[Edaily Starin Gim Ga Yeong Reporter] “New Recruit 4: Sabotage” ended on a high note, setting a new all-time viewership record.

ENA’s Monday-Tuesday drama “Rookie 4: Sabotage” wrapped up on the 29th. According to Nielsen Korea on the 30th, the final episode’s viewership rating was 5.2% nationwide, with a peak of 5.8% per minute, setting a new series high. This marks the highest viewership rating across all seasons of the series.
On that day, Major Kim Ha-na (played by Gong Min-jeong) appeared at the Shin Hwa Unit exuding an extraordinary aura. Battalion Commander Byun Hyeok-jin (played by Lee Hyun-kyun) could not hide his surprise at the arrival of a major-level inspector who had come without prior notice. Major Kim Ha-na announced that she would be inspecting each company’s warehouses, supplies, and facilities as part of an army-wide inventory audit, but the atmosphere was far from what one would expect from a simple inventory check. Unit members scrambled to reconcile the ledgers with the actual quantities. The administrative section made nonstop calls to other units to replenish missing supplies, but their efforts came to naught when it was revealed that Major Kim Ha-na had already sealed off each unit’s warehouse and begun a physical count. Eventually, the administrative officer even resorted to the “canteen grave”—the Shinwa Unit’s secret weapon. The troops dug up a hillside to retrieve canteens buried there long ago, and in the process, they discovered old items and even a photo of the Operations Officer from his younger days, which brought smiles to everyone’s faces.
In the ammunition depot, it was revealed that there were far more blank rounds remaining than recorded in the ledgers. Since this indicated a lack of training, it could have become another problem. However, Major Kim Ha-na not only turned a blind eye to this by personally using up the blank rounds herself, but also bought frozen foods for the troops at the PX and listened to their stories naturally, displaying a peculiar warmth. Outwardly, she was thoroughly inspecting every corner of the base, but at the same time, she was carefully observing the personalities of the people there.
However, the true purpose of the inventory inspection was something else entirely. It was not merely a routine inventory check but an on-site assessment to identify units targeted for consolidation due to troop reductions. Major Kim Ha-na presented the “Unit Consolidation On-Site Assessment Report” and announced that the Shinwa Unit had been officially designated for consolidation. Furthermore, a conversation between the regiment commander and Nam Joong-beom (played by Jo Seung-yeon) revealed yet another twist. Beneath the guise of a simple unit consolidation lay a power struggle targeting Jo Baek-ho (played by Oh Dae-hwan) and Byun Hyeok-jin. This implied that the disbandment of the Shin Hwa Unit was not merely an administrative decision, heightening the tension.
The officers of the 2nd Company reflected on their military careers thus far. The administrative officer, who had served in the Shinwa Unit for over 20 years, expressed his deep affection for the unit, saying that his entire youth was left behind there. Major Kim Ha-na was also present at the gathering. As the dinner party was winding down, Kim Ha-na asked how he had been, and Jo Baek-ho’s muttered remark, “So we meet like this,” revealed that the two had known each other in the past, leaving viewers curious.
Memories scattered throughout the Shinwa Unit also came to the surface. Scenes of the spaces where the soldiers had spent time together—from the guard post to the smoking area, the laundry drying area, the administrative office, and the barracks—were shown one after another, deepening the sense of regret at having to leave the unit. Just as the thought that this was the last time brought a lump to their throats, news arrived that new recruits had arrived.
Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding Choi Il-gu’s (played by Nam Tae-woo) return as a corporal was also solved. After seeing Platoon Leader Oh Seok-jin (played by Lee Sang-jin) infatuated with a woman he met on social media, Choi Il-gu immediately recognized it as a scam. Choi Il-gu recalled a time after his discharge, when he was struggling with financial hardship and tuition fees, and had nearly fallen victim to the same scam himself. At the time, he couldn’t send money because he had no balance in his account; he was eventually blocked by the other party. Faced with the harsh realities of life, he turned to a non-commissioned officer recruitment notice and returned to his position as a sergeant.
The new recruits arriving at the Shinwa Unit were also anything but ordinary. The cast featured characters with distinct personalities, ranging from a recruit who claimed to have received a divine calling, to the son of a chaebol family who attended prestigious private schools in the U.S. and an Ivy League university, to a recruit believed to be a former member of the national reserve team. Park Min-seok (played by Kim Min-ho), who greets the new recruits with the words, “Let’s do our best from now on,” brought the story of the “Myth” Unit to a close in a manner true to the spirit of a “recruit” right up to the very end, raising anticipation for Season 5.
“Rookies” is a gritty, realistic drama that unfolds when a “privileged” recruit joins a unit already filled with all kinds of characters. After Season 1 garnered widespread acclaim in 2022, the series was produced through Season 4 and has established itself as KT Studio Genie’s flagship intellectual property (IP). Ahead of the Season 4 release, the show is demonstrating its status as a popular IP by even operating a pop-up store.