The Inspector Is Getting Promoted! [EN]: Chapter 82

When a Tiger Shows Its Teeth (3)

“I asked an uncle I know to talk him down, but that person was a member of a criminal gang. From the student’s perspective, would this feel like a simple mediation, or would it feel like a threat?”

PD [Producer Director] Song Jae-hoon continued to speak methodically.

“The act of bullying Chan-woo was clearly wrong. But the method of resolving it was also wrong. It was a method that could leave the child traumatized.”

On TV, he tilted his head and drove the narrative into a new frame.

“By the way, the acquaintance of the chief prosecutor, and the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office at that, is a member of a criminal gang. And not just one or two, but a whole group of them came. Is this a normal occurrence?”

PD Song Jae-hoon continued with a displeased expression.

“It seems that a prosecutor, of all people, knows that in South Korea, fists are still closer than the law. I’m very curious to know what their true identities were. I’ll conclude today’s broadcast here.”

He finished the broadcast by raising questions.

Unsurprisingly, the viewers’ message board was flooded with posts even before the broadcast ended.

The same was true for all sorts of online communities.

As questions about Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook spread like wildfire, the phone rang from PD Song Jae-hoon.

“Hello, this is Choi Seo-joon.”

“Did you see the broadcast?”

“Yes. You created it very neatly and perfectly.”

“Haha, thank you. It’s all thanks to the sources you gave me, Seo-joon.”

“I was amazed at how perfectly you edited the parts I mentioned.”

The key point of today’s broadcast, as expected, was the interview with the bully who tormented Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook’s son.

Anyone watching would think they had viciously used a criminal gang to beat the kids to a pulp.

Even the fact that he was slapped was described only as being hit, omitting the part about it just being a light slap.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Now, please wrap things up, Prosecutor.”

“Yes. In a few days, everything will truly be settled.”

It wouldn’t take long.

One week.

In just seven days, the traffic would be perfectly cleared.

***

This time, instead of a press conference, I took immediate action.

Since the position of the Special Investigation Department’s chief was vacant, and that authority was delegated to me, there was no need to get permission from above.

The first issue I addressed was the case involving the Wangsimni Fire Ant gang that Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook handled 10 years ago when he was at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office.

At the time, not even a single article was published in the media, and it was quietly buried.

However, Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung discovered it while investigating the case involving Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook’s son.

“The problem was that the sentence was too lenient, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung nodded and explained.

“He imposed the absolute minimum sentence. Thanks to that, all those guys got suspended sentences.”

“I’m going to leak to the media that we’re reinvestigating this, so I want you to take charge and get an arrest warrant issued.”

“Me?”

His eyes sparkled.

“Yes. It’s time for Prosecutor Lee to make a name for himself.”

At first, I thought about stepping up and wielding the sword myself, but now that it’s known that I can’t move up to the position of chief prosecutor due to Reporter Lim Yu-na’s support, it might look bad if I step in.

There’s a good chance that people will think I’m retaliating because I didn’t get promoted.

It’s a delicious case, but instead of me taking it, it’s more appropriate to divert the attention focused on me and raise Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung’s profile.

“Thank you.”

“No. Either way, if this case is properly investigated, the chief prosecutor will take off his robes on his own.”

“Chief Prosecutor…”

He couldn’t speak and swallowed hard.

It was surprising enough to see one or two junior prosecutors get cut off, but this was about taking down a chief prosecutor.

How many colleagues, seniors, and juniors would he have trampled on to get to the position of chief prosecutor?

And now, he was pulling down the chief prosecutor who had worked so hard to climb up.

Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung was probably thinking that if he hadn’t taken the hand I offered, it might have been him, not the chief prosecutor, who was getting cut off right now.

“Then I’ll proceed with the arrest warrant right away.”

“Okay. Contact me as soon as the warrant is issued.”

“Understood.”

He bowed and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.

“But, Senior Prosecutor.”

“What?”

“If Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook leaves, who will take his place?”

I think someone from the second line will come up.

The people who filled the vacant positions left by the chief prosecutors who were cut off along with Kang Hyun-soo were all from the first line.

Even if it was Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, he was trying to bring his own people into the special department chief position, so he had no choice but to give the rest to the first line.

Of course, now the situation has completely changed, and the first line is about to monopolize all the positions.

Therefore, if the higher-ups are trying to balance things out, it could be the second line, or it could be a third party.

In the first place, the president’s seat is vacant, and Choi Gyu-hyun, who is acting as the acting president, is too busy expanding his own territory to consider the chief prosecutor position.

“I don’t know about that.”

“Ah, I see.”

“But it doesn’t matter who comes up.”

I twisted the corners of my lips into a smirk.

“No matter who sits in that position, we’re going to move up, right?”

Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded.

“That’s right.”

He said with an expression that seemed to be already looking forward to it.

“I’m going to trust Senior Prosecutor and follow you.”

“As much as you want.”

***

-HY.Software16: LOL, so he said he was doing it for his son, but it turns out he used the gangsters he took care of in the past?

-AquaMan: If he introduced the criminal gang as an uncle he knew, doesn’t that mean it’s been going on since 10 years ago? Totally creepy.

-TransparentDragoon: It was all BS [bullshit], really LOL. If it’s been going on like this since 10 years ago, he must have bought several houses with the money he received.

-WrinkleKillerBenjamin: Chan-woo! The money you’re wearing, everything you’ve enjoyed so far, is all money your father received through back channels!

-RapperToBe: Yo, to be honest, the bullies were innocent even if they extorted more money. Agree? Uh, agree!

The internet’s reaction was serious.

Most of the people who had been shielding Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, saying that it was good to drive them away even by threatening the bullies, turned their backs on him.

Frankly speaking, there’s no law saying that you shouldn’t think like Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook if your son is being bullied.

However, if the world ran only on such thoughts, would there be a need for law?

This was clearly a threat through a third party.

Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, who first revealed his face to the media while handling the Yoo Dong-hyun case, a victim of a judge, rose to stardom through this case.

Even if Kim Jae-wook was being beaten by the media, he was still a chief prosecutor.

Of course, the interest in Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung couldn’t compare to the heights I had built, but from his perspective, each and every one of these situations was touching, and he kept thanking me.

This laid the groundwork for a reasonable basis for promoting him to deputy chief prosecutor, and also created a foundation that would produce several times the effect when he was put on the front lines later.

There were no further calls from Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook after that.

He didn’t come to the office, and he didn’t seem to be taking any countermeasures.

Now that the connection with the Wangsimni Fire Ant gang had surfaced, he couldn’t do anything more because of his position as chief prosecutor.

And as I had predicted, exactly one week from the broadcast date.

Kim Jae-wook submitted his resignation.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Good job.”

Not only Yoon Seol-ha and Jo Ara, but also the people from Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung’s office gathered to enjoy a company dinner.

Both their people and our people had known for a long time that they were on the same boat.

“Wow, you’re finally moving up.”

“I know. I’m moving up to chief prosecutor just three years after coming to Seoul.”

“That’s incredibly fast, Senior Prosecutor!”

Lee Doo-hyung gave a thumbs up.

“You’re really my role model, Senior Prosecutor.”

“Hahaha, don’t embarrass me.”

I said to him with an awkward smile.

“Congratulations on becoming a deputy chief prosecutor too.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to Senior Prosecutor.”

“It’s because Prosecutor Lee has the ability.”

Since all the obstacles to becoming a chief prosecutor had disappeared, I came to the most expensive Korean beef restaurant in Gangnam to celebrate.

I had to spend lavishly on a day like today.

Above all, there was no regret in my pocket right now.

From the 12 billion won I received from Joo-ok Group to the 10 billion won from the Hanul Investment & Securities stock manipulation case, and the 10 billion won I took from SL Group this time.

My pockets were so full that they were about to burst.

It was basic to splurge money while proceeding with the case, and I had given so much money to Yoon Seol-ha, Jo Ara, Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, and the police, but the money still showed no signs of decreasing.

In fact, my sense of money had disappeared.

“Order everything you want to eat. The credit card has unlimited limits today.”

“Deputy Chief Prosecutor, you’re so cool!”

“As expected of a prosecutor!”

While enjoying the combination of Korean beef and soju [Korean distilled spirit], Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung, who had checked his phone, said cautiously.

“I’ll be right back after taking a quick call.”

“Okay.”

While Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung was away, Yoon Seol-ha asked slyly.

“Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung was one class below you, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Prosecutor Lee is also being promoted at super speed. Deputy chief prosecutor in four years.”

“That’s right.”

“But some people become chief prosecutors in their fifth year of being appointed as prosecutors.”

She stared at me with wide eyes.

I chuckled and retorted.

“I know, right? I don’t know who it is, but they must be incredibly good at their job.”

“Hahaha. That’s right, that’s right.”

Yoon Seol-ha chuckled and nodded.

While we were talking, Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung suddenly came back to the table with a cake.

“What’s this cake for?”

At Yoon Seol-ha’s question, he scratched his head and said.

“Ah, when I thought about it, our senior prosecutor is becoming the youngest chief prosecutor in Korean history, right? I prepared this as a small celebration.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do this.”

I was embarrassed, but I couldn’t hide the twitching corners of my mouth.

“Thank you, Prosecutor Lee.”

“No, I’ll take care of you more in the future.”

“Then I won’t refuse and look forward to it.”

We put away the fireworks, lit the candles, turned off the lights, and slowly shared the cake.

An investigator from Prosecutor Lee Doo-hyung’s side asked Yoon Seol-ha.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

Yoon Seol-ha winked and said.

“I have to prepare to move to the chief prosecutor’s office.”

“Ah, then we have to pack our things to move to the deputy chief prosecutor’s office.”

“That’s right, hahaha.”

The laughter didn’t stop and continued to erupt.

Just as the atmosphere was reaching its peak, the phone suddenly rang.

The caller was Deputy Chief Prosecutor Kwon Hyung-gi.

I didn’t go far and answered the phone while sitting in my seat.

“Hello, this is Choi Seo-joon.”

“Oh, Choi Pro. What are you doing right now?”

“I’m having a company dinner with my office staff. Is something wrong?”

“Haven’t you heard the news?”

I could hear worry in his voice.

This doesn’t feel good at all.

“What news are you talking about?”

“Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-wook, that bastard, threw one last handful of red pepper flakes [did something spiteful] before he left.”

“Pardon?”

“An appointment for the chief of the Special Investigation Department has been made. Not you, but someone else.”

What is this sudden nonsense?

“Right before that bastard took off his robes, he appointed Han Tae-min, the chief prosecutor of the Public Investigation Department of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office, to the position of chief of the Special Investigation Department and threw his resignation.”