The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 111

Prosecutor’s Success – 111

Rivalry (7)

Chief Prosecutor Kang Joong-sik made a threat, but seeing my calm reaction, he left, unable to hide his unease.

As soon as he left, I immediately called Yoon Seol-ha.

She entered the office and asked as if she had been waiting for it.

“Shall we disclose the contract?”

The contract.

It was the reason I could stand so confidently against Chief Prosecutor Kang Joong-sik’s provocation.

Not a contract with someone else, but a contract with Han Ji-yoo.

To be precise, a contract between Han Ji-yoo and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

The source of the 1 billion won [approximately $800,000 USD] that was to be paid in advance to Soh Hyung-seop, the suspect in the serial murder case of women, was Han Ji-yoo.

Thanks to the contract stating that the money was borrowed from her to elicit a confession from the criminal during the prosecution’s investigation, we were able to avoid suspicions of black money [illegally obtained funds]. Moreover, because the money was deposited for official purposes, we could track the funds in the account and recover them in a reasonable way.

Despite the large sum, Han Ji-yoo readily signed the contract without any hesitation.

Although I told her separately from the official contract that I would cover any financial losses with my own money, it was possible because of the extreme trust between us.

Of course, even if I were a chief prosecutor, I couldn’t completely escape the suspicion that the contract was written after the article broke to hide black money if I had done it alone. So, I wrote the contract through official channels.

The contract was approved by Chief Prosecutor Seo Ki-woong, passing through Kwon Hyung-gi, the Deputy Chief Prosecutor in charge of the special division, who is my direct supervisor.

Since there were no procedural problems at all, if this contract were to be released to the media, citizens would admire the close relationship between me and Han Ji-yoo. There was no concern that any suspicion would arise.

“Let’s prepare in advance and release it tomorrow.”

I continued, looking into Yoon Seol-ha’s eyes.

“The reaction will be better if we release it when it’s burning brightly, right?”

“Wouldn’t there be opinions that it was created belatedly to fix things?”

“I’ve already taken measures in advance in case that happens.”

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel worried.

In fact, only five people knew about this: Chief Prosecutor Seo Ki-woong, Deputy Chief Kwon Hyung-gi, Yoon Seol-ha, Han Ji-yoo, and myself. And since everyone was trustworthy, it shouldn’t have spread externally at all.

It was a situation where people who like conspiracy theories could raise questions.

“Then let’s just drop a hint. I’ll handle this separately through a reporter I know, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Understood.”

Yoon Seol-ha nodded.

“Tell them that there will be a press conference at 9 a.m. tomorrow with the nuance that there won’t be any problems at all. That alone will reduce suspicion.”

“Yes.”

After she left, I immediately called Reporter Park Soo-hyung.

– “Prosecutor Seo, it’s been a while.”

“Yes, Soo-hyung. Are you busy?”

– “No.”

He said playfully.

– “I was wondering whether to shield Prosecutor Seo or not. What should I do?”

“I don’t think you need to shield me. There won’t be any problems anyway.”

– “That’s just like Prosecutor Seo. I never doubted that there would be any problems.”

A smile naturally appeared on my face.

“Soo-hyung, could you write an article with the nuance that, according to a tip from an anonymous prosecution official, there will be nothing for the public to worry about at tomorrow’s press conference?”

– “A favor?”

He revealed a welcoming voice.

– “I’m rather grateful for this.”

“Hahaha, is that so?”

– “Yes. Really.”

He laughed heartily and continued.

– “The article will be up within an hour.”

“Thank you.”

– “You’re working hard.”

“I’ll see you at the press conference tomorrow.”

I hung up the phone and leaned back in my chair.

I wonder what Chief Kang Joong-sik’s expression will be like when he sees tomorrow’s press conference?

***

“We were conducting a secret investigation to reveal everything once the investigation of the facts was completed, but we decided to disclose the contract to reveal it before the controversy intensifies.”

I revealed the original contract at the press conference, with the part containing Han Ji-yoo’s personal information covered with a Post-it.

As I wrote it, there were no legal problems at all, and Han Ji-yoo also readily agreed, not because she was looking at me, so there was no room to find fault.

“Currently, the 1 billion won deposited into the criminal’s parents’ account is frozen in that account, and it will all be returned to Han Ji-yoo immediately after the case is over.”

I continued, looking at the camera that was broadcasting live on terrestrial television [free-to-air TV].

“And in case you suspect that I made a false confession, I have also prepared a video. This video cannot be released to the media, but it will be released in court.”

The story of paying 2.5 billion won [approximately $2 million USD] was recorded in its entirety, as it took place in the investigation room.

Of course, this video will not be released to the media. Not because it contains parts where I hit and threatened Soh Hyung-seop, but to prevent him from changing his statement later, saying it was a confession under duress [made under pressure].

Now that he knows this fact, Soh Hyung-seop won’t be able to change his statement.

He’ll struggle a few times, but eventually give up before going to court.

It was a perfect defense against the viper’s attack, and a press conference that marked the end of this case without any further changes.

But for some reason, it felt like something was missing to end it here.

Wouldn’t it be disappointing to just defend?

“It would have been more perfect if it had been released immediately after this case was completely closed, but TruMedia released the facts early, which seems to have caused some difficulties in cooperating with Soh Hyung-seop. If you had told us in advance, we could have explained it sufficiently, but it’s a shame that the punishment for those who mocked the public with the serial murder case of women will be delayed a little more because of that.”

I’m saying I’m disappointed on the outside, but in reality, I’m criticizing them.

Meaning that TruMedia messed things up.

With this one word, the arrows of the public, who were angry at the suspicion of my black money, will be fired not only at Soh Hyung-seop and Inspector Kim Byung-tae, but also at TruMedia.

Shouldn’t the price for sticking to the viper and touching me be paid properly?

I hid my true feelings and finished the press conference with a regretful expression.

“Thank you.”

***

“Huh…….”

“That was Han Ji-yoo’s money.”

“No, seniors. Isn’t this something you only see in movies?”

The prosecutors and investigators of the special division, who were gathered together watching the press conference, couldn’t hide their surprise.

Among those present, Yoon Seol-ha was the only one who knew this fact in advance.

The prosecutors, as well as the investigators, were repeatedly impressed.

Investigator Park Cheol-woong, who is Chief Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung’s investigator, asked Yoon Seol-ha.

“Dr. Yoon, did you know in advance?”

“Ah, yes. Of course, I…….”

She answered with a slight smile.

Prosecutor Jang Ha-young, who couldn’t close her mouth, laughed absurdly and asked Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung.

“Deputy Chief, is this even possible? It’s my first time seeing financial cooperation with a civilian…….”

“It’s theoretically possible. It’s cooperating with civilians or private companies. However, there are no people or companies that move willingly when such a large amount of money is involved, so we don’t do it. There’s no benefit to doing it.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yeah. But frankly speaking, when something like this happens, we don’t handle it officially, we almost always handle it secretly behind the scenes. We get black money and solve it, or something like that…….”

At that moment, Prosecutor Jang Ha-young’s eyes widened.

“Then, Deputy Chief. Is this perhaps what the Chief…….”

“Yes, he drew a big picture.”

Deputy Chief Lee Doo-hyung continued, as if he couldn’t believe it even as he spoke.

“He deliberately handled it officially, knowing that someone would expose it like this.”

“You predicted everything up to this situation.”

“That’s how you should see it.”

With those words, silence fell in the room.

No one had expected Choi Seo-joon to be drawing such a big picture.

One of the prosecutors from Line 1 [a faction within the prosecutor’s office], who had been listening quietly, asked cautiously.

“If it’s TruMedia, it must have been the viper’s side that moved, right?”

“100 percent.”

“Those guys are really dirty. They stuck a straw in Prosecutor Park Min-woo a while ago and stole information…….”

“That’s why the Chief disciplined Park Min-woo and kicked him out. He endured a lot, but eventually blew him away with this case.”

At that time, one thought suddenly flashed through Deputy Chief Lee Doo-hyung’s mind.

‘Wait a minute, did he create this picture on purpose to warn other prosecutors that if they betray him, they’ll end up like Park Min-woo?’

In an instant, he felt a chill.

For some reason, he felt that Chief Choi Seo-joon might have done that…… no, he felt like he would have.

“Don’t have any foolish thoughts.”

“Oh, Deputy Chief, we’re the people who are trying to get into the Chief’s good graces.”

“That’s right. Please put in a good word for us, Deputy Chief.”

Naturally, Prosecutor Jang Ha-young and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung made eye contact.

Prosecutor Jang Ha-young covered her mouth and hid her blossoming smile, and Deputy Chief Lee Doo-hyung shook his head in disgust.

“Work hard. The Chief will take care of you even if I don’t say anything.”

“Ah, I don’t know when we’ll get into the Chief’s good graces.”

At that time, the press conference being broadcast on the news ended and moved on to the next topic, and Lee Doo-hyung stood up from his seat as if he had been waiting for it.

“Okay, the press conference is over, so let’s all go to work. We have to handle it quickly and boost our Chief’s morale.”

The prosecutors and investigators stood up from their seats, expressing their admiration for Choi Seo-joon.

Meanwhile, a heavy silence fell in the place where Chief Kang Joong-sik and the chief prosecutors belonging to Line 2 [another faction within the prosecutor’s office] were gathered.

They kept silent while watching the press conference, and finally, when the announcer’s face appeared on TV, Chief Chae Jong-min of the Science and Technology Crime Investigation Department turned off the TV with the remote control and sighed.

“Chief Kang. What are you going to do now? Even that clever plan that you were sure was black money has been blocked like this.”

He laughed absurdly and continued.

“No, you should see it as being completely tricked by the design.”

Chief Kang Joong-sik was not only angry but also felt ashamed.

He didn’t even know that he was being played by that guy’s plan, and he even went to his office to mock him.

He couldn’t bear to lift his face when he thought about how funny he must have looked to him yesterday.

Moreover, Chief Prosecutor Chae Jong-min and other line prosecutors were glaring at him.

His anger towards Choi Seo-joon rose to the point where he couldn’t bear it any longer.

He really wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him if he met him.

Chief Kang Joong-sik gritted his teeth and said.

“Please wait a little longer. Given that guy’s style, there’s no way he didn’t receive black money. I’ll be sure to dig it up.”

However, Chief Prosecutor Chae Jong-min shook his head.