The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 201

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 201

Trust in This Industry (4)

March 2025.

The 20th presidential election campaign kicked off.

From the start, negative strategies aimed at defaming each other poured out, and they began to fight fiercely, even resorting to personal attacks while concealing their identities.

In fact, they had no choice.

The approval ratings revealed through public surveys on the first day of the election campaign showed stark differences.

Choi Gyu-hyun of the Daehan Party: 57%.

Jo Hyun-woong of the Minguk Party: 23%.

Kang Song-moon of the Manse Party: 13%.

The sum of undecided voters and other candidates: 7%.

Knowing they couldn’t overcome this extreme gap by remaining lukewarm, the other candidates had no choice but to resort to provocative measures.

With the opponents coming on strong, Choi Gyu-hyun couldn’t just stand still.

To maintain his overwhelming approval rating, he had no choice but to play a strong hand.

Thanks to that, a chaotic free-for-all was unfolding.

Of course, the Minguk Party and the Manse Party were subtly working together.

Although it wasn’t a formal coalition, like the saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” they needed at least minimal unity to fight against the formidable enemy that was Choi Gyu-hyun.

Naturally, I also joined forces as a member of the Minguk Party.

An approval rating of 57% was an enormous figure beyond description.

Just imagining the election ending like this made my head spin.

Exceeding a majority not just in approval ratings but also in voter turnout meant the executive branch would have enough power to dominate the legislative and judicial branches, disregarding the separation of powers.

In short, it would be nothing short of Choi Gyu-hyun’s dictatorship.

Therefore, we had to weaken his power at all costs.

Even if we couldn’t get him defeated, we had to clip his wings to prevent him from running rampant.

***

“The tracking results confirm that funds from Queen Investments flowed into YH.”

“YH?”

Choi Gyu-hyun tilted his head at the unfamiliar company name.

“What is that?”

“It’s a company represented by Shin Seong-ho.”

“Shin Seong-ho, you mean…”

Choi Gyu-hyun took off his glasses and glared at Bulgom.

“Isn’t that Choi Seo-jun’s close friend?”

“That’s correct. His former name was Shin Yong-ho.”

Bulgom carefully continued.

“We suspect that slush funds may have flowed to Choi Seo-jun through YH.”

“Are you sure?”

“We don’t have concrete evidence, but the circumstances of funds flowing from Queen Investments to YH are undeniable.”

Jeong Seung-min believed that if funds went into YH, they would ultimately end up with Choi Seo-jun.

“Jang Young-soon, that crazy bitch has finally gone insane.”

Choi Gyu-hyun clenched his fist and trembled, seemingly disgusted.

Bulgom and Jeong Seung-min closed the report and tucked it under their arms.

“How should we handle this?”

“What do you mean how? Shut down Queen Investments. Throw both James Kim and Jang Young-soon in jail for embezzlement.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to do this during the official election period? There are many eyes watching now…”

Choi Gyu-hyun scoffed at his worried question.

“Don’t you see my approval ratings right now? It’s over a majority, a majority! Even a stray dog knows I’m going to be elected president.”

“…”

“Besides, even if it’s Jang Young-soon, would she dare to challenge the next president? That old woman is seventy-one years old. She’s at an age where she’s starting to fear death. If she wants to live, she should shut her mouth and go to jail. In South Korea, you can lose your life without anyone knowing if you resist too much.”

Choi Gyu-hyun’s lips twisted roughly.

“Does she want to be suicided [forced to commit suicide]?”

Bulgom swallowed hard without realizing it.

Murder disguised as suicide.

He knew better than anyone that Choi Gyu-hyun had caused more than one or two people to meet their end that way.

“That old hag can’t do anything.”

Bulgom couldn’t shake off the eerie feeling, sensing that there was genuine conviction in his words.

“But James Kim says he heard from Jang Young-soon that it was under your instructions, candidate…”

“What does it matter?”

Choi Gyu-hyun said coldly, as if he was dumbfounded.

“Is it over if you kill someone and say you didn’t know?”

“I’ll take care of both of them.”

“Yes. Get rid of them as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”

Bulgom bowed his head and asked one more question.

“Then, how should we handle the funds that flowed into YH?”

“Check how YH is transferring the funds to Choi Seo-jun. Once that’s confirmed, move.”

“Yes. What about the gift certificate scam…?”

“Put that on hold for now. In the current situation, it’ll be easier to bring him down by targeting the funds he received from YH.”

“As you say.”

As Bulgom left, Choi Gyu-hyun put on a jacket with the Daehan Party logo and stood up.

‘He sided with Choi Seo-jun, huh?’

He didn’t know what kind of offer that guy made, but one thing was certain.

He would never forgive anyone who stabbed him in the back.

‘That old hag couldn’t see the forest for the trees.’

Choi Seo-jun might have seemed sweet in the moment, but everything would be over once Choi Gyu-hyun was elected president in a month.

Even the great Choi Seo-jun would start his decline after finishing as a senior prosecutor.

‘If I had known the approval ratings would be this high, I wouldn’t have needed to deal with that guy in advance.’

Choi Gyu-hyun felt a slight regret, but he didn’t care much.

After all, once he was elected president, he would be able to reign over everyone.

***

The prosecutor’s office was bustling from early in the morning.

Choi Gyu-hyun’s retaliation against Queen Investments had begun.

With reports that hadn’t been fully organized, Yoon Seol-ha entered the chief prosecutor’s office.

“At 10:21 AM, James Kim, the CEO of Queen Investments, was arrested. He’s currently being transferred from the Gangdong Police Station in Seoul.”

“The charge is embezzlement?”

“Yes. We’ve also confirmed that Jang Young-soon is behind the embezzlement, and an arrest warrant has been requested for her as well. Jang Young-soon’s charges are fraud and embezzlement, and it seems to be only a matter of time before the warrant is issued.”

“Which district is in charge?”

“The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office.”

I knew it.

The place where the most people belonging to the number one line [most influential faction] among Seoul’s four major district prosecutor’s offices worked was exactly there.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office could have handled it sufficiently, but they deliberately moved through the Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office to prevent my involvement.

If they had already issued an arrest warrant and made an arrest in the Eastern District Prosecutor’s Office, there was nothing I could do, no matter who I was.

It was crossing the line between district prosecutor’s offices, not to mention Choi Gyu-hyun.

At that moment, my phone started vibrating.

The caller was Jang Young-soon.

She was probably calling to ask for help, now that she was in a difficult situation.

I considered rejecting the call, but I pressed the call button first.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-jun.”

-Prosecutor. This is Jang Young-soon.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

-An arrest warrant has been issued, and the police are rushing over here.

“It seems Choi Gyu-hyun has taken action.”

-Please help me.

As expected, that’s what it was.

-You said we were in the same boat, didn’t you?

But I answered nonchalantly.

“Did I?”

-……Excuse me?

I could clearly picture Jang Young-soon’s bewildered face in my mind.

-Prosecutor, you can’t suddenly do this…

“What are you talking about?”

I continued without changing my expression.

“How could I have joined hands with a fraudster?”

In fact, I had been planning this from the start.

I never had any intention of genuinely joining hands with a notorious fraudster who had been living high on the hog by sucking the blood of the people.

Even if it was Choi Gyu-hyun’s order, it didn’t justify trying to deceive me.

Shouldn’t she bear the consequences of her own actions?

Only then did she realize what was happening, and she gritted her teeth.

-Are you going to play this way?

I answered very confidently.

“Yes.”

-How much did you take from me!

“I’m not sure about receiving money…”

After feigning ignorance, I spoke with sincerity.

“But I know very well that all the money you have in your possession is money you’ve collected by cheating and exploiting the people.”

-Huh.

Jang Young-soon let out a hollow laugh.

-You’re the same as Choi Gyu-hyun. You know that?

“I’m going to hang up.”

-You’re the same kind of trash as that man, filling your belly by stabbing others in the back!

I hung up without responding to her words.

As I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, her last words suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Trash who fills his belly by stabbing others in the back.’

A chuckle escaped my lips.

It’s true.

I have no intention of denying it.

However, the only difference between me and others is that the targets of my backstabbing are criminals and dirty politicians, not ordinary citizens.

I can’t be described with low-level expressions like “if I do it, it’s romance; if others do it, it’s an affair [a Korean idiom implying hypocrisy and double standards].”

Realistically, it’s true that absolute good can’t punish evil in South Korea.

To get rid of greater evil, lesser evil is indispensable.

This is my value system and my definition of justice, so I won’t be swayed by the glib tongues of these fraudsters.

Beep, beep.

At that moment, my phone started vibrating again.

I would have hung up if it was Jang Young-soon, but the caller was none other than Shin Yong-ho.

“Oh, what’s up?”

-Seo-jun, did you know that Queen Investments is on the news right now?

“Of course, you idiot. I’m a prosecutor, how could I not know?”

-Is it okay to just sit still?

As if telling him to put his worries aside, Shin Yong-ho let out a sigh of relief.

-Okay, I understand.

“Just asking in case, did you get the contract in advance?”

-Yeah. I’ve arranged it as a side agreement.”

“What about the money?”

-I’ve secured about 1.8 billion won [approximately $1.35 million USD].

“You’ve secured a lot in just a few days?”

-I put in some extra effort on purpose.

“Good job. How much will be left after paying the fines for a few illegal items, including the side agreement?”

-1.8 billion won after paying everything, you bastard.

His voice was full of confidence.

-Who do you think I am? I’m Shin Yong-ho, Shin Yong-ho!

“Hahaha, you’ve worked hard.”

He chuckled lightly and said.

-By the way, what should I do with this money? I can transfer it right away after converting it to cash and laundering it a few times. How should I give it to you? Cash or real estate?

“It’s okay, you take it.”

-What?

Shin Yong-ho asked, genuinely flustered.

-Are you sick?

“I said you take it, you idiot.”

I smiled lightly and said.

“You’ve worked hard this time, and it’s a reward for everything you’ve done for me. Use it as business funds.”

-Hey, I received all the money to set up YH from you. Why are you giving me more?

“Just take it when I give it to you, and help me when I’m in trouble later.”

-You son of a bitch, acting cool for no reason…

“How much have I received from you? What’s this amount compared to that?”

-You’re not cool at all, you know?

“Anyway, don’t worry about this case, and just tell me the progress right away.”

-Okay, thanks.

“Get going.”

-Yeah.

***

“These sons of bitches…”

Curses spewed from Jang Young-soon’s mouth.

James Kim, whom Choi Gyu-hyun had told her to use as his henchman, had already been arrested, and she was currently fleeing in a taxi.

Choi Gyu-hyun had started the incident, and she had been betrayed by Choi Seo-jun, whom she had trusted.

She had no place to return to.

As she closed her trembling eyes, her glorious past, when she was called the queen bee of Gangnam [a wealthy and influential woman in the Gangnam district of Seoul], faintly flashed through her mind.

‘The moment I’m arrested, I’m finished.’

Having already served decades for fraud convictions, if she was caught again for fraud and embezzlement, she would only be able to breathe the air of society as a corpse [never be free again].

She could live a life of escape with the remaining money, but as an old woman, a life of escape wouldn’t be easy, and she didn’t want to do that.

Now, she had nothing left but malice and spite.

‘Do you think I’m going to die alone?’

Jang Young-soon’s closed eyes suddenly snapped open.

‘I can never die alone. I’ll take both of you with me.’

She didn’t want to see Choi Gyu-hyun becoming president and ruling over South Korea.

She didn’t want to see Choi Seo-jun living high on the hog as a prosecutor.

Her age of seventy-one had made her unafraid of death, as she had already lived enough.

She gritted her teeth and called the driver.

“Driver, let me use your phone.”

“Yes?”

The taxi driver seemed flustered, as he had seen Jang Young-soon holding a phone in her hand. Jang Young-soon silently took out a 50,000 won bill [approximately $37 USD] and handed it to the driver’s seat.

He silently exchanged the money for the phone.

“Use it.”

Jang Young-soon, who received the phone, immediately opened her notebook, found a number, and made a call.

-Yes, this is Park Seong-hyun, from the STC Political and Social Affairs Department.

“This is Jang Sun-ok… no, Jang Young-soon. I have a tip for you.”

Her eyes began to shine sharply.