You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 177

Choi Jong-hyun and Kim Jeong-woo looked at Jo Bong-joon, who was entering the studio with a perplexed expression.

“Uh, what’s with the atmosphere?”

Jo Bong-joon, who had been excitedly prancing around, gradually stopped and slowly approached Choi Jong-hyun.

He seemed uneasy as they just stared at him without saying a word.

“Was I not supposed to be excited?”

“That’s not it, Bong-joon.”

Choi Jong-hyun barely maintained his smile and faced him as he sat down beside him.

“What’s wrong, *hyung* [older brother or male friend]? Why are you suddenly using honorifics?”

“We’re on air, you little shit.”

Choi Jong-hyun’s finger pointed to the chat window, which was flooded with countless ‘k’s.

He stared at the chat window with a blank expression.

As soon as Jo Bong-joon shouted that he had been sued, the number of viewers increased at a crazy rate, surpassing a thousand in no time.

[TinCan: Jo Bong-joon is shocked 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lololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol المست the Myunghwa was

My Chicken is Fried: I got sued, but why am I so excited? LOL

Landlord: Bongjoon is more robust than I thought. He’s quite sturdy.

I came to see Bongjoon: I thought Apollo was just a loser in his room, but if I met him in person, I wouldn’t even be able to talk to him. Look at that manly beard, wow.

Jo Bongjoon couldn’t even read all the rapidly rising chat and was fumbling around for a while.

And then, Kim Jungwoo quietly approached the computer and started changing the title of the broadcast.

[(Live) Apollo just got sued by Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals]

Kim Jungwoo looked back at me as if asking how it was.

Good choice.

It’s much more noticeable and interesting than the original title, ‘Revealing the Truth of Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals.’

I think Choi Jonghyun was the one who initially set the title, but he said he watched internet broadcasts for a whole month to learn about internet broadcasting culture. I wonder what he actually studied.

“The chat is going up too fast, so I can’t read it properly. Anyway, it seems like the broadcast won’t go according to the script we wrote, right?”

Jo Bongjoon looked at the cue cards with teary eyes and soon put them down on the table.

“Let’s start with the introductions again. It’s a historic first broadcast.”

“Alright. Hello. As you all seem to know, I am Apollo, Jo Bongjoon. My current occupation is investor.”

[KidJobJin: LOL, investor is just a nice way of saying unemployed, right?]

“Who just called me unemployed in the chat? Ban them. Did you ban them?”

Jo Bongjoon leaned over to Kim Jungwoo and asked. Kim Jungwoo gestured for him to continue with the introduction.

“If you call me unemployed again, you’re really getting banned from the chat. Ahem. Reporter Choi, please introduce yourself.”

“Yes. I’m reporter Choi Jonghyun. Actually, I already introduced myself earlier, but since there are many new viewers, I’ll say it again. My current affiliation? I don’t have one right now. Haha.”

[KidJobJin: So, they’re both unemployed LOL]

“When are you banning that person from the chat?”

Jo Bongjoon, who claimed he couldn’t read the fast-scrolling chat, caught the word ‘unemployed’ with incredible accuracy.

Watching Jo Bongjoon’s aggrieved expression, the viewers spammed ‘ㅋ’ [Korean equivalent of ‘lol’ or laughter] once again, enjoying the show.

“Ah, I don’t have an affiliation now, but until recently, I was in the social affairs department of Iljung Daily. I’m just saying this so you don’t think some unprofessional person is just blabbering.”

“I’m honestly nothing special, but reporter Choi Jonghyun is actually an elite among elites. You can search it up; he graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Communication.”

“Oh, stop it; you’re embarrassing me.”

Contrary to expectations, the two were leading the broadcast well.

The conversation flowed seamlessly, keeping viewers engaged and reacting in real-time to their stories.

[Jjamppong Rice: Tell us about getting sued]

“Ah, right, the lawsuit. Actually, our plan for today was to give a brief overview for those unfamiliar with the Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals case and wrap up the first broadcast. But the lawsuit arrived just in time, so we can’t really avoid talking about it now.”

[Girls’ Generation is ♡: Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals just inadvertently helped them make a *gga-neun* [criticizing] broadcast, lol]

“That’s right. Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals is inadvertently helping our broadcast right now. Haha. Our viewership has increased significantly since they announced the lawsuit.”

“The summons was delivered to my house, but we’re broadcasting from a studio. This broadcast is more serious than you thought, right? I should show you the summons on air, but I can’t reveal all the personal information. I’ve already asked my younger sibling, who received the registered mail while still half-asleep, to take a picture and email it to me. Can we display that on the screen?”

Jo Bongjoon wrote his email address on a piece of paper and showed it to Kim Jungwoo.

While Kim Jungwoo accessed the email on the computer to retrieve the photo, Jo Bongjoon continued speaking.

“Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals is suing me for defamation by spreading false information. Specifically, they’re suing me for cyber defamation. It seems they’re taking issue with the posts I made on the stock bulletin board. And NewsNow, where I appeared last time, might also be implicated. Well, I’ll know more once I attend the summons…”

As Jo Bongjoon spoke, Kim Jungwoo displayed the received summons on the screen.

Most of the personal information was cleverly blacked out, leaving only the essential details visible.

“Violation of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., (Defamation). It says, ‘We would like to inquire about the case, so please attend at [Date] at [Location].'”

[Tonkatsu Killer: Are you going to do a review broadcast after attending? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

“Of course, I’ll do a review broadcast afterward. First of all, I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, you have done something wrong.”

Choi Jonghyun interrupted Jo Bongjoon.

“Done something wrong? What did I do wrong?”

“You damaged their reputation by spreading the truth.”

“Oh, right, I did damage their reputation. But how can they even *have* a reputation when they’ve done such things? They shouldn’t have done things that would *make* them lose their reputation in the first place. And I did it for the public interest, so strictly speaking, it doesn’t even count as defamation.”

“Viewers may or may not know this, but under Korean law, whether you state the truth or state falsehoods, if it constitutes defamation, both cases can be grounds for a lawsuit. However, the penalties differ depending on whether it’s true or false, so to punish them effectively, they need to verify the truth of your statements.”

“Actually, that’s why I was kind of waiting to get sued… Hehe.”

“[Sunset: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ He’s crazy]”

“[Bongjoon’sBeard: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Jo Bongjoon’s grand plan]”

“No, I’m not crazy. Look, if such serious allegations are raised, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety [MFDS; the South Korean government agency responsible for regulating food and drugs] should take some action. Right? Okay, let’s say the MFDS is full of… well, let’s just say they initially thought there was no problem with the research results report from that American research institution that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals submitted as clarification. But now people are saying there’s a problem with that American research institution too, and the MFDS is just standing still.”

“That’s true.”

“Even if they’re racking their brains and holding emergency meetings about what to do, how much time has already passed? And still no response. The agency that should be determining whether it’s true or not is just standing still, so what choice do I have?”

“But, with Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals suing Jo Bongjoon, the investigative authorities will now determine whether what Jo Bongjoon disseminated is true or not. Does that mean the truth will be verified somewhere, somehow?”

“That’s right. The date on the summons is about five days from now. I’ll hire a lawyer and diligently gather the necessary materials with Reporter Choi Jonghyun to attend. If anyone has information that could help me, I’ll leave my email address on the screen, so please contact me there.”

Just then, Kim Jungwoo displayed Jo Bongjoon’s email address at the top of the screen.

Bringing Kim Jungwoo on as a director and editor seems to have been a good choice.

Perhaps because he used to enjoy watching internet broadcasts, he’s handling things with quick wit.

The broadcast, which started at 6 PM, continued until 10 PM.

Using the materials that Choi Jonghyun had diligently prepared for today, they explained the Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals case as originally planned.

“I believe that those who didn’t know much about the Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals case now have a good understanding. We will be broadcasting every Wednesday. We’ll continue to discuss new issues related to Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals and how my lawsuit is progressing.”

“[Jjamtiger: But isn’t Bongjoon being sued because of this broadcast? Won’t that negatively affect him, like, lead to a harsher punishment?]”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m proceeding with advice from a very capable lawyer, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“That’s right. Well, um… It’s already past 10 PM. Should we end the broadcast now?”

“Let’s do that. In professional broadcasting terms, it’s called ‘bangjong’ [ending a broadcast]. I’ll end the broadcast now. See you next Wednesday at 6 PM. Thank you all for coming to watch our first broadcast today.”

“Thank you, goodbye!”

[Baeksu King: Ah, give us more ㅠㅠㅠ Don’t goㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Pot Holder: Seriously, I watched two middle-aged men sitting and chatting for four hours? I’m getting goosebumps;;

Lee So룡 Tracksuit: It’s fun, give us moreㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

Kim Jung-woo ended the broadcast after receiving a signal from Choi Jong-hyun.

After turning off the camera, the two men, who had been excitedly talking, immediately collapsed onto the table.

“Ah, that was tough.”

“This is harder than I thought.”

I took out two bottles of mineral water from the refrigerator and placed them in front of them.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Indeed, the two of them had been talking non-stop.

In between, they got worked up about the wrongdoings of Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals, their faces flushed as they passionately spoke. They must have been overwhelmed trying to keep up with the chat and cue cards.

“How’s the reaction?”

“The reaction is good. Moreover, the news of Jo Bong-joon being sued was already published online at 6:30 PM.”

“(At) 6:30? Wow, that’s fast.”

It seemed they were monitoring Jo Bong-joon’s broadcast and published the article as soon as he authenticated [confirmed] the summons.

Following that, posts about Jo Bong-joon being sued by Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals spread like wildfire across various online communities.

There were even articles not only about the lawsuit but also about Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun starting an internet broadcast together.

In terms of buzz, it was a success.

The number of viewers surpassed 2,000 around 8 PM, the peak time of the broadcast.

“And we’ve been selected as a rising star on the broadcasting platform. We’ve already received a thousand recommendations from the broadcasting station.”

“Rising star? What’s that?”

“It’s something that promotes new BJs [Broadcast Jockeys, or streamers]. If a BJ with less than 50 hours of broadcasting secures more than 100 viewers, they promote them. Then it appears on the main page of the site.”

Kim Jung-woo turned the laptop screen towards them and said.

“Wow, there’s something like that? If the standard is over 100 people, we had 2,000, so we really succeeded.”

“It’s a complete jackpot. And these current affairs-related channels aren’t usually popular here. Everyone mainly focuses on game broadcasts or ‘communication broadcasts’ [where streamers interact directly with viewers].”

“That’s great. But Jung-woo, you seem to watch a lot of internet broadcasts? You know a lot about it.”

“I watch a lot of them. I especially like games. First, I’ll rewatch today’s broadcast and clip the important parts. And besides the platform the lawyer mentioned, there are many other video sites scattered around. I’ll spread the clips there too.”

“Wow, that’s so reliable, Jung-woo.”

“That’s right. Thanks to Jung-woo, things will proceed smoothly, right?”

Choi Jong-hyun patted him on the shoulder, and Kim Jung-woo smiled faintly.

“I’m really happy to be able to help you, Senior.”

He had occasionally asked Choi Jong-hyun about Kim Jung-woo’s recent situation, but this was the first time he had seen him in person since that incident.

He heard that he had stopped taking Zolpidem [a prescription sedative] and switched to a slightly better sleep aid.

Now that he’s left Iljung Daily and is working with Choi Jong-hyun again, he should improve even more.

“Then, we should also discuss how to respond legally.”

“We should. Seriously, why did the lawsuit have to arrive right before the broadcast?”

“Still, it gained us some buzz, and you both spoke well even without any preparation. Anyway, you must be tired today, so let’s have a full meeting tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“You’ve all worked hard. Let’s go home now.”

It seemed like things were wrapping up, and since it was late, it would be good to call it a day.

“Cha, where are you going?”

“…Where am I going? I’m going home.”

“Why are you saying such disappointing things?”

Jo Bong-joon suddenly grabbed my shoulder.

“What are you talking about?”

“We had a historic first broadcast, so we have to have a company dinner. I’ve already contacted the NIS [National Intelligence Service, likely a humorous exaggeration here]. Let’s go have a company dinner!”

“I’m fine.”

I just want to go home, take a warm bath, and relax.

“Lawyer Cha is paying tonight!”

I paid for everything needed for the broadcast, including setting up the studio, and even the rent for the officetel [a type of studio apartment often used as an office] where Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon are staying. Why on earth should I have to pay for the company dinner too?

“The sugar daddy is paying!”

…Why me?