The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 334

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 334 (334/341)

Presidential Election (3)

“What the hell is going on?”

An irritated voice burst out of me before I even realized it.

“Seo Hyun-mi is Seo Gi-woong’s biological sister?”

Yun Seol-ha and Go Joong-hyuk bowed their heads, acknowledging their oversight.

“We apologize.”

There was less than 20 minutes left until the debate resumed.

I could postpone getting angry for later.

First, it was urgent to understand the situation properly.

“Apologies or whatever, explain exactly what happened. Why did you miss this?”

Go Joong-hyuk calmly began to explain.

“She’s definitely his biological sister, though it’s not on the family registry. When they were in elementary school, their parents divorced and they were separated, each following their father and mother. On top of that, their parents remarried and started new families, so we didn’t track it down that far.”

He carefully added.

“Moreover, we’ve been focusing on the Great Korea Party and the Republic Party rather than the Manse Party in the presidential election, including this debate……”

It made sense.

Looking at the Manse Party’s attitude in the presidential election so far, they have never used a strategy of digging into negatives or weaknesses like this.

Besides, in preparation for the possibility of a bloodless entry [winning without significant opposition] going awry, the main targets for checks were fixed on the Great Korea Party and the Republic Party.

However, that doesn’t excuse it.

The election camp exists to cover these points because I can’t check every minor detail myself.

“I will accept the consequences.”

“That’s for later. We need to come up with a plan first.”

I ran my hand through my hair and calmed down.

“Let’s figure out what information those bastards have, how I should respond, and how far they’ll attack. That’s urgent.”

Yun Seol-ha, holding her laptop and phone, continued to contact the election camp and receive data, while Go Joong-hyuk presented a plan he had quickly put together.

“Yes. First of all, according to the data we’ve gathered, the orphanage issue can be resolved.”

I was more on edge than ever.

“After confirming with a bribed staff member, the Manse Party only has data on your donations after Seo Gi-woong was appointed as chief prosecutor. We can say you donated to other orphanages before that. To put it simply……”

I had been donating to other orphanages, but they closed down, and as a result of searching for a new donation location, I happened to find Somangwon, which was run by the wife of former prosecutor Seo Gi-woong.

“Wouldn’t there be donation records?”

“No. We can agree to say it was an unofficial donation. Since you didn’t request any tax deductions for your donations during your time as a prosecutor, it can’t be verified unless the donation center has records.”

“Can’t the other side check that immediately?”

“That’s why we investigated the closed orphanage.”

As if waiting for this, Yun Seol-ha handed Go Joong-hyuk a report filled with details.

He checked the report and immediately continued.

“You can say you donated to Hanbat Orphanage in Daejeon.”

“What if they testify that I never donated there?”

“The director of Hanbat Orphanage at the time is currently deceased.”

I took the report Go Joong-hyuk was holding and checked it.

As he said, Hanbat Orphanage was indeed closed around the time I started donating to Somangwon.

Moreover, the director who knew the donation details for sure was deceased.

Generally, only the director knows the information of anonymous donors; other employees wouldn’t know the identities of the donors.

This isn’t bad.

No, it fits together plausibly.

“And the volunteer work you did with your wife……”

“We can gloss over that. If I just went to volunteer to get in the chief prosecutor’s good graces, it might even make me look more human, so there’s no reason to see it negatively.”

Even in a regular company, if a section chief or department head likes hiking, ordinary employees will go hiking with them to get noticed. It’s not much different.

As long as it’s not financially related, there’s no problem.

And I didn’t go to volunteer immediately after donating; there was some time in between.

Also, I volunteered with Han Ji-yu when we were dating.

Saying that I found out Somangwon was related to Seo Gi-woong between the donation and the volunteer work is a sufficient excuse.

“Okay. Let’s move on from this and talk about the Jang Young-soon case.”

This is a very critical issue for me.

Choi Gyu-hyun killed Jang Young-soon.

However, the issue wasn’t resolved with the suspicions being cleared up; Choi Gyu-hyun naturally shed the suspicions as he became president.

I went to the brink of death, but thanks to Han Ji-yu, I turned public opinion around and the situation was reversed.

Bringing this up again will be a headache.

“I’ll explain regarding that.”

Yun Seol-ha took the baton from Go Joong-hyuk and opened her mouth.

“Regarding the Jang Young-soon case, we’ve recruited Jung Seung-min, Choi Gyu-hyun’s chief of staff.”

“That guy is going to side with us?”

“Yes, I’ve confirmed it directly.”

It was unexpected.

A person who was sentenced to actual imprisonment for taking responsibility for all sorts of corruption as Choi Gyu-hyun stepped down.

I thought his resentment towards me would be quite high.

However, Yun Seol-ha smiled and said.

“He’s in prison now, isn’t he?”

The picture was immediately drawn.

He’s aiming for a special pardon [official forgiveness for a crime].

No matter which of the four candidates is elected in this presidential election, he cannot receive special treatment.

However, I am currently running in the presidential election and am the most likely candidate to be elected.

If he helps, I can solidify the current presidential race, and if I am elected, I can get him out with an appropriate opportunity such as a Liberation Day special pardon or a holiday special pardon.

To think of contacting Jung Seung-min in this situation.

As expected of Yun Seol-ha.

“You managed to contact him even though he’s in prison.”

“It’s all thanks to your influence, candidate.”

Once you reach this level, contacting the inside of the prison is a piece of cake.

Yun Seol-ha wrinkled her nose and continued.

“If Chief of Staff Jung Seung-min exposes the flow of money and Choi Gyu-hyun’s secrets, this situation will be reversed. Rather, your innocence will be proven.”

“Good. Well done.”

“It’s our fault, so it’s right to handle it ourselves.”

Praise is a luxury.

I nodded and continued.

“In addition to that, please find out more about the information the Manse Party has. The fact that they mentioned it at the end of Part 1 means they definitely have material to bring up in Part 2 as well.”

“Understood.”

***

“To continue what I was saying earlier, candidate Choi Seo-joon was a senior prosecutor at the time. Considering your seniority and experience at the time, your annual salary would have been less than 100 million won [approximately $75,000 USD]. The first question is where that huge sum of money came from, and the second is that you donated that huge sum to an orphanage run by the chief prosecutor’s wife at the time. We have solid evidence of this. Do you have anything to say?”

Seo Hyun-mi of the Manse Party had a large panel prepared so that viewers could see the details of my donations.

She was properly prepared.

But a crisis is also an opportunity.

If I use this well, I can make people support me even more firmly.

“At first, I didn’t even know that the place I donated to was run by Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong’s wife.”

“Oh, really?”

She said as if she was dumbfounded, but there was no need to fall for the provocation.

I calmly and casually continued.

“Actually, I had been donating anonymously before that. There’s a place called Hanbat Orphanage in Daejeon, and when that closed down, I was looking for a suitable donation location and found out about Somangwon, which was struggling with financial difficulties. So I decided to support it.”

I confidently added.

“You can ask the Haneul Orphanage, which was merged with Hanbat Orphanage, for evidence of that.”

Of course, the records would all be listed anonymously.

But the director who could prove that one of those anonymous donors was me is already deceased, so it can’t be verified.

The atmosphere around me changed drastically.

From candidate Seo Hyun-mi’s point of view, there is no way to verify whether my statement is true now.

So she can’t refute it.

Since I’m being so confident, she has no choice but to believe in my innocence.

Besides, now that she knows I’ve been donating for a long time, my image will only get better.

Yeah.

Attack as much as you want.

I’ll crush it all mercilessly.

Perhaps because it was an unexpected answer, a look of surprise appeared on Seo Hyun-mi’s face.

But soon she regained her composure and asked.

“What about the source of funds? That’s a considerable amount.”

“My grandfather left it to me. But my father and grandfather had been estranged for a long time, and he received it only because he was the only blood relative. In other words, he didn’t even know this money existed. So I thought it would be better to use this inheritance for others rather than for myself, and after discussing it with my father, I donated it in my name.”

Of course, it’s a lie.

The property my grandfather left behind went straight into my father’s hands.

Frankly speaking, the amount isn’t even that much.

It wouldn’t even be half of the 100 million won I donated to the orphanage.

But you can’t do a tax investigation on something like this.

As long as my family coordinates our stories well, no one will know.

Candidate Seo Hyun-mi gritted her teeth and pressed me.

“What about the volunteer work? As far as I know, you came to volunteer several times even after you found out that the director of the orphanage was Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong’s wife.”

“My current wife was my girlfriend at the time, and she liked volunteering. So when she asked me to go with her, I couldn’t go to the abandoned dog center she always went to because I’m afraid of dogs.”

A national hero is afraid of dogs.

It’s such an approachable aspect.

“So while I was wondering where to go, I found out that Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong’s wife was running Somangwon.”

Furthermore, even a human side.

“I thought it would be good to go to a place where I could get in the chief prosecutor’s good graces, so I decided to go there.”

I could hear the audience chuckling.

They must have recognized the situation, remembering their own experiences of pretending to have the same hobbies as their superiors in order to get ahead in their social lives.

“Isn’t that wrong? I didn’t receive any special favors for it either. Frankly speaking, where else would you find a girlfriend who isn’t even married yet going to volunteer to suck up to her boyfriend’s promotion? The volunteer work itself was something my girlfriend wanted to do.”

I spat out words non-stop.

“That doesn’t mean I did the volunteer work half-heartedly. You can check with the orphanage staff at the time. The director and staff always praised me, and you can’t deny that the children were the happiest they’d ever been.”

Seo Hyun-mi frowned as if trying to find fault with something.

“In any case, the fact that you went to volunteer to get in the chief prosecutor’s good graces is bribery……”

I cut her off and said strongly.

“I said that I wanted to get in the chief prosecutor’s good graces, but I was sincere when I volunteered. If you think of even such a pure heart for the children in that way, it’s no different from distorting other volunteers as volunteering not to help others, but for their own satisfaction. Helping is just helping.”

“……”

“When college students go abroad for volunteer work, they even take a leave of absence and go to remote areas of Africa for months to help refugees and the starving. If they submit that as volunteer experience when they apply for jobs, is that a false volunteer effort? That’s not the case, is it? But your statement is no different from dismissing it like that.”

She bit her lip tightly.

“Also, I have been going to volunteer at least twice a month even after Chief Prosecutor Seo Gi-woong retired. Does that also seem like sucking up to someone?”

I added the last words.

“I always feel satisfied with myself when I volunteer. Not only me, but many people are taking time out of their lives to help others. I’m sure there are many people among them who feel proud like me. Are you saying that all these people are doing false volunteer work?”

“No!”

Seo Hyun-mi exclaimed, flustered.

“That’s not what I’m trying to say……”

She was so flustered that she even lifted her butt and started desperately making excuses.

To explain this situation in one word.

‘Game over.’

I barely managed to hold back the laughter that was about to leak out.

So why are you picking a fight?