The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 71

Storm (1)

Three months had passed since the case was handed over to the prosecution, and the Saint Harper stock manipulation case was slowly nearing its conclusion.

The investigation had ended early, but to conclude with Hanwool Investment & Securities receiving a suspended sentence, they had to wait until public interest waned, so they were deliberately dragging out the time.

The fading of interest was a matter that time would solve, so there was nothing to do but wait.

In the meantime, they were targeting several other politicians to take the brunt of the public’s anger instead of Hanwool Investment & Securities, diverting attention to them.

The targets were novice politicians who obviously used relatives like cousins or aunts for their investments.

Of course, Han Ji-yoo and her younger sister, Han Ji-soo, were never even on the list of suspects, so there was no need to worry.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

In the meantime, something more important than the Saint Harper stock manipulation case was underway.

That was Senior Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook.

In early June, Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, after much effort, brought a case that could take down Senior Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, and for a month, I conducted additional investigations and supplemented the data to complete the material that could end him.

Of course, I had no intention of striking right away.

The plan was to detonate it along with Director Kang Hyun-soo’s case the moment the Saint Harper stock manipulation case was concluded.

I still had to wait a little longer.

Everything was flowing smoothly, like water.

The three months were very uneventful.

Ah, if there was one special change, it was probably the change in the way I addressed Han Ji-yoo.

-Hey, where are you, oppa?

“I’m near the Dobby Hotel right now. I’m going to meet some of my seniors.”

-Okay. Don’t drink too much.

“Alright. Go to sleep first.”

-Okay.

Hanging up the phone, I went straight up to the penthouse of the Dobby Hotel.

I expected a noisy and bustling atmosphere, but today the vibe was different from usual.

Music was playing and there was plenty of alcohol and food, but there were no women.

It was all filled with Line people [individuals connected through professional or political affiliations].

People were gathered on one side, talking about something serious, and I naturally joined the group.

I approached a prosecutor from the Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office, whom I knew, and cautiously asked.

“What’s going on?”

He sighed with a serious expression.

“It seems Kwon Jae-cheol is trying to stir things up.”

“Are you talking about President Kwon Jae-cheol?”

“Yes. That crazy bastard really screwed up with the FTA [Free Trade Agreement] this time, didn’t he?”

He screwed up big time.

Like an elephant pooping.

I don’t know what he was thinking when he negotiated the FTA, but the economy was collapsing.

Because of that, the common people were reeling, and the prices of agricultural and marine products were fluctuating wildly.

Unsurprisingly, Kwon Jae-cheol’s approval rating had fallen below 20%, down to the low teens.

I had somewhat anticipated impeachment, but there were no special signs yet, so I was quietly waiting.

“That’s right. I heard his approval rating dropped to 12% this time…….”

“Yes. But that crazy bastard is now implementing prosecutorial reform.”

“Prosecutorial reform?”

I doubted my ears even after hearing it clearly.

Prosecutorial reform.

This was openly trying to create a corrupt image of the prosecution to divert public attention and recover his approval rating, even if only a little.

It had always been like this.

It was a stunt that presidents who were not from the ranks of judges, prosecutors, or lawyers always used to raise their approval ratings.

But this time it was different.

Currently, the public image of the prosecution was arguably the best in the history of South Korea.

The prosecution had perfectly solved the Judge case, a heinous serial murder case that the police had given up on, and they were also arresting and imprisoning large corporations and politicians that the police had failed to find in the Saint Harper stock manipulation case.

If they were going to reform, they should reform the police, but overturning the prosecution was absurd.

Above all, if prosecutorial reform proceeded, I, who had created the image of a trustworthy prosecutor, would also be buried.

In other words, prosecutorial reform was no different from making all my achievements disappear.

I couldn’t just sit back and watch.

“You’re not just going to sit back and take it, are you?”

“That’s what’s happening now…….”

Before he could say anything, Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun, who was at the center of the people, opened his mouth.

“I may have been backing Kwon Jae-cheol, but he shouldn’t be doing this.”

“That’s right.”

Assemblyman Hwang Cheol-yong, the floor leader of the People’s Power Party, also agreed.

“We can’t go on like this. It’s not because I’m in the opposition party, but Kwon Jae-cheol is crossing the line.”

“If this happens, there’s only one answer.”

The word I had been waiting for came from Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun’s mouth.

“We must impeach him.”

The moment the word impeachment came out, silence fell in the penthouse.

The music that was playing also ended in perfect timing.

Gulp.

The only things I could hear were someone swallowing and the sound of eyes darting around.

After a moment of silence, Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun spoke again.

“We’ve agreed to meet with the people from the 2nd Line in two days. If they think the same way as us…….”

He clenched his fist tightly.

“We will impeach Kwon Jae-cheol.”

Kwon Jae-cheol belongs to the 2nd Line [a faction or group within a political or professional organization].

However, with the current president’s approval rating, they can’t cover for him, even if he’s a president they produced.

Moreover, the 2nd Line, which has a much higher proportion of prosecutors compared to our Line, would see its power cut in half the moment they draw the sword of prosecutorial reform.

They wouldn’t be able to just sit back and watch.

Impeachment.

The storm was beginning.

***

“What do you think, Assemblyman?”

“Kwon Jae-cheol has gone too far.”

Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun also expressed a negative opinion.

“Even though drawing the sword of prosecutorial reform is the standard course for recovering approval ratings, it’s a bad move in the current situation. Above all, the 2nd Line, to which he belongs, has the highest number of prosecutors ever. It’s like selling his own family to save himself.”

He subtly checked his surroundings and lowered his voice.

“I just got a text from my cousin Jin-hyun, and it seems the atmosphere there is also unusual.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Our side is a little better because Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun is the general manager, but their side has the leader of the People’s Power Party, who is a prosecutor.”

“The atmosphere must be no joke.”

“It’s brutal, very brutal.”

At that moment, the elevator doors opened and a dozen women poured out.

It seemed they had sent women to allow people to enjoy themselves again now that the serious atmosphere had been cleared.

Naturally, two women approached this way as well.

“Oh my, Chief Prosecutor Choi, you don’t look too good. What happened?”

Assemblyman Sung Tae-hyun, who already had his arm around another woman’s waist, answered her question.

“Not just us, the whole atmosphere here is not good.”

“I thought so.”

The woman nodded and naturally tried to sit next to me.

“Whoa, whoa, stop.”

I raised my hand to stop her, and Sung Tae-hyun naturally shook his head and opened his mouth for me.

“Chief Prosecutor Choi has someone special these days, so you can’t go next to him.”

“Oh my, really?”

The two women’s eyes lit up and they focused their attention on me.

“That’s amazing. Chief Prosecutor Choi is dating. Oh, is it not dating but a marriage through matchmaking?”

I chuckled and got up from the sofa.

“Assemblyman, I’ll head out first today.”

“Why, is it because the atmosphere is not good?”

“That’s part of it, and I have something to think about.”

“Drive carefully. Drive safely.”

Sung Tae-hyun bowed and pulled the woman who had come next to me to sit next to him.

“Have a good time.”

I gave him a simple nod and left the Dobby Hotel first.

***

It was quite a headache.

If Kwon Jae-cheol is impeached, it won’t simply end with a change of government.

It’s a matter of course that everyone associated with the president must take off their clothes and step down [resign from their positions].

That was the reason why I was worried about getting involved with Kwon Jae-cheol in the first place.

It’s unlikely, but if I’m not careful, I could get caught up in it and be destroyed.

It’s fortunate that I’ve helped him, but I’ve never received any practical help from him.

Above all, this impeachment is different from the impeachments that have happened so far.

Although the public’s approval rating is at rock bottom, the seeds of change are not rising from below, but the seeds of impeachment are taking root from above.

Even if it were any other time, I shouldn’t be conspicuous in the public’s eyes when this storm is raging.

The moment a clean prosecutor looks like a politician, everything I’ve built up will collapse like a sandcastle in an instant.

If our Line and the 2nd Line join forces, impeachment is inevitable.

We must make it a foregone conclusion that impeachment will succeed.

I went over it again in my head.

I kept looking for any mistakes I might have made, any connections with President Kwon Jae-cheol that could be traced, and erased even the smallest traces.

But there was still one thing on my mind.

Secretary Lim Sun-mi.

The only link connecting Kwon Jae-cheol and me is her.

Lim Sun-mi, who was the secretary of Vice Minister Park Sung-hyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has now moved to the Blue House [the executive office and official residence of the President of South Korea].

She moved there with Kwon Jae-cheol’s power.

In other words, if Kwon Jae-cheol is impeached, Secretary Lim Sun-mi will be unconditionally kicked out of the Blue House.

If someone were to find out about the relationship between me, Secretary Lim Sun-mi, and President Kwon Jae-cheol, my position would be precarious.

In fact, President Kwon Jae-cheol asked me to do it and I had no choice but to push through with it, but ordinary people might think that I was blinded by my performance and started the work.

Fortunately, ordinary people would never be able to figure it out.

Kwon Jae-cheol would never say anything, and he wouldn’t be in the right state of mind to do so because of the impeachment.

Secretary Lim Sun-mi would also keep her mouth shut because revealing the truth would mean admitting that she falsely accused Vice Minister Park Sung-hyun.

The problem is none other than Vice Minister Park Sung-hyun.

If he were to desperately try to retaliate, I would inevitably get scratched.

If the scratch turns into a wound, the virus of the media might infiltrate and tear the wound apart.

If that happens, the aftermath may be unbearable.

Rather than sitting still and worrying, I had no choice but to find out Vice Minister Park Sung-hyun’s weaknesses in preparation for any possible situation.

How many days had passed since I started investigating him?

One late night when the full moon was shining brightly in the south, as I was digging through his data with the determination to create evidence even if there was none.

I received a call from a completely unexpected person.

“Yes, this is Choi Seo-joon.”

-Oh, Chief Prosecutor Choi. It’s been a while. This is Prime Minister Choi Gyu-hyun.