The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 104

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places – 104

Wings (7)

“We have chosen this path to ensure the self-regulation within the prosecution. As the President has independently ordered this investigation, we will proceed without any concealment…”

I stood at the press conference alongside Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong.

The fact that the investigation was targeting the Minister of Justice, no less, was already a major topic. Given the gravity of the situation, it was determined that I couldn’t handle it alone.

No matter how much I had risen to become the chief prosecutor of the special investigation unit, I was still insignificant compared to the Minister of Justice. The primary reason for this collaboration was to bolster my strength.

“We will investigate Minister Hong Hyung-joo through a transparent process…”

Even at the press conference, I only showed my face while Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong handled the briefing himself.

This indicated the importance of the case.

After the 30-minute press conference, we stepped down from the podium.

In the elevator heading to the parking lot, Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong looked at me and asked,

“Isn’t this a lot of pressure?”

“No, sir.”

“It would be abnormal if you weren’t feeling any pressure in this situation.”

Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong chuckled dryly.

“Frankly, it’s absurd. A chief prosecutor investigating the Minister of Justice is unprecedented in the history of South Korea.”

“That’s true.”

He seemed genuinely concerned about me, saying with a pitiful look,

“I don’t know how this case ended up in your hands, but…”

Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong grabbed my shoulder and continued,

“Even if things go wrong during the investigation, I’ll have your back, so don’t worry and push forward.”

The moment I saw his face, I could feel the sincerity in his words.

In that instant, I felt a surge of elation.

To hear such words from Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong, who was known for not opening his heart to anyone.

I realized that my months of volunteering with Han Ji-yoo and sucking up to his wife, Director Lee Young-mi, had finally paid off.

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head and replied.

“I will do my best.”

“Good. Don’t be afraid. Even though he’s the Minister of Justice, public opinion has already turned against him, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to deal with him.”

“Understood. I will proceed properly.”

***

Less than a day after the joint press conference with Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong, a press conference was held to announce the Minister of Justice’s official position.

-Effective immediately, I will step down from my position as Minister of Justice. I offer my apologies to all those who have been hurt by my past actions…

Before the investigation could even properly begin, Hong Hyung-joo resigned from his position as Minister of Justice.

“That ended more anticlimactically than I expected.”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kwon Hyung-gi, who had been watching the press conference with me, smirked and said.

“I thought Minister Hong, that bastard, would fight to the very end.”

“I think he thought it would be better to resign than to be investigated by me.”

“True. Submitting to an investigation would only be like smearing his own face with feces.”

The fact that a person at the top of the prosecution pyramid was being investigated by me, a mere chief prosecutor, was probably a blow to his pride.

Until now, he had somehow managed to hold on by throwing money around, but he probably didn’t want to cling to his position while being torn apart by someone from within the prosecution, someone who, from his perspective, was far below him.

The very idea of meeting a mere chief prosecutor in an interrogation room was a huge scratch on the Minister of Justice’s pride.

Even though he had many flaws, I thought Minister Hong Hyung-joo would mobilize his connections within the prosecution and fight for quite a while, but it ended far too easily.

In fact, from my perspective, it couldn’t have been better.

I showed my face to the media with the first press conference and didn’t have to suffer at all.

It was truly a situation where I solved the problem without even lifting a finger.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kwon Hyung-gi slapped me on the back and said,

“Chief Choi, you’ve really hit the jackpot, haven’t you?”

“I guess so. I was just rolling up my sleeves to start, and it ended just like that.”

“Now that it’s turned out this way, it feels like we took down the Minister of Justice with media play? Hahaha.”

Wait a minute.

Media play?

The moment I repeated that word, a thought flashed through my mind like a bolt of lightning.

The fact that a mere chief prosecutor was investigating the Minister of Justice himself must have been an enormous pressure for Hong Hyung-joo.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of me as a person, but the very fact that he was being investigated by someone of a much lower rank was humiliating, and the fact that it was being publicized in the media must have been a huge source of ridicule for him, so he couldn’t help but feel pressured.

If someone from the same line [faction or network] had been in charge of his investigation, he might have thought it would be a lenient investigation, but since I belonged to a different line, he couldn’t even expect that.

In that case, Hong Hyung-joo might have resigned with the feeling of ‘I’m quitting because it’s too dirty’ before suffering the humiliation of facing me in the interrogation room.

So far, there’s no problem.

Because it’s a perfectly reasonable situation.

However, the most important question here is whether Kyung Dong-soo envisioned and orchestrated this scenario or not.

Whether he had this thought or not, it’s undeniable that he helped me, but if he had foreseen this situation and used me, then Kyung Dong-soo is truly a terrifying person.

I’m suddenly getting goosebumps.

While pretending to help me, he easily got rid of Minister Hong Hyung-joo, who was his own weakness.

It was the most ideal scenario for him to perfectly achieve the two things he wanted.

Moreover, the longer the case went on, the higher the status of Choi Seo-joon would become. However, if he ended the case early like this, he could prevent me from rising to a position that would threaten him.

It seems that Kyung Dong-soo is more than I thought.

I need to be a little more cautious.

“What’s wrong, Chief Choi? Is your face stiff because you’re too happy?”

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kwon Hyung-gi asked with a hearty laugh.

“No, sir. I was just thinking that I could go back to my hometown for this Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] holiday without worrying about work.”

I vaguely glossed over the words and changed the subject.

“Deputy Chief, aren’t you going back to your hometown for the holiday?”

“I have to. I’m going down early this time…”

***

The day before the start of the Chuseok holiday, I visited the home of former Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-won as usual.

“Chief Prosecutor, how have you been?”

“Aigo [expression of surprise/exasperation], Choi Seo-joon, you rascal, why are you here again?”

Kim Seok-won pretended to dislike it, but he actually greeted me warmly, even calling me by my name.

“It’s Chuseok, so I have to come, of course.”

I handed over the gift set I had prepared and joked.

“Didn’t I tell you that I would come and bother you every holiday, Chief Prosecutor?”

“That was a long time ago, why are you still calling me Chief Prosecutor?”

He waved his hand, but the smile on his face couldn’t hide his delight.

“Come in.”

“Yes.”

I answered energetically and entered the house.

A desolate feeling.

When I visited during Seollal [Lunar New Year], I felt that the gifts had decreased, but this time it felt truly empty.

To think that he would become a has-been so quickly, less than a year after stepping down from the position of Chief Prosecutor.

I felt sorry for him.

“There are really only a few people who visit an old man in the back room, you know.”

As soon as he sat down, Kim Seok-won began to talk candidly.

“The other day, that Park Seung-soo suddenly came over…”

It seemed that Park Seung-soo, the head of the inspection department who had been Kim Seok-won’s right-hand man, had also visited.

That was a relief.

I felt uneasy because it seemed that the number of people visiting him had drastically decreased since he retired.

What was fortunate was that, despite this situation, he seemed much more lively and confident than he had during Seollal.

While talking about Park Seung-soo, he suddenly stopped and chuckled dryly.

“I’ve become talkative since I retired.”

“It’s okay. It’s actually more human and better.”

He burst into laughter.

“I’ve never heard anyone say I’m human in my life.”

“I know. I never thought the day would come when I would say such a thing to you, Chief Prosecutor.”

Kim Seok-won stopped laughing and spoke slowly.

“I’ve been feeling lately that I should really take care of steady friends like you.”

At that moment, his eyes flashed.

It wasn’t the gentle and affable Kim Seok-won after retirement, but the look in his eyes from when he was still serving as Chief Prosecutor.

“I will definitely take care of you.”

For some reason, I couldn’t just brush this off.

I asked, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

“Can I look forward to it?”

“Of course.”

Kim Seok-won nodded very seriously.

“I’m not someone who makes empty promises.”

It seemed like something was going on.

Since he had gone this far, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t hear it.

“Chief Prosecutor, do you perhaps have any plans to return?”

At that question, Kim Seok-won lightly twisted the corners of his mouth and got up from his seat.

Then, instead of answering, he simply changed the subject.

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes? Not yet…”

“Then have a meal before you leave. My wife said she’s making braised short ribs today, so the side dishes will be good.”

For some reason, I couldn’t refuse today.

No, I didn’t want to refuse.

I had a feeling that I needed to spend more time with Kim Seok-won.

“Okay. I’d be grateful.”

He asked his wife to prepare dinner and put his arm around my shoulder, saying,

“Let’s go have a cigarette together.”

“Yes.”

***

“This is a perfect location with a mountain in the back and a river in the front, making it a really good place to enshrine our ancestors.”

“Yes. The air is good and the scenery is quite nice.”

“Yes. This is the place that your grandfather, Seo-joon, had been eyeing for several years…”

While I was at my grandfather’s gravesite on Chuseok, like any other family, and talking with a relative after finishing the ancestral rites, my phone vibrated.

The caller was Yoon Seol-ha.

We had already exchanged Chuseok greetings, so she wouldn’t be calling for something ordinary.

“Excuse me, I’ll go take this call.”

I excused myself to my relative and moved to take the call.

“Hello, this is Choi Seo-joon.”

-Chief!

A hurried voice came from the other side of the phone.

-Have you seen the news?

“The news?”

-Yes. It’s just come out… haven’t you seen it?

I could hear the panic in Yoon Seol-ha’s voice.

Something must have happened.