another.
• Your Days Are Numbered: After being told of his disease by the doctor, Kim decides to assassinate Park so that he can go down in case he would be arrested or killed.

Ju

• Adaptation Name Change/Expy: Of KCIA agent and ex-South Korean Marine colonel Park Seon-ho.
• Blatant Lies: When the PSS agents heard gunshots, Ju tells them that it's nothing to worry about. It doesn't help that they're not convinced with a weapon aimed at them.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Ju doesn't want to shoot any of the PSS agents in the safehouse since one of them served with him back in the ROKMC.
• Genre Savvy: Orders all agents in the safehouse to get weapons from the armory when he sees PSS agents arriving.
• Hypocritical Humor: Chief Agent Ju, who has just participated in the murder of the president, saying "It's not like we've committed a crime, for Christ's sake."
• The Lancer: Director Kim's second-in-command. He helps him orchestrate the murder.
• Only Sane Man: Ju is this in the KCIA hierarchy, when he's doing things that the Presidential Security Service should be doing in the first place.
  Ju: Why should the KCIA take care of shit like this? The [Presidential Security Service] should be doing this shit.
  PSS Agent: We've done our share.
  • He also realized that one of the agents recruited isn't very smart, despite serving in the marines.
• Number Two: Second in command of the KCIA.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Most of the time, he's doing errands on behalf on the president instead of doing his duties as an intelligence agent.
• Tragic Mistake: Ju's failure in "securing" the witnesses got Director Kim into much trouble after he got arrested.
• Running Gag: Most of the time, you'll see him pop chewing gum into his mouth.

Min

• Adaptation Name Change/Expy: Of KCIA agent and ex-Army colonel Park Heung-ju.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Leads a unit of KCIA agents to take out PSS agents in the safehouse kitchen.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Calls up his family before he would be eventually arrested for participating in the assassination.
• Genre Savvy: When Min realizes that the DSC was starting to apprehend every active KCIA agent, he gets away before the military can stop him.
• Weapon Of Choice: Uses a Smith & Wesson Model 36 as his main sidearm.
• Zerg Rush: Used this tactic when he and a couple of agents rushed in to gun down PSS agents in the safehouse kitchen.

Park Chung-hee

• Defiant to the End:
  Park: Director Kim, are you going to shoot me again?
• Dirty Old Man: President Park, as lovingly detailed in the early scene where the madam describes how her hooker woke up to find the president fondling her naked body.
• Historical Domain Character
• Jerkass Has a Point: The president insisted that the Americans keep preaching about democracy when a small number of countries actually practice it in the 1970s, which was true in that time.
• Misery Builds Character: Park said that the punishment he received from his Manchuaria days influenced him on his road as president.
• Omniglot: Speaks Korean and Japanese. Which makes sense as symbolism since his first military experience was in Manchuria.

Yang

• Adaptation Name Change/Expy: Possible for Kim Gye-won, who was present in the time of Park's assassination.
• Cassandra Truth: When he insists that President Park was murdered by Kim, the initial reaction was that his judgement was affected by too much alcohol drinking.
• Omniglot: Speaks Korean and Japanese.
• Yes-Man: His appointed position to be his drinking buddy, much to Director Kim's disgust.

Cha Ji-chul

• Bad Boss: Cha punches Ju in the chest for failing to get the old lady and her daughter out of the Blue House and for chewing gum. He does this to anyone who would upset him, even for the smallest of things.
• Chekhov's Gun: Or rather, Chekhov's lack of a gun. Cha angrily rejects his underling's suggestion to carry a weapon, saying President Park doesn't like the sight of guns when he's drinking. This leaves both of them defenseless when Director Kim comes in shooting.
• Dirty Coward: He initially runs and hides before he gets killed. Justified since he didn't bring his sidearm with him.
• Historical Domain Character
• Number Two: In President Park's administration, despite his "official" role as the man in charge of the Presidential Security Service.

Jeong Seung-hwa

• Hero Antagonist: In the middle of the movie, Seung-hwa gets into this part when KCIA agents were arrested by the MPs.
• Hey, Wait!: Got into this situation when Army MPs didn't recognize them due to him wearing his suit and tie. He thinks that they're stupid for not recognizing their chief of staff.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Not at first, but only until he gets information that Kim shot President Park that he decided to listen and issue the order to arrest all KCIA agents.

Shim Soo-bong

• Historical Domain Character
• Disproportionate Retribution: Was arrested afterwards for being present in the murder and was not allowed to be singing on TV and radio until 1981.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Soo-bong and Jae-soon retreat to a side room after witnessing the murder of Park. They start pounding vodka shots.

Shin Jae-soon

• Historical Domain Character
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Soo-bong and Jae-soon retreat to a side room after witnessing the murder of Park. They start pounding vodka shots.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: It's only known that she moved to America after she wrote a book based on her experience.

Shim Sang-hyo

• Big Eater: When detained due to his links with the KCIA, Sang-hyo eats a lot of food as shown in the epilogue.
• The Stoic: Tends to not talk much unless he has to.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: According to the epilogue, he secluded himself from public life and chose not to discuss what happened in the KCIA safehouse.