# Veteran (2015 film)

Veteran (Korean: 베테랑) is a 2015 South Korean action comedy film written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. It drew 13.4 million admissions, making it the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in South Korean cinema history. Veteran also won the Casa Asia Award at the Sitges Film Festival.
A sequel titled I, the Executioner premiered in 2024.

## Plot

Seo Do-cheol is a merciless police detective, who investigates the suicide of a truck driver named Bae, where he learns from Bae's son that Jo Tae-oh, the sadistic third-generation heir to powerful conglomerate Sinjin Group has assaulted Bae as the latter protested against the conglomerate for back-payment. Do-cheol personally begins the investigation, which enrages Tae-oh. Later, Tae-oh uses his influence to make Do-cheol handle another case. He also tries to bribe Do-cheol's wife with the help of his conglomerate's SVP Choi Dae-woong, but she refuses, where Do-cheol threatens Tae-oh after learning this.
Do-cheol takes the help from a reporter to publish the news, but to no avail. Tae-oh hires a logistics contractor named Jeon to finish Do-cheol and also makes the Internal affairs to interrogate him, but is timely saved by his team leader Oh. Do-cheol escapes from a murder attempt by Jeon, where a detective gets stabbed. Using the opportunity, Do-cheol and his team discover evidences and gets approval for the investigation against Tae-oh, but Tae-oh's father and the conglomerate chairman Jo makes Dae-woong to take the blame. With his team's help, Do-cheol learns that Bae was killed after he tried to seek revenge for assaulting him, and was made it as a suicide.
After inquiring Dae-woong, Do-cheol learns that Tae-oh is planning to escape to Singapore. Before leaving, Tae-oh throws a party where he meets his former girlfriend Jeong Da-hye (who is pregnant with his child) and tries to kill her when she abuses him. Do-cheol forms a plan where they plant a false case against Tae-oh for assaulting his girlfriend, and the cops fight with the bodyguards to arrest him. After an intense car chase, Do-cheol and Tae-oh engage in a hand-to-hand combat where despite brutal injuries, Do-cheol manages to arrest Tae-oh, who is later produced for a trial at the Supreme Court along with Dae-woong, and are sentenced to prison. In the hospital, Do-cheol recovers from his injuries and soon returns back to duty.

## Cast

* Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol
* Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh
* Yoo Hae-jin as Choi Dae-woong
* Oh Dal-su as Team leader Oh
* Jang Yoon-ju as Miss Bong
* Kim Shi-hoo as Detective Yoon
* Oh Dae-hwan as Detective Wang
* Jung Woong-in as Driver Bae
* Jung Man-sik as Chief Jeon
* Song Young-chang as Chairman Jo
* Jin Kyung as Joo-yeon
* Yoo In-young as Jeong Da-hye
* Park So-dam as "the youngest"
* Lee Dong-hwi as Yoon Hong-ryeol
* Bae Sung-woo as Used cars business owner
* Chun Ho-jin as Regional investigation unit senior superintendent
* Jang So-yeon as Driver Bae's wife
* Kim Jae-hyeon as Driver Bae's son
* Park Jong-hwan as Team leader Yang
* Uhm Tae-goo as Jo Tae-oh's bodyguard
* Park Ji-hoon as Security manager
* Jo Yeon-hee as Contract worker
* Shin Seung-hwan as Reporter Park
* Yeo Ho-min as Director Kim
* Lee Ye-won as Jo Tae-oh's hair stylist 2
* Park Ji-yoon as News reporter (voice)
* Ahn Gil-kang as Jurisdiction police chief (cameo)
* Ma Dong-seok as Big guy with sportswear (cameo)
* Kim Eung-soo as Adviser Jeong (cameo)

## Box office

Veteran opened in South Korea on August 5, 2015. It grossed ₩21.7 billion (US$18.6 million) from 2.75 million admissions over its first five days of release. By November 6, it had grossed US$92,077,504 from 13,411,343 admissions and is currently the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history.

## Sequel

Ryoo Seung-wan and production company Filmmaker R&K confirmed that they agreed to make a sequel, which was supposed to hit theaters within two to three years of announcement. It was reported that Hwang Jung-min and Oh Dal-su will reprise their roles, and actor Jung Hae-in is also being considered to succeed Yoo Ah-in as the antagonist. It began filming as Veteran 2 in December 2022 with the cast of Hwang Jung-min, Oh Dal-su, Jang Yoon-ju, Oh Dae-hwan, and Kim Si-hoo. Titled I, the Executioner, it premiered as a midnight screening at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

## Remakes

A Chinese remake of the film was announced in 2016. Originally slated for a 2017 release with Sun Honglei in the starring role, The Big Shot was released in 2019 and starred Wang Qianyuan. An American remake of the film by Michael Mann is currently in development, and will begin production after the release of his film adaptation of Heat 2.

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2015 | 48th Sitges Film Festival | Casa Asia Award (Asia Focus - Best Film) | Veteran | Won |
| 2015 | 3rd Marie Claire Asia Star Awards (20th Busan International Film Festival) | Asia Star of the Year | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Nominated |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | Yoo Ah-in | Nominated |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Screenplay | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Cinematography | Choi Young-hwan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Nominated |
| 2015 | 35th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Top 10 Films of the Year | Veteran | Won |
| 2015 | 15th Korea World Youth Film Festival | Most Favorite Actor | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2015 | 15th Korea World Youth Film Festival | Most Favorite Film Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Actor | Yoo Ah-in | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Yoo Hae-jin | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Jang Yoon-ju | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actress | Jang Yoon-ju | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Screenplay | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Cinematography | Choi Young-hwan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Lighting | Kim Ho-seong | Nominated |
| 2015 | 52nd Grand Bell Awards | Best Sound Recording | Kim Chang-seop | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Actor | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Yoo Hae-jin | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Jin Kyung | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Cinematography-Lighting | Choi Young-hwan, Kim Ho-seong | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Nominated |
| 2015 | 36th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Technical Award | Jung Doo-hong, Jung Yoon-heon (Stunts) | Nominated |
| 2015 | Fashionista Awards | Best Male Fashionista in a Movie (First Prize) | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2015 | 5th SACF Artists of the Year Awards | Artistic Impression in Motion Pictures Award | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2015 | The Korea Film Actors Association Awards | Top Star Award | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2015 | The Korea Film Actors Association Awards | Top Supporting Acting Award | Jin Kyung | Won |
| 2015 | The Korea Film Actors Association Awards | Best Martial Arts Director Award | Jung Doo-hong | Won |
| 2015 | 16th Busan Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | Yoo Hae-jin | Won |
| 2015 | Cine 21 Movie Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2015 | Cine 21 Movie Awards | Best Actor | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2015 | 2nd Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2015 | 2nd Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Cinematography | Choi Young-hwan | Won |
| 2015 | 2nd Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Won |
| 2015 | 2nd Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Technical Award | Jung Doo-hong, Jung Yoon-heon (Stunts) | Won |
| 2016 | 7th KOFRA Film Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Won |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Actor | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Oh Dal-su | Won |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Yoo Hae-jin | Nominated |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Jin Kyung | Nominated |
| 2016 | 11th Max Movie Awards | Best Poster | Veteran | Nominated |
| 2016 | 10th Asian Film Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Nominated |
| 2016 | 10th Asian Film Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 10th Asian Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 10th Asian Film Awards | Best Editing | Kim Sang-bum, Kim Jae-bum | Nominated |
| 2016 | 10th Asian Film Awards | Next Generation Award | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2016 | 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Oh Dal-su | Nominated |
| 2016 | 21st Chunsa Film Art Awards | Technical Award | Choi Young-hwan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 36st Golden Cinematography Awards | Best Actor | Yoo Ah-in | Won |
| 2016 | 36st Golden Cinematography Awards | Cinematography Award - Gold Prize | Choi Young-hwan | Won |
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Nominated |
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Director (Film) | Ryoo Seung-wan | Won |
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Screenplay (Film) | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Actor (Film) | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2016 | 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards | Best Supporting Actor (Film) | Oh Dal-su | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Film | Veteran | Won |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Director | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Actor | Hwang Jung-min | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Ryoo Seung-wan | Nominated |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Choi Young-hwan | Won |
| 2016 | 25th Buil Film Awards | Best Music | Bang Jun-seok | Nominated |