The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 339

Prosecutor, You’re Going Places! – Episode 339

Presidential Election (8)

“As of 2:30 PM today, 13 prosecutors from the Special Investigations Unit have been suspended. As a former prosecutor—no, as a former Prosecutor General—I am deeply disappointed by this situation and condemn those who made this decision.”

I made my voice sound faint, conveying a sense of despair.

“I am utterly dismayed. A president regulating prosecutors who are investigating him? Does that even make sense?”

Bang!

I slammed the podium hard.

“This is absurd. The grounds for suspending these 13 prosecutors are that they leaked investigation materials to the Choi Seo-jun campaign, which I am a part of, thereby violating political neutrality. But I can assure you, there is no evidence of that. Why? Not because I heard about the investigation details from someone involved. It’s because it’s not true in the first place. How can there be evidence if it’s not true? I am the head of the Choi Seo-jun campaign. How can it be true if I don’t know about it?”

I vented my frustration.

“As a former prosecutor, and as a citizen of the Republic of Korea, I deeply regret and realize that this is a grave mistake. Moreover, what kind of situation are we in right now? It’s the presidential election period. There are only five days left until the election. Is the Republic of Korea a dictatorship?”

I relentlessly pressed on.

“Frankly speaking, how is this any different from the media control under former President Choi Gyu-hyun? This is a clear abuse of power.”

It was true.

It was exactly the same as back then.

It’s just that the scale is smaller, and the targets are prosecutors belonging to the state, so they can’t speak out.

“According to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, Shin Dong-hyun’s actions constitute grounds for impeachment. How many times has the president changed in the Republic of Korea in the past 10 years? Are we going to elect another president who uses power for personal gain and then have to light candles with sweat and tears [a Korean idiom for enduring hardship]? Are we going to go through the difficult process of impeaching them again? If you don’t want that, you must prevent Shin Dong-hyun from becoming president in the first place and ensure he is properly punished.”

I raised my voice even louder.

“We must not repeat the same mistakes.”

I took a slow, deep breath and opened my mouth again.

“I declare here that, in my capacity as a lawyer of the Republic of Korea, I will take legal action against Shin Dong-hyun’s actions and demand a proper explanation for these facts.”

***

Shin Dong-hyun responded with a press conference in less than an hour.

“I, Shin Dong-hyun, am a presidential candidate and the President of the Republic of Korea. It is important to run in the election and campaign, but as the current president, I must not neglect my duties, wouldn’t you agree?”

He opened his mouth as if it were obvious.

“The decision on this matter is within the authority of the Prosecutor General, and it is true that there is a potential problem if prosecutors with such allegations continue to serve in their positions. Therefore, I have issued a temporary suspension for them until the investigation into the allegations is completed.”

Shin Dong-hyun shamelessly continued without even wetting his lips.

“I have never instructed or pressured the Prosecutor General regarding this matter. There is no reason for me to do so.”

He feigned ignorance with a straight face.

“We will conduct a thorough investigation into the prosecutors with allegations, and if they are innocent, they will naturally be reinstated, and I assure you there will be no disadvantages. That is why I issued a ‘temporary suspension’ rather than a ‘suspension.’”

He even got angry.

“I believe that Choi Seo-jun, a former Prosecutor General, knows the internal structure better than I do regarding these matters. However, the act of using this politically by accusing the current president is more malicious.”

Shin Dong-hyun shouted with a glint in his eyes.

“I request here that Choi Seo-jun provide an accurate explanation and cooperate fully with the investigation regarding the allegations of leaking investigation materials by these prosecutors.”

The people watching this interview could now understand.

They had already crossed the line, and those who failed to win the election would be politically buried forever.

***

Explanation?

Tell him to shove it.

If I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. What more is there to say?

Legally, there is the principle of presumption of innocence.

It is not the defendant who has to prove their innocence, but those who claim guilt who must prove their claims.

That is the law of the Republic of Korea.

Therefore, there was no need to get caught up in Shin Dong-hyun’s claims.

Rather, I had to push harder.

I accepted PBC’s exclusive live TV interview.

The condition was that the audience would be swing voters, not specific supporters, but that was no problem at all.

I was confident that I could turn them into my supporters.

“Shin Dong-hyun’s job creation policy has failed. The youth unemployment rate, which was 8% before Shin Dong-hyun took office, has eventually surpassed 10%. Not only that, but it is already approaching 12%. This is no different from a national disaster. Does it make sense that people can’t work even if they want to?”

Shin Dong-hyun’s biggest weakness.

He was elected based on his economic policies as the head of SV Group, but he failed more miserably than any other president.

“What did Shin Dong-hyun say? That he has learned a lot over the past four years and will use this as a basis to implement better policies?”

I scoffed.

“If that were the case, it should have changed a long time ago.”

There is no line to protect.

He was the first to declare that there is no limit to negativity.

I had to mock him to the end.

“If he learned, he should have used it right away. What did he do without changing anything? Frankly speaking, if it didn’t work in four years, will it change if he does it for another four years?”

It was time to move on to the stage of proving my ability by criticizing Shin Dong-hyun’s failed policies and showing how to overcome them, and exposing his incompetence.

Before that, I laid the groundwork first.

“Shin Dong-hyun says that I am a prosecutor, so I don’t know about policies. I don’t know about the economy either. But as soon as that ignorant guy was appointed as a lawyer, he converted all the non-regular workers of a large corporation into regular employees. You all saw it, didn’t you?”

Applause erupted from the voters listening to this.

“And he pointed out that I don’t know how to do politics. Diplomacy is important. But did that person who knows how to do it keep his mouth shut when Japan ignored the independence activists? What’s the difference between pretending not to hear and nodding when they openly insult your parents?”

The voters cheered at the refreshing remarks that scratched their itches [addressed their grievances].

They were clearly undecided audience members who had not yet decided who to support between Shin Dong-hyun and me.

The fact that they cheered was a clear green light.

“The economy has collapsed for four years. As a result of our campaign’s analysis of why it collapsed, the answer was obvious. All companies were on a downward curve, but only one company was on an upward curve. And it was a very steep one.”

I took out the prepared materials and showed them.

“Only SV Group has grown for four years. It’s been a remarkable growth. Everyone knows where this is, right? It is a chaebol group [a large South Korean business conglomerate] where Shin Dong-hyun’s eldest son is the chairman and his second son is the vice chairman. Shin Dong-hyun was also the former chairman of SV Group.”

Low sighs were uttered among the voters, and murmurs were heard.

Without giving them more time to think, I pushed harder.

“For the past four years, the people of the Republic of Korea have been struggling and tightening their belts due to the soaring prices. The number of companies that have filed for bankruptcy has increased exponentially. On the other hand, SV Group has shown tremendous growth and has been handing out bonuses like crazy. All four years. Isn’t this strange?”

I looked at the voters, elicited a response, and continued.

“To make matters worse, the prosecutors who raised suspicions about this were all suspended.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

“Is this a democratic country? I don’t think so. That candidate told me that I was trying to be a dictator, right?”

I pointed to SV Group’s growth graph again.

“Isn’t this more like a dictatorship?”

I raised my voice.

“After seeing this, are you still going to entrust the Republic of Korea to Shin Dong-hyun?”

I put more strength into my voice.

“Yes. If you are an employee of SV Group who is listening to this, it is right to vote for Shin Dong-hyun. That way, the company will grow and bonuses will be paid.”

That’s what will actually happen.

There are over 10,000 SV Group employees nationwide.

I am prepared to lose their votes.

After all, most of them are Shin Dong-hyun supporters.

On the other hand, through these remarks, I can further sway the hearts of non-SV Group employees.

Because human nature is such that antipathy toward others doing well is greater than the joy of one’s own success.

In the end, I can give up flesh and take bones [sacrifice a small gain for a larger one].

However, there was no need to completely miss out on the flesh.

“But do you think that’s the right country?”

It’s good to take the flesh while taking the bones.

“We can’t be blinded by being swallowed up by capitalism, can we? We must become hungry humans, not satisfied pigs.”

I changed my tone to an earnest one.

“Please, trust me, Choi Seo-jun, just once. As a prosecutor, I have cracked down on all kinds of corrupt politicians and corrupt senior prosecutors and have come this far.”

I clenched my fist and shouted.

“Our Republic of Korea has a lot of money. It is a financially wealthy country. But the reason why our country is not developing is!”

I smashed the panel with SV Group written on it and shouted.

“It’s because there are too many thieves in this country. If we just crack down on them all, there is no need to raise taxes. Rather, we can even lower taxes.”

Once again, applause erupted from the audience.

The momentum was high enough.

The reason why there are many undecided voters among the major swing voters in their 20s and early 30s is because many of them are tired of existing politicians.

All I had to do was stimulate them.

“Everyone, how long will you be called pigs and dogs by politicians and bow your heads?”

A slightly radical statement.

However, in order to move the hearts of undecided voters, you must not be ambiguous.

“During election season these days, politicians come every day and bow their heads and ask for help, right? But after those people are elected, have they ever come to visit even once in four years? Do they even show their faces? Do they bow their heads even if they see you by chance?”

Strongly.

Even more strongly.

“No. They never do. Rather, they hold their heads high and clear their throats and engage in power trips. That’s what politicians do these days.”

In contrast, I have been providing direct legal services to citizens for the past two years.

It is a very contrasting action.

“Your hearts are the hearts of the heavens [the will of the people is supreme].”

I applied the words of Jeon Bong-jun, the leader of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, who was called General Nokdu.

“There may be a nation without people, but there is no country without people.”

The voters’ mouths were shut, and their ears were turned to me.

“Politicians exist because there is a country. Do not give opportunities to politicians who rule over the people. You, the people, must be the boss.”

I bowed my head to the sound of applause from the audience.

“This was Choi Seo-jun.”

***

Three days before the election.

Shin Dong-hyun went to great lengths to tie up the hands and feet of the prosecutors who were on my line, but the decline in his approval rating did not stop.

And finally, today.

The approval ratings have been reversed.