The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 270

Prosecutor Choi is Getting Ahead! – Episode 270

The Minimum of Justice (1)

“The Olympics?”

“Yes.”

“You’re saying this is different from the yacht case involving the Governor of Gyeonggi Province that you mentioned before?”

“That’s right. This isn’t something we initiated; it’s an existing case.”

I shrugged.

“My knowledge of the Olympics is just a drop in the bucket. If you include what’s hidden beneath the surface, it’s enormous.”

“This is no joke.”

Yoon Seol-ha clicked her tongue.

“I never knew the national team selection process was so rife with corruption.”

“When you think about it, it’s only natural. It’s the pinnacle of an athlete’s career, and achieving results can make them an overnight star. Wealth and fame naturally follow. Even just looking at the number of athletes who get selected for the national team and then get caught doping and drop out one after another is staggering.”

“Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook is amazing for digging up a case without any leads.”

I nodded in agreement.

“He’s much more capable than I thought.”

“I agree. To find it in just a week…”

She chuckled dryly.

“It wouldn’t be easy even if three or four special investigation prosecutors were on it.”

“That’s right. Doo-hyung’s departure to Yeouido [the political and financial center of Seoul, similar to Capitol Hill and Wall Street in the US] left a big void, but it looks like it’ll be filled quickly.”

“That’s good news to hear.”

Yoon Seol-ha smiled brightly.

Just then, there was a knock.

Knock, knock.

“This is Gong Sang-wook. May I come in?”

“He may be capable, but he’s not exactly a gentleman.”

I smiled lightly at Yoon Seol-ha’s words and said towards the voice.

“Come in.”

Gong Sang-wook, who entered through the door, looked more confident and triumphant than ever.

“Good morning, Chief Prosecutor.”

“Oh, have a seat.”

Gong Sang-wook exchanged a light nod with Yoon Seol-ha and then sat down.

“Let’s get straight to the data.”

“Yes.”

He took out a stack of A4 papers from his briefcase.

*Organizing files like that means it’s not just for a simple report…*

“Is that a list of evidence?”

“Yes.”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook couldn’t hide his triumph as he answered energetically.

“All evidence collection is complete.”

A burst of laughter escaped me in surprise.

Three days.

It had only been three days since I told him to bring evidence.

But he had already secured it, listed it, and brought it in.

I thought he was coming to explain the details of the case.

Yoon Seol-ha was still maintaining a poker face, but the movement of her fingers showed that she was also surprised.

Including the time it took to discover the case, it’s only been about ten days.

It’s more than I expected.

“Report.”

“Yes.”

He put his hands together and began to speak.

“In the national judo team selection held in March of this year, Kim Bu-yeol, the son of Assemblyman Kim Kang-jin of the Korea Party [a political party in South Korea], advanced to the finals. His opponent was Lim Jeong-hwan, a former national team member.”

*As far as I know, I think I saw in the news that Lim Jeong-hwan had won several world championships.*

“Were there any problems getting to the finals?”

“According to those who watched the match, there weren’t any significant biased calls.”

“Alright, continue.”

“Yes. In the finals, Kim Bu-yeol succeeded in scoring a *yuko* [a score in Judo, less than *ippon*] first. But before it ended, Lim Jeong-hwan succeeded in scoring an *ippon* [the highest score in Judo, resulting in an immediate win] with a shoulder throw, which decided the match.”

If there were no problems, the match should have ended there.

“But suddenly, a problem arises in the judgment.”

I turned the pages of the data and listened to him.

“They claimed that Lim Jeong-hwan committed a foul just before the shoulder throw. According to judo rules, if you stay in the ‘danger zone,’ marked with a red band around the edge of the mat, for more than 5 seconds, the referee must temporarily stop the match to give a ‘*shido*’ [a minor penalty in Judo], but the referee forgot and canceled the *ippon* itself.”

“Huh…”

That’s an absurd stretch.

The victory was nullified due to the referee’s mistake.

“Lim Jeong-hwan, mentally broken by that, couldn’t score any more points until the end of the match, and Kim Bu-yeol won and was confirmed as a national team member. Lim Jeong-hwan became a national team reserve.”

“Did Lim Jeong-hwan just stand by and accept the result?”

“Lim Jeong-hwan also filed an objection, but the association claimed that the video at the time was not recorded and they couldn’t verify it. They also threatened to revoke his reserve team status if he argued further, so he couldn’t say anything more, I think.”

It seems they bought off not only the referee but also the association.

At this point, it’s a rigged game.

This is definitely a problematic case.

However, I haven’t seen any articles about this in the news or even on the internet.

Assemblyman Kim Kang-jin couldn’t have blocked the media.

Then there’s only one reason.

There is no video evidence.

Leaving aside the fact that they bought off the referee and the association, there is no evidence that the referee made a deliberate mistake, and the only witnesses are the other athletes, coaches, and trainers who were at the scene.

But these are all people who have to continue doing judo.

In the end, they have no choice but to be mindful of the association, so they can’t testify, and as a result, Lim Jeong-hwan can’t do anything about it.

That’s why we couldn’t easily step in either.

Because if they don’t stand in court, we have to prove the referee’s biased decision without evidence or witnesses.

“Without the video, it’s difficult to step in unless we secure other evidence to prove it was a biased call.”

“No.”

Gong Sang-wook’s lips curled up.

“I secured that video.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Instead of the association, one of the spectators at the scene recorded the video with their phone. So I secured the video and even confirmed that the referee’s decision was a biased call.”

He continued triumphantly.

“I said earlier that you get a ‘*shido*’ if you stay in the ‘danger zone’ for more than 5 seconds, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But he stayed there for exactly 4.2 seconds. It wasn’t even a situation where he should have been given a *shido* in the first place.”

At this point, it’s clear that the referee didn’t make a fair decision.

“Good job. But.”

I pointed to the list of materials he brought.

“This is the referee’s bank statement, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But what’s shown here is the ATM deposit history. There’s no evidence in the data that Kim Kang-jin’s side handed over the money.”

“That was the biggest problem for me too. In fact, Kim Kang-jin’s side has been exchanging this kind of backroom money more than once or twice, so they erased the traces cleanly.”

Gong Sang-wook’s words were straightforward.

“But I thought the referee’s side would be different.”

That’s right.

So to speak, experts like us handle backroom deals in a way that leaves no traces for each other, but referees and association guys only receive a few million won at most.

And they only receive it occasionally, so they can’t be skilled at handling backroom money.

There’s no need to be nervous about handling small amounts, so they usually don’t take any special procedures.

Even if they try to hide it, most of it is revealed when it comes to our investigation.

“First, we confirmed through CCTV that the referee himself deposited the 50 million won in cash recorded in this account.”

But I asked sternly.

“Even if the circumstances are like this, you know Kim Kang-jin’s side won’t admit it, right?”

Still a process of verifying his skills.

Since he found out in a short time, I had to make sure there were no gaps.

“Yes, I know.”

He nodded.

“So I kept digging. But no matter how much I dug, I couldn’t find out how Kim Kang-jin prepared it. Eventually…”

Unexpected words came out of his mouth.

“I went to the referee and got a confession.”

As soon as I heard that, a burst of laughter erupted and a word popped out.

“You crazy bastard.”

He smiled slyly and continued.

“When I saw his face, I just had a feeling. If I went to him directly and showed him my prosecutor’s ID, he would spill everything. And that’s exactly what happened.”

He added, as if worried about being misunderstood.

“I don’t usually do this. However, this time, the opponent was so sloppy, and the evidence was solid, so I went.”

Gong Sang-wook scratched his head and carefully added.

“I wanted to process it quickly and surprise the Chief Prosecutor.”

To be honest, if it were other guys, it wouldn’t be strange to get angry for being reckless.

But with Gong Sang-wook, it didn’t feel absurd.

It felt like he did it because he was ‘capable’ enough.

Just the fact that I’m thinking this shows that this guy has really won me over.

However, looking at this case, there is no more fitting nickname.

He rode Choi Seo-jun’s line, but for the time being, he will remain a ‘hitman’ in my head.

“I was trying to narrow the gap with the Korea Party anyway, and this is a perfect opportunity. Good job, Prosecutor Gong.”

“Thank you!”

I handed the data to Yoon Seol-ha and said, taking out my phone.

“Seol-ha, please review the contents and then extract the list of related people and file it.”

“Understood.”

“Prosecutor Gong, go and rest.”

“Yes.”

Yoon Seol-ha left the Chief Prosecutor’s office first.

However, Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook hesitated at the entrance without leaving.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

“If you don’t mind.”

He asked cautiously.

“If you’re going to call Assemblyman Kim Kang-jin, would it be okay if I watched from the side?”

“Why is that?”

“I want to learn.”

Gong Sang-wook’s eyes blazed.

I could feel the passion and will in his eyes.

The desperation to ‘reach the top’ like me.

He must know that I won’t simply end this case as a bribery case.

That’s why he wants to see and learn how to use it directly in front of his eyes, not just from over my shoulder.

There has never been a prosecutor like this before.

Everyone just has awe for me, but they can’t even dare to think about actually approaching me.

If he had ridden another line, I can’t deny that he could have become a threatening presence to me.

That’s why this kind of guy.

It’s worth raising.

I twisted the corners of my lips into a grin and looked at him intently, clasping my hands together.

“You’re making quite a cheeky request?”

“Ah!”

His pupils dilated.

“I’m sorry!”

Soon, he realized that he had crossed the line and immediately bent over.

“I didn’t mean it that way…”

“That’s why I like it.”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook only slightly raised his head while bending over.

“Yes?”

“Sit there.”

He swallowed hard and sat down again.

“You said you want to be the Prosecutor General. To get up there, you have to listen and learn how to do politics. There hasn’t been a single person in Korean history who became the Prosecutor General just because they were good at their job.”

His fist clenched.

“Thank you!”

If I keep Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook by my side and raise him.

He is the kind of person who can help me seize absolute power when I climb even higher and reach the pinnacle of Korea.

He watched me with shining eyes.

And I immediately called Kim Kang-jin, a member of the Korea Party.

-This is Kim Kang-jin.

“Hello, Assemblyman. This is Choi Seo-jun.”

-Oh, Prosecutor Choi! Long time no see. Is it about 2 years?

“It’s been 3 years. I should have contacted you more often, I’m sorry.”

-No, I feel the same way. Anyway, what’s going on?

“I have something to tell you in person. When would be a good time?”

-Hmm, let me see.

He began to drag out his words.

-I’m very busy these days. It’s the time when a lot of bills are pouring out, right?

I got the feeling right away.

This guy seems to think that I contacted him because it’s the regular session season and I want to join forces with him.

I was using the casting vote in a direction favorable to the Korea Party to screw over Seong Tae-hyun on purpose, so he seems to be mistaken that they need my help.

Sure enough, Kim Kang-jin immediately began to act cocky.

-I think I can make time if you come to Yeouido?

*Dare to me?*

You have no manners.

There’s no need to treat this kind of guy well.

“Come to Gangnam [a wealthy district in Seoul] within 1 hour.”

-What? What’s that all of a sudden…

“If you don’t come, I’ll show you not only your son getting cut off from the national team but also the sight of you and your son wearing handcuffs together.”

-…

He must have sensed it.

He’s the one who would feel guilty just by hearing the word ‘national team’.

I put strength into my voice.

“1 hour, you son of a bitch.”

I hung up the phone after saying that.