Political Desk () was a South Korean news program airing on JTBC. It has a lighthearted, sometimes satirical, approach to political events in South Korea. It is presented by Lee Sang-bok, with Cho Ik-shin, Shin Hye-won, Ryu Jeong-hwa, Park Joon-woo and Baek Da-hye. It airs Monday to Friday at 16:30 KST.
History and format
Origins Kim Pil-kyu had the idea of producing a political newscast, and he drew a cartoon about it, which was posted on the show's official Twitter account. Originally called Report! Political Meeting at 4:00, it premiered on April 7, 2014. It was presented by Choi Sang-yeon, with Oh Dae-young, Yang Won-bo, Nam Gung-wook and Lee Sung-dae on the panel representing the ruling party, National Assembly, the Blue House, and the opposition, respectively. Kim initially produced this show before being tapped to produce and host JTBC Newsroom's Fact Check segment later that year. He then became the main anchor of the show's weekend edition following Jeon Jin-bae's departure.
Reshuffles
2015 Starting July 2015, multiple reorganizations were held. Im So-ra replaced Blue House captain Nam Gung-wook on July 6, 2015. Opposition leader Lee Sung-dae followed suit 18 days later, and Kim Jung-ha joined as the new head of the National Assembly, replacing Yang Won-bo who moved to Lee's vacated position. Announcer Kang Ji-young also joined the show on July 13, 2015, as a fixed member, hosting the segment Kang Ji-young's Talk Shooting Politics. Yang then stepped down on September 24, leading Yoo Sang-wook to join as the show's new opposition leader. Lee Sang-bok joined the show as its new anchor/moderator on December 14, replacing Choi Sang-yeon, who joined JoongAng Ilbo as one of its new editorial writers. As of this reorganization, only Oh Dae-young was the original member to be on the show. It was later revamped to Political Desk around the end of the year.
2016 2016 also saw multiple reshuffles on the captains' assignments. Oh Dae-young, the program's only remaining original member, stepped down on the broadcast on July 8, along with Kim Jung-ha who was then the head of the National Assembly. Yang Won-bo returned to his original role vacated by Kim on July 11, while Jung Kang-hyun replaces Oh who was the leader of the ruling party. Jung was the head of JoongAng Ilbo's youth reporting team before joining the program. Later that year, Yoo Sang-wook also departed from his role as opposition leader after he was appointed the head of Social Issues team 2. Choi Jong-hyuk replaces him starting December 21.
2017 The first reshuffle of the year happened following the 2017 South Korean presidential elections. Then-opposition leader Choi Jong-hyuk and then-ruling party leader Jung Kang-hyun swapped places on May 10, 2017, at Lee Sang-bok's request, making it the first power switch since the show's inception. According to National Assembly captain Yang Won-bo, Jung seemed bitter about giving up his position to Choi, who was the show's youngest member at the time. Another change in its set and graphics happened on November 6, 2017, which was used until May 15, 2020. Towards the end of the year, Shin Hye-won joins the show as its new Blue House captain, replacing Im So-ra who left the show on December 8.
2018 July 13 saw the introduction of new opposition leader Go Suk-seung, who replaced Jung Kang-hyun following his departure. This year also saw Lee Sang-bok ascend to his new role as JTBC News' press director on November 20, officially replacing his title as director of the second politics division on the broadcast subtitles.
2020 Park Sung-tae and Cho Ik-shin joined the cast on January 6, 2020, following the departure of Lee Sang-bok and Yang Won-bo. Lee left to focus more on his role as press director due to the 2020 South Korean legislative elections, while Yang became the new general manager for JTBC News' policy team. Park eventually left on May 15, 2020, after over four months of hosting the show. It also became the show's last broadcast to be anchored from the open studio inside Trust Building. Choi Jong-hyuk teased towards the end that Lee Sang-bok might be making his return to the show after he did a reverse triangle gesture that became popular and was used on its opening IDs during his tenure. Park will now be JTBC Newsroom's new weekend editor. In addition, they will be moving to a new studio inside Creation Hall just beside it, and the open studio they used was renovated to be used by Scandal Supervisor. Lee Sang-bok made his official return to the show on May 18, 2020, while also debuting the show's new set and graphics package. Kang Ji-young's sole segment Talk Shooting Politics was abolished on the same day and replaced with On-site Briefing, promoting her as the show's on-site captain. Lee's former segment One-cut Politics made a return on the same day, along with Shin's Political School returning on June 3, 2020. It also established two new segments for each captain slowly, starting with Shin Hye-won (Minute Call-Call, New World), Choi Jong-hyuk (Check It Out, A Song For Something), Cho Ik-shin (Oh My Gosh, What's Wrong With You, Cho's Unanswered Questions) and Go Suk-seung (Ancient People, go! go! Sing!). There is also Dajeonghwe Theater, a segment where the captains work together for a skit. Starting on July 20, 2020, Yang becomes the first Political Desk member to have his own show with the premiere of 3:10 Relay. Captains Choi Jong-hyuk (ruling party) and Go Suk-seung (opposition) left the show on December 4, 2020, following another JTBC News large-scale reorganization. They will be replaced by Ryu Jeong-hwa and Park Joon-woo, respectively.
2021 Starting on May 17, 2021, the show migrated back to Trust Building to prepare for the large-scale JTBC News reorganization scheduled on June 7. Kang Ji-young's Field Briefing segment ended on May 18, 2021, marking her final day as part of the cast. She will be joining JTBC's new show Ssulzun Live with fellow alumni Park Sung-tae and Lee Sung-dae, prompting Baek Da-hye to replace her as sub-anchor. This will also mark their first major format change since its inception, with segments being catered to each captain's characters in the show and the captain titles being abolished entirely.
Format The show's format is more lighthearted in approach than its other newscasts such as JTBC Newsroom, however, it took a more serious turn as Park Sung-tae became anchor/moderator. It is presented in the style of a meeting, as if to plan for a broadcast. The captains sometimes add jokes in their respective presentations, and tease each other, including Lee Sang-bok.
Opening theme The opening theme is Lee Seung-hwan's Solo War, from his 2010 album Dreamizer. When he appeared on the third season of Hidden Singer, he expressed interest in the format of Political Desk and decided to let them use the song. Lee picked the song himself because of its rock sound and lyrical meaning.
Segments The fixed segments are those which appear regularly on the program, or are regular segments of the main anchor and field captain. The recurring segments are only added in by the captains for fun.
Current segments
Fixed segments Opening/Today's Political Meeting - the anchor/moderator (currently Lee Sang-bok) will be briefed by the panel about the day's political news. There was an instance that then-Newsroom weekday anchors Sohn Suk-hee and Ahn Na-kyung, as well as former weekend anchors Kim Pil-kyu and Jeon Jin-bae, along with Scandal Supervisor host Park Sung-joon, were spotted in the lobby just outside the studio. Choi Jong-hyuk pointed it out when Lee Sang-bok asked him why he kept looking towards them. Despite that, Sohn and Ahn have been seen on the background multiple times. This was temporarily stopped during the network's special coverage on the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, and in the process, the segments each captain host were also affected. It eventually went back on April 20, 2020, along with Intensive Talk. Starting December 7, 2020, Lee Sang-bok is briefed by two captains (that can be assigned at random) while on their seats. Intensive Talk - the main segment where each reporter gives their respective presentations. Each of the reporters have similar focus, but different in styles. This is also where the captains add a segment they created for fun. In the absence of the four captains, other political reporters take their spot, while one of the four captains take over the anchor chair if the anchor is absent.
Former segments
Jung's Separated Gaze () - in this segment, Jung Kang-hyun interviews a politician related to his presentation. When Politics Meet Music () - this was Jung Kang-hyun's only fixed segment before the reorganization, in which he uses his extensive knowledge as a cultural reporter, as well as his musical ability, to bring a musically appropriate side to a political story. He also uses poetry and quotes from novels. Friday Tea Room () - this segment is similar to the When Politics Meet Music segment above, where viewers selected songs that go along with their stories. Go Suk-seung revived this segment as Go's Friday Tea Room. Politicians Eat Dinner Together () - named after the JTBC variety show Let's Eat Dinner Together, Jung Kang-hyun interviews a politician while eating together. When Jung left the show, Kang Ji-young hosted this corner for a short while. Asian Cup Desk () - a short-lived segment hosted by Yang Won-bo where he presents the latest happenings at the Asian Cup tournament. Reply Dajeonghwe () - this was a segment where the cast answers questions from what viewers post on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their official website. It is similar to Social Live, but was broadcast everyday as opposed to Social Live where it is broadcast every other day (currently broadcast from Mondays-Thursdays). The title is a parody of the Reply series. Today's Speech () - this was a corner where the captains present their respective pieces briefly. It served as the newscast's opening. Lee Sang-bok's 60 Second Preview ()- a segment where Lee Sang-bok presents major political stories within one minute, similar to One-cut Politics. Yang's Interesting Politics () - this was Yang Won-bo's recurring segment before he was replaced by Cho Ik-shin, and is the same with Captain Cho's Presentation. Kang Ji-young's Talk Shooting Politics () - the sole segment held by announcer Kang Ji-young, she deals with light political topics and other social issues. Originally planned to be a segment in-between topics, it now airs at the end of each meeting. On Fridays, this corner is omitted because of the shortened runtime. This segment did not air from February 21, 2020, to cater to news related to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, but eventually resumed airing on April 20, 2020. This corner doesn't air if Kang is absent. This segment has been officially replaced by Field Briefing starting May 18, 2020. Choi's Traveling Back in Time () - a segment that shows past events related to ruling party leader Choi Jong-hyuk's article that day. It is similar to JTBC Newsroom's On This Day and SBS 8 News' Today in History, although different in approach. The two segments show historical events that happened on a certain day, while Choi's segment focuses on the presentation and the events related to the story that day. Chief Choi is Coming () - a segment that shows Choi Jong-hyuk reporting breaking news. However, it is difficult to gather information and produce it like a news report. The two segments have officially been replaced by Check It Out and A Song for Something. Tea Party Hotline/Tea Party Invitation - this segment is not limited to one captain, but a corner in which someone conducts an interview via phone during the meeting. It is succeeded by Minute Call-Call.