The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 308

Sword Dance (3)

“No, I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Chief Justice…”

Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung’s pupils began to tremble, but he continued to play dumb.

“And Prime Minister Park Hyung-tae has already retired from politics, hasn’t he?”

I smiled silently.

Leaning back in my chair, I stared at him intently.

Soon, his Adam’s apple bobbed.

I opened my mouth softly.

“Naksongdae Park.”

“…….”

“Prime Minister Park Hyung-tae confessed everything.”

Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung gnashed his teeth.

“That son of a bitch, Park Prime Minister…….”

Of course, there was no need to say that I saw it myself.

Rather, the fact that Prime Minister Park Hyung-tae surrendered would be more frustrating for Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung.

He let out a deep sigh and asked, raising his eyes.

“What do you want?”

“You’re not in a position to ask like that, are you?”

He examined my expression, bit his lip, straightened his back, and asked politely.

“Is there anything you desire?”

“I don’t desire much. I just want justice to prevail in the Republic of Korea.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Do you know what the most cowardly thing that happens in court is?”

I leaned towards him.

“It’s preferential treatment for former judges, preferential treatment. It’s a very terrible custom.”

Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung glanced at me and nodded.

“In the Republic of Korea, a nation of law and a liberal democracy, shouldn’t preferential treatment for former judges disappear?”

“……That’s right.”

“So.”

I clasped my hands together and placed them on the table.

“Please eliminate preferential treatment for former judges.”

He lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

He must have realized that I wasn’t simply trying to eliminate preferential treatment for former judges.

Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung took a shot of alcohol before opening his mouth.

“I can try, but I can’t guarantee that I can eliminate all preferential treatment for former judges in Korea with my power alone.”

Instead of answering, I stared at his face, and he explained the reason as if making an excuse.

“Frankly speaking, I’m not the only Supreme Court Justice, am I? Including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, there are nine of us. With my authority as a newly appointed Supreme Court Justice, it’s difficult to control the courts across the country…….”

“Then how about this?”

I got to the point.

“Make it so that at least a few specific people don’t receive preferential treatment for former judges. For the sake of minimal justice.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Which individuals are you referring to?”

“For example.”

I smiled lightly.

“Focusing on the prosecutors who recently submitted their resignations.”

At that moment, Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung’s mouth opened slightly.

He finally seemed to understand my intention.

To put it simply, the people who recently resigned from the prosecution were the prosecutors who opposed me.

As the saying goes, once a thief, always a thief, all they can do is become lawyers.

I’ve already blocked them from entering big law firms, so the only option left is to start their own law firms.

The reason why prosecutors-turned-lawyers do well is because they receive preferential treatment for former judges, but if that injustice is eliminated, their chances of winning will naturally decrease.

In the end, it will be difficult for them to even make a living.

Of course, given their experience, if things get really tough, they could go to the legal teams of companies, but how perceptive are the people at large corporations?

Businessmen are quicker to recognize changes in the political world than politicians.

Their businesses change depending on what policies are implemented, so they have an incredible sense of what’s going on.

There’s no way they would hire prosecutors-turned-lawyers who have been targeted by me.

In the end, even those who resigned on their own before being kicked out to keep their title as former prosecutors will not be able to live a life of luxury.

I’ll make sure of it.

This world is like that.

Once you take revenge, you have to crush them so they can never look back, or there will be future troubles.

“Ah…….”

Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung nodded slowly.

I smiled brightly and refilled his glass.

“You can do that much, can’t you?”

Then, I immediately changed my expression to a cold one and continued.

“If you can’t do that, I can’t just stand by and watch someone who tried to commit injustice in the presidential election.”

When I looked straight into Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung’s eyes, he quickly waved his hand.

“Of course, it’s possible.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes. Of course, preferential treatment for former judges is an unjust custom that should be eliminated. That’s what Supreme Court Justices should do.”

Having quickly finished his calculations, he rubbed his hands together with a sycophantic expression.

“Rather, I’m grateful that you, Chief Prosecutor, are taking the lead in this matter.”

“I’m honored that you say so.”

I smiled brightly and raised my glass.

“Then I don’t have to worry about that anymore, right?”

“Of course.”

He clinked glasses politely with both hands.

Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung looked around and asked cautiously.

“Then can I assume that the presidential election-related matter will be covered up…….”

No way.

I’ll have to use it again and again in the future.

Until you retire.

I wrinkled my nose and said.

“Please take good care of me in the future, Justice.”

***

June 2029.

I’m not sure if it’s because I became the Chief Prosecutor or because I have a lot of work, but time flew by quickly.

The cleanup of the existing Seong Tae-hyun line was over.

Even if they had already submitted their resignations, the major figures were directly found and imprisoned by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook, and the small fries fled to the provinces to avoid our gaze.

The only thing they can do in the provinces is to start their own law firms.

However, thanks to Supreme Court Justice Yang Cheol-jung’s good faith in fulfilling his promise to me, their names were becoming so dusty that they were hard to find before long.

Unlike the prosecution, where ‘connections’ and ‘performance’ are both important, judges have limited things they can do in court, so ‘connections’ have a big impact along with experience.

In the legal profession, judges are the closest to ordinary civil servants.

In that situation, with a Supreme Court Justice putting pressure from above, it’s difficult for judges to ignore preferential treatment for former judges, let alone give victory verdicts to prosecutors from the Seong Tae-hyun line.

In the end, it was only a matter of time before they were eliminated from this competitive society.

That’s why I didn’t need to worry about the guys who went to the provinces.

If we just deal with the guys who are making their last-ditch efforts in the cases that Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook is currently handling, it’s safe to say that the prosecution will be completely cleaned up.

Besides, the remnants of the Seong Tae-hyun line are slowly being dealt with by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, so there’s no need to worry.

“Chief Prosecutor.”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook said, handing over the documents.

“Once these two guys are taken care of, you can consider the prosecution reform to be completely finished.”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you look at the first one, there’s a guy named Han Min-bong, who’s a junior prosecutor from the Namyangju District Prosecutors’ Office. We found out that he took money from the AQ Group during this search and seizure, so it’ll be easy to deal with him.”

“Let’s take care of it with that. What about the other one?”

“It’s Kwak Joo-hong, who’s a former senior prosecutor from the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, and this guy is a bit of a problem. It seems like he has connections with the Daehan Party.”

“The Daehan Party?”

“Yes. In particular, it has been confirmed that he has some kind of relationship with the Governor of Gyeonggi Province.”

“If it’s the Governor of Gyeonggi Province, are you talking about Park Hyuk-joong?”

“No. It’s former Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Min Hyung-taek.”

“But why?”

Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook lowered his voice and carefully opened his mouth.

“I know that you have a connection with Min Hyung-taek, Chief Prosecutor…….”

Former Governor of Gyeonggi Province, Min Hyung-taek.

A politician with a son who is a national yacht team member, the person who colluded with the SV Group to rent a yacht and build a new city in Goyang as a reward.

He played an important role in the empty house raid by bringing in Minister Park Chang-shik, but I didn’t owe him anything.

What I did with him was a kind of deal.

However, I thought that he would eventually blow up because he was so greedy for money and had a sinister side, but it seems that Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook has already caught his tail.

Moreover, since he lost the local elections last May and stepped down from the position of Governor of Gyeonggi Province, it is clear that he is in a precarious situation.

Above all, there were no parts that were caught because I had neatly arranged things so that no evidence remained even while making some kind of deal.

“I had a connection with him, but you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Is that so?”

“There’s no problem.”

Even if he insists on that side, it’s all for naught if there’s no evidence.

As much as there have been countless misunderstandings and controversies while rising to the current Prosecutor General, if there is no clear evidence, citizens will just think that they are slandering or defaming me.

In fact, that’s why I didn’t step forward myself and acted while hiding my appearance, fearing that something like this would happen.

“Then I’ll wrap it up together with Senior Prosecutor Kwak Joo-hong.”

“Okay, do that.”

I nodded and asked.

“Then is Kwak Joo-hong the end of the Seong Tae-hyun remnants?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I twisted the corners of my mouth lightly and said.

“Clean it up.”

“I understand, Chief Prosecutor.”

***

-Shock! Former Governor of Gyeonggi Province Min Hyung-taek and former Senior Prosecutor Kwak Joo-hong’s corruption.

-While numerous prosecutors and prosecution investigators are wearing silver bracelets [handcuffs] due to the prosecution reform, shocking news has been reported. The fact that Gong Sang-wook, the chief prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office’s inspection department, who is called the center of the prosecution reform, has begun an investigation into former Governor of Gyeonggi Province Min Hyung-taek and former Senior Prosecutor Kwak Joo-hong from the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office. Former Senior Prosecutor Kwak Joo-hong’s resignation coincided with the start of the prosecution reform, which raised many suspicions, but he denied that there was any such fact and opened a law firm. However, according to prosecution intelligence, former Senior Prosecutor Kwak Joo-hong allegedly covered up the fact that former Governor of Gyeonggi Province Min Hyung-taek was under investigation for the suspicion of child prostitution. Min Hyung-taek and Kwak Joo-hong are both saying that it is completely unfounded, but the public’s view is cold. ……(omitted)……. All the facts are awaited to be judged in court.

-SBC News Department Reporter Kim Joon

As the investigation news became known, these articles began to spread like wildfire.

And according to Prosecutor Gong Sang-wook’s report, it was only a matter of time before Min Hyung-taek and Kwak Joo-hong were arrested and convicted.

Perhaps sensing that things wouldn’t end on a moderate note, Min Hyung-taek called me, as expected.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-joon.”

-Prosecutor, this is Min Hyung-taek.

His voice was mixed with urgency.

-You know about the current situation to some extent, right?

“Yes, well, I received a report. It seems like the problem is quite serious.”

-I think you’ll have to help me a little.”

He speaks as if it’s natural for me to help.

I chuckled and asked.

“Me?”

-Yes. If you investigate this matter, the deal that took place between you and me could be revealed, right?

I feigned ignorance.

“A deal? I don’t know what you’re talking about…….”

-No, Prosecutor. Are you being like this between us?

Min Hyung-taek raised his voice as if he was wronged.

-If you come out like that, I might just blow everything.

Now he’s even threatening me.

It’s so funny that I can’t even speak.

I know without thinking deeply that he can’t reveal his relationship with me.

Aside from the fact that there is no evidence.

Revealing what happened with me would cause the fire to spread to his son, who competed in the Olympics.

He even won a bronze medal at the Olympics through the yacht rented from the SV Group, but he’s not stupid enough to cancel that and take revenge on me.

There are no parents who would kill their children to take revenge.

I said in a voice tone that I didn’t know at all.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if there’s something wrong, say it when you’re being investigated. If you’ve committed a crime, shouldn’t you be punished?”

-Huh…….

He laughed in disbelief.

-Are you really going to come out like that?

I said shamelessly.

“I don’t know who you’re mistaking me for right now…….”

-You son of a bitch.

He couldn’t stand it and spat out profanity.

-If you come out like that, do you think I’ll just stand still?

Min Hyung-taek said, grinding his teeth.

-Don’t you know I know your secret?

“I don’t know. In the first place, there’s no connection between me and the governor, is there?”

-Are you really going to reveal everything?