The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 212

A Prosecutor’s Success – 212

Kindling (1)

“My name is So Myeong-jun, the First Deputy Chief Prosecutor. For the past two months…”

The first thing I did after being appointed as the Chief Prosecutor was to hold a meeting presided over by the Chief Prosecutor.

Due to the position being vacant for over two months, the backlog of work was enormous, and it had to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

In the meantime, the First Deputy Chief Prosecutor had been handling the work as an acting authority to prevent any disruptions. However, there were limitations to what he could do, so I, as the Chief Prosecutor, had to resolve those issues directly.

Of course, this was just the official reason.

In reality, I called the key executives to gauge the overall atmosphere, suspecting that someone within the Prosecutor’s Office might have had ulterior motives during my absence.

However, as expected, none of the four Deputy Chief Prosecutors and twenty-eight Senior Prosecutors who attended the meeting raised any objections or showed any signs of resistance towards me.

It didn’t seem necessary to establish a pecking order or set the tone separately.

It would be more accurate to say that they didn’t even dare to resist, as my rise to the position of Chief Prosecutor was quite dramatic, and my return as Chief Prosecutor today was receiving so much attention and support from the media.

In reality, I had been setting the stage to become the Chief Prosecutor from the beginning, but unexpectedly, I was shot, and my life was threatened. However, Han Ji-yu, my wife, and Gyeong Dong-su played a tremendous role, leveraging that situation to raise public support to its peak.

That’s why even Choi Gyu-hyun, despite becoming the President, couldn’t touch me during my absence from the sickbed.

It was so satisfying to see that he was furious at the fact that he couldn’t get rid of me, even after taking the position of head of state.

After the delayed briefing ended, I looked around the conference room and began to speak.

“Thank you for holding out well during my absence. I would like to express my gratitude to Deputy Chief Prosecutor So Myeong-jin, who has worked hard as my acting authority, and I promise to work even harder in the future so that the vacancy will not be felt.”

As I bowed lightly, applause erupted.

I raised my hand to stop it and continued to speak slowly.

“The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office is the face of the prosecution. Frankly speaking, it is much more important than other places, and it is a place where the best prosecutors in Korea gather. There is no room for argument about this.”

The people in this conference room were the executives in charge of that important Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.

Pride and self-esteem began to bloom on their faces.

However, I had to instill a sense of alertness so that it would not become arrogance.

“Therefore, problems should not arise even more. I expect you to do your best to manage your subordinate prosecutors and staff so that you do not tarnish the faces of your colleagues next to you. And, of course, I will reward those who show outstanding performance in their work beyond what is visible, so I hope you will keep that in mind. Of course, in the opposite case…”

They all knew what I meant even if I didn’t say the rest.

I could see a few of the Senior Prosecutors swallowing hard.

I smiled and added.

“Let’s create the best Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office ever.”

I finished my first meeting as Chief Prosecutor with a short speech.

As I left the conference room to thunderous applause, the Deputy Chief Prosecutors followed me as if they had been waiting.

“I’m so glad you came back safely.”

“You’ve worked hard, Chief Prosecutor.”

They were senior to me and alumni of Korea University, like me.

It was customary to resign when a junior was promoted, but I was such a special case that I didn’t bother with customs.

From the beginning, when I was appointed as Deputy Chief Prosecutor, I told them not to resign due to the reversal of seniority. Above all, the fact that I became the Chief Prosecutor at the young age of thirty-seven was a big reason.

Beyond being the youngest Chief Prosecutor in history, I was also the first in my 30s among Chief Prosecutors, and the probability of it being the last was very high.

It felt like they were treating me as an exception.

I gave the Deputy Chief Prosecutors a warm smile.

“Let’s continue to do well in the future.”

After speaking, I returned to the Chief Prosecutor’s office.

In terms of position, I had only moved up one step from Deputy Chief Prosecutor to Chief Prosecutor, but the weight was by no means light.

It was not an exaggeration to say that I was being treated as well as a High Prosecutor General, beyond the level of a typical Chief Prosecutor, and the work I was doing was incomparable to the past.

Now, I was in a position to control an entire Prosecutor’s Office.

I spun around in my office chair and closed my eyes.

Except for the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, everyone else is an enemy.

Perhaps because they couldn’t touch me directly, Choi Gyu-hyun had consolidated control over all four major district prosecutors’ offices in Seoul in a short period before I returned as Chief Prosecutor.

Considering that prosecutors are usually appointed with a ratio of 3:1 for other lines or 2:1:1 with one non-line included, this was very unusual.

In short, it meant that they were gathering their strength to keep me in check.

Therefore, I could be ruined in an instant.

I had to stay focused and endure.

Two years.

I had to firmly endure the maximum term of two years as the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and achieve tremendous results so that even if Choi Gyu-hyun wanted to send me to a remote position, he would have no choice but to promote me.

By enduring and enduring in that way, and by becoming capable of knocking on the door at the threshold of the summit, the next president, Seong Tae-hyun, would be able to bring me in as the Prosecutor General.

To do so, I had to continue to add kindling to increase the firepower.

That way, the flame I was burning would not be the last flame, but would burn even bigger and more brilliantly.

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in.”

The door to the Chief Prosecutor’s office opened, and it was none other than Yoon Seol-ha.

I smiled at her and used her new title.

“What’s the matter, Ms. Clerk?”

“I thought you might be disoriented since you haven’t been here for a while, so I came in to give you a briefing.”

“Your eloquence has improved since I last saw you.”

“It’s so difficult for a woman to stand alone in this world these days. I have no choice but to become tougher.”

Looking at how she responds, she’s not the Yoon Seol-ha I used to know.

I went down to the sofa and sat in the most comfortable seat, and Yoon Seol-ha sat down with her tablet PC.

“I’m going to report on the most notable cases and figures in the media recently. Is that okay?”

“Yes, please brief me.”

I smiled awkwardly and added.

“My wife told me to focus only on recovering my body during the break and didn’t tell me any outside news, so I’ve been having a hard time catching up.”

“That’s more than desirable.”

She smiled brightly and began to read from her tablet PC.

“The most important case these days is the Thunderbolt Gate incident.”

“Thunderbolt?”

“Yes. It’s one of the clubs in Hongdae [a district in Seoul known for its nightlife and arts scene]. A woman claimed she was sexually assaulted there, and an investigation revealed that a drug called GHB, also known as ‘water ecstasy,’ was used.”

I think I’ve seen it mentioned in the news a few times.

I remember Han Ji-yu snatching the remote when I tried to get a closer look, leaving me just smacking my lips.

“But from what I’ve heard, it seems like it wasn’t just a simple case of sexual assault through drug use?”

“Yes. When the police investigation began, one of the club’s MDs [Merchandise Director, but likely referring to someone who procures and distributes drugs in this context] confessed that he had committed the act because he was infatuated with the victim. It seemed like it was over, but…”

Yoon Seol-ha put down her tablet PC and continued seriously.

“The victim said that the suspect she saw was someone she had never seen before. Suspicious, she hired a private investigator to conduct a DNA test, and the results were surprisingly inconsistent: the DNA taken from the woman’s body did not match the DNA of the confessed perpetrator.”

“A deliberate cover-up, then.”

“Exactly.”

Looking at it roughly, I get a sense of what’s going on.

One of the club’s VIPs committed the act, and the club, worried about his identity being revealed, threw one of its employees as bait to take the punishment instead, as a customer service measure.

To think that some high-ranking person needed to use GHB, a drug like water ecstasy, to satisfy their sexual desires; it must be because they were confident they wouldn’t get caught.

Due to the nature of water ecstasy, unlike other drugs, it is excreted through breathing, sweat, and urine within a short period of 12 to 24 hours after ingestion, disappearing without a trace.

In other words, it’s not easy to punish.

If they claim they were drunk and had consensual sex, there would be no evidence.

If the victim had hesitated even a little to report it, it would have certainly gone the way those vile guys intended.

Tsk tsk.

These trashy bastards.

They’re the kind of people you can never understand in terms of common sense. And of course, I don’t want to understand them.

I clicked my tongue and asked Yoon Seol-ha.

“Which jurisdiction is handling it?”

“The Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

That’s where Sung Tae-hyun’s cousin, Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun, works.

If I ask him, I can get a rough idea of what the internal results are.

He probably already knows who that VIP is.

I should give him a call.

***

After hearing the story from Yoon Seol-ha, I called Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun.

I need to know who that VIP is.

However, Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun said something unexpected.

-We haven’t identified him exactly yet.

“Pardon?”

The Western District Prosecutors’ Office isn’t that incompetent.

Hearing my surprised voice, he said as if complaining.

-He’s much more veiled than I thought, and it’s not easy to track him down, so…

Sung Jin-hyun carefully added.

-It doesn’t seem like an ordinary person is involved.

“You mean…”

-Looking at the investigation results, it doesn’t seem like an ordinary connection. There were traces of the police trying to cover up and downplay the case several times.

The fact that an employee confessed instead of the VIP was already suspicious.

At the very least, it’s evidence that a big shot is involved.

My curiosity about the inside story seriously piqued.

More than anything, if I just stood by and watched, the victim, being an ordinary citizen, would obviously be swayed by the perpetrators’ machinations, so I didn’t want to turn a blind eye.

However, since the jurisdiction has already been determined, it’s not easy to move.

Then, as if he knew my mind, Prosecutor Sung Jin-hyun spoke first.

-I’ll let you know as the investigation progresses.

“Oh, would you do that?”

-Yes. It’s not a difficult task.

“Thank you.”

I smiled lightly.

“I’ll see you soon and buy you a drink.”

-Sounds good.

“Then take care of your health and go in.”

-Yes. Please take care of yourself as well, Chief Prosecutor. Your body belongs to all the people.

“Hahaha, I understand.”

-I’ll contact you, Chief Prosecutor.

The moment he finished speaking and hung up.

The phone vibrated.

Buzz buzz.

Twice briefly.

-Sender: 33

-Video

A future message.

No, wait a minute.

If the sender is 33, it’s not the future.

It was something that happened in 2021….

It’s already been four years, so my memory is hazy.

I searched my mind and played the video.