The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 314

Rising Up (3)

“Yes. All reservations for this week are fully booked. Next week… there’s one slot available on Friday at 2 PM. Would that work for you?”

Before Yoon Seol-ha could finish, another employee urgently called out.

“Manager, another client just came in and booked the 2 PM slot. Only the 4 PM slot is left.”

She held the receiver again and said,

“Ah, I’m sorry. Not 2 PM, but 4 PM. Would that be alright?”

It was chaotic every day.

The phone rang non-stop, and although they had announced in advance that it was a reservation system, many clients came in person to plead their cases.

It was utter pandemonium.

Anticipating a crowd, they had hired two additional employees to assist Yoon Seol-ha, but it wasn’t enough.

“Thank you, Attorney!”

The client who had just finished consulting bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

“You’re welcome. Please go carefully. Make sure to submit the materials I gave you to the Legal Aid Corporation.”

“Yes. Thank you so much!”

After seeing the client off, I made coffee myself and called the employees.

“Everyone, take a short break. Have a cup of coffee.”

Yoon Seol-ha checked the scheduler and asked.

“Don’t you have a reservation in 5 minutes?”

“We just got a call. It seems they resolved the issue with the other party and successfully reached an agreement, so they don’t need to come.”

“Ah…”

“We can’t take any more reservations anyway, right?”

“Yes. We’re fully booked until next week, as of the last call.”

“Then set the announcement to ‘Reservations Closed’.”

“Yes.”

Yoon Seol-ha and the other employees finally sat down at the table and took a breather.

“You’re working so hard.”

“No, you’re the one working harder, Attorney.”

The two employees, worn out from work, blankly sipped their coffee.

They were veterans in this field, but as the saying goes, quantity trumps quality. The amount of work was overwhelming, and they couldn’t handle it.

That was understandable, considering the workload was easily more than three times that of a normal law firm.

I said encouragingly.

“Hang in there just until this week. It’ll get better from next week.”

“Is something happening?”

“Starting next week, we’ll have a few more attorneys joining us.”

The faces of the two employees instantly brightened.

“Really?”

“Who are they?”

“It’s a bit vague to explain exactly, but they’re definitely good people. They said they were moved by this news and wanted to volunteer with us.”

A total of three more attorneys were coming.

One each from Daejeon, Gwangju, and Busan.

Some were taking a break from working at law firms, while others were former prosecutors who had resigned. Their situations varied, but their intentions were the same.

They were touched by my service to the citizens.

So, they wanted to help me and volunteer with me.

However, I couldn’t be sure if they were sincere or not.

Frankly speaking, if their resume included a line saying they worked with Seo Jun Choi, any law firm would welcome them with open arms.

But whether it was for their resume or out of genuine volunteerism, it didn’t matter.

In any case, they would be providing free legal consultations for the citizens, which would help create an image of me working for the common people.

If the scale became too large, problems could arise, but this size was just right.

I could control things up to the point where a few more assistant staff members were added to support these additional attorneys.

At that moment, a male employee cautiously asked.

“Wouldn’t it be too cramped with just this space? It’s not just the attorneys coming, but we’ll need more staff members like us as well.”

“I just spoke with the building owner and decided to rent the floor above us as well.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

“Yes.”

The female employee asked with a worried expression.

“But isn’t the rent too high? They’re working without pay, so it might be too much for you to handle alone, Attorney…”

“It’s alright. I have enough leeway.”

I wasn’t planning on doing this for long anyway.

It was March now, and the presidential election was in December of next year.

Considering the election period and preparation time before the election, it would be 1 year and 6 months at most.

Of course, the lease agreement was for the standard 2 years.

If it became known that I only had a 1 year and 6 month contract, it might reveal my intention to run for president from the start.

I could afford the rent and the employees’ salaries for 2 years.

Considering the amount of money needed for the election funds, the amount I was spending for these 2 years was a drop in the bucket.

When you’re in a high position, wealth naturally accumulates.

In addition, the rent from the building owned by Han Ji-yoo and the profits from the law firm Min, in which she and I held shares, were generating more revenue than expected.

There was no need to worry about money.

Once I had enough leeway, I planned to launder the funds in the nominee account holding shares of Law Firm Min and use them as election funds, so there was no need to ask the *chaebols* [large family-owned conglomerates] for favors.

Money makes money.

It’s a natural story in a capitalist society.

“Don’t worry about anything else and just focus on how you can help the citizens more efficiently.”

I needed to create a good image for these two employees, excluding Yoon Seol-ha.

They would be the ones spreading good stories when I ran for president.

Even if they didn’t want to, reporters would flock to them and offer huge interview fees, so they wouldn’t be able to resist talking.

“We’re doing this not for money, but to make the citizens happy.”

At my words, they nodded with a sense of duty.

“Yes. We will, Attorney.”

***

About a month later, the law firm gradually began to stabilize.

The biggest change was that a new employee who was good with computers switched the reservation system from phone calls to an internet website.

Of course, the other tasks were still significant.

As before, most cases were connected to the Korea Legal Aid Corporation after basic consultation if the appointment of a lawyer was necessary, but the lawyers who came to volunteer were taking on and directly defending quite important cases.

However, I had only been providing legal consultations and had not taken on any cases myself.

I needed to take on a major case that would attract the attention of all the people of Korea.

It wasn’t just to win the hearts of the public.

It was Seo Jun Choi’s first case as a lawyer.

Not only would it be the center of public attention, the moment I took on a case, the court and the opposing side would be very nervous.

In other words, it’s not right for an adult to interfere in children’s fights.

So, it would be accurate to say that I was waiting for a proper case to appear.

Knock, knock.

“Yes, come in.”

I thought a scheduled client would come in, but it was Yoon Seol-ha who opened the door and appeared.

“Where’s the client?”

“There’s no contact. I think it’s just a no-show.”

“There are still people like that consistently.”

“I know. There are so many people who desperately want legal consultation, so it’s a bit annoying when they don’t show up without even contacting us.”

Yoon Seol-ha made a disappointed expression and continued.

“So, I came to report something when I had a moment.”

“Yes, sit down.”

She sat on the sofa and handed me a tablet PC.

“It’s a case that Attorney Woo Cheol-gun consulted on yesterday, but I thought you should check it.”

While I was looking at the details of the case, she began to explain step by step.

“The people who applied for consultation about the case are the non-regular worker’s union of WG Group.”

“Aren’t they on strike since two days ago?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I had seen it on the news, so I knew the general details.

WG Group had been continuously employing non-regular workers in various facilities, including large supermarkets and production plants, without converting them to regular positions.

They gave hope for regular conversion and then continued to employ them as non-regular workers with excuses starting with ‘Unfortunately…’.

In fact, WG Group had been famous for this for a long time.

It was notorious for exploiting not only production workers but also interns at the headquarters in this way.

But this time, the problem exploded when they changed the internal regulations to avoid paying severance pay to non-regular workers.

According to the Labor Standards Act of Korea, severance pay must be paid if the employment period is 12 months or more, including holidays.

However, to avoid paying severance pay to these workers, WG changed the contract period to 11 months in all non-regular workers’ employment contracts.

Even after that, they did not extend the contract period to avoid paying severance pay, but terminated it and then re-contracted after a short gap.

As a result, the non-regular workers went on a general strike, saying they could no longer work under these conditions.

“Looking at the details, it seems they didn’t go on strike through the labor union, but created a new non-regular worker’s union?”

“Yes, that’s right. WG Group’s labor union restricted membership.”

According to Article 33, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, all workers are entitled to the right to organize, so non-regular workers can also join the labor union.

However, because WG Group’s labor union limited membership qualifications to regular workers, non-regular workers could not join the labor union.

In short, it meant that they would not treat non-regular workers as proper employees.

To put it nicely, it’s about this much, but to put it badly, it means they will treat them not as humans, but as mere parts.

“How long do you think the strike will last?”

“I think it will last at least a month. But looking at the situation, the confrontation seems to be getting more intense. WG has even notified them that if they don’t return within a set period, they will replace them all with new employees.”

WG Group was known as the group that lobbied the most among the *chaebols* [large family-owned conglomerates], and I guess there was a reason for that.

Anyway.

At this point, it’s definitely tempting.

In the event of a strike, especially if non-regular workers are involved, most lawyers are reluctant to defend them.

In fact, legal battles rarely occur, but even if they do go to court, there’s a problem.

From the beginning, large corporations would have meticulously drafted the contract to know and exploit the legal provisions in detail, so they would have a basic advantage.

In addition, there’s the ability and former judge preferential treatment of the large corporation’s legal team.

And with lobbying to the court, it’s usually impossible to win against a large corporation.

However, the non-regular worker’s union is desperate because they are at risk of being fired, so they had no choice but to consult with us.

But what if I take on and defend them in this situation?

The answer is obvious.

No matter how big the company is, they will be in a panic.

It’s not just a simple legal battle.

The moment I, who haven’t taken on a case for a month since opening my law firm, take on this case, the public’s attention will be focused on it.

Not only will it become a hot topic among the people, but as this situation spreads, WG Group’s image will plummet to the ground in an instant.

In addition, I am defending the common citizens, the working class, and a picture unfolds where I am fighting not just the privileged class, but even the *chaebols* [large family-owned conglomerates].

From the public’s point of view, Choi Seo-jun becomes an apostle of justice.

There’s no need to go all the way to a legal battle and win.

Just taking on this case will win me the hearts of the people, and WG will try to reach an agreement with me in any way possible before the topic gets any bigger.

It means that it’s a very good case to take on at this point in preparing for the presidential election.

“There’s no reason not to take on this case, is there?”

Yoon Seol-ha’s expression immediately brightened.

“The representative of the non-regular worker’s union said they came to request it in person, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Contact the client right now.”

I roughly twisted the corners of my mouth.

“Tell them I’ll help them directly.”