You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 152

“Something was coming?” So, when you heard that the defendant, Mr. Go Yoon-sung, was assaulted, you thought it was going to happen. Is that how I should interpret it? Am I interpreting it correctly?”

“Yes.”

“Then, could you tell us in more detail why you thought so?”

Following Yang Han-seok’s words, Shin Kyung-ho answered without hesitation.

“He said he wanted to kill Go Yoon-sung a lot. At first, I ignored it because everyone in Korea complains about their boss. But as time went on, I wondered, how much do you have to hate someone to say you want to kill them so often?”

“Could you give us an example of the criticism?”

“Um, the defendant once said this to me. He said that he was scheduled to go on a site inspection with Go Yoon-sung on a certain day next month, and he asked if I could accidentally drop something heavy from the upper floor of the apartment when Go Yoon-sung passed by. The day the defendant mentioned was the day the incident happened.”

“I see. How did you feel when you heard the defendant say that?”

“I was a little worried that something might really happen that day.”

“Did the defendant ever say anything else about harming Go Yoon-sung?”

“Um… When the defendant came to the site with Chief Go, the defendant kept saying similar things. During breaks, he would say that it wasn’t too late to go ask the cafeteria lady to put bleach in Go Yoon-sung’s food.”

Oh Sang-hyun’s face was already turning red as he listened to Shin Kyung-ho’s continuous testimony.

If Kang Min-jae hadn’t kept gesturing for him to stay calm, I thought he would have rushed at Shin Kyung-ho and grabbed him by the collar.

I stared at the letters floating above Shin Kyung-ho’s head.

[Truth]

It seems that Oh Sang-hyun really said those things.

Of course, he probably never thought that those words would become a problem here.

“So, you’re saying that the defendant had considerable animosity towards the victim, Mr. Go Yoon-sung, and at the same time, had the intention to harm him.”

“Yes. There’s a lot more to it than that. He even seriously asked me what would happen if he hit Chief Go. When I asked what he would do if Chief Go sued him, he seemed to have thought about it in detail. He said that the *chaebol* [family-owned conglomerate] has an image to maintain, so he wouldn’t be embarrassed to sue him for being hit by a regular employee, and he had already thought about all that.”

“So, do you think that the assault that occurred at the construction site on the day of the incident was also committed by the defendant under a thorough plan?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t agree with the statement, ‘How can a regular employee assault a chief?’ at least in this case.”

“Yes, this incident made it clear to me. I thought that at least every member of society would worry about their future, but I realized that there are people who just go for it without thinking. Oh, and I also thought this.”

It seems that Shin Kyung-ho didn’t like Oh Sang-hyun very much.

Even if he was paid to stand on the witness stand, it was hard to see him so excited to talk badly about Oh Sang-hyun as simple acting.

It’s a pity that Oh Sang-hyun wasn’t more careful.

He talked too much behind people’s backs, even to a *jikjang sangsa* [work superior] who would easily turn a knife on him.

“I understand that before Chief Go took legal action, the defendant expressed his intention to the union to make an issue of being assaulted. It seems that he was planning to use the union to turn the tables on Chief Go, who has a bad public image. Of course, this is just my personal opinion.”

“Respected jurors. As such, the defendant is trying to avoid the crime he committed by using the fact that he is a regular employee and the victim has a bad public image, and is trying to blame the victim instead.”

Yang Han-seok looked at Oh Sang-hyun, who was full of anger.

He had a faint smile on his face.

He seemed to want Oh Sang-hyun to cause a commotion in court.

It was a provocative expression to Oh Sang-hyun, who was already agitated.

It was effective that he had told Oh Sang-hyun not to act rashly in court before the trial.

Oh Sang-hyun was still holding up well.

“Defendant’s side, do you have any cross-examination?”

“Yes.”

I picked up the microphone that Kang Min-jae handed me and stood up.

“Witness, listening to your testimony, it seems that the defendant revealed his criminal plan to you. What do you think about this?”

“Criminal plan? I guess you could say that. Of course, nothing happened as the defendant told me…”

“The defendant didn’t commit a crime as he told you, but you’re saying that he predicted that he would commit a crime anyway?”

“That’s right.”

Leading questions are allowed during cross-examination.

Yang Han-seok looked at us with a stiff expression, perhaps feeling uneasy about Shin Kyung-ho’s easy agreement.

“If he was going to predict the crime, I think they were quite close. If he told someone he wasn’t close to that he was going to commit a crime, he wouldn’t be able to guarantee his safety if they reported him. Witness, what do you think?”

“I think so too. That’s why I thought the defendant told me.”

“According to your testimony, I know that you liked the defendant so much that you suggested that he call you *hyung* [older brother or close male friend] first, but you never visited him in the hospital during the 7 weeks he was hospitalized. You were very close, but weren’t you worried about the defendant?”

At that time, Yang Han-seok turned on the microphone and intervened.

“Your Honor, I object. The lawyer is asking questions that are not related to the case.”

“It is to verify whether the witness’s testimony is credible.”

“Objection overruled. Witness, answer the question.”

Shin Kyung-ho looked at the jurors for a moment.

I think he was coached to look at the jurors’ expressions when he was not sure how to answer.

But the 8 jurors were quite good at managing their expressions.

They had been watching the trial calmly, without agreeing or disagreeing.

Shin Kyung-ho’s gaze momentarily turned to Yang Han-seok, then back to me.

“That’s because I lost my liking for the defendant because of this incident. If it wasn’t for this, and he was really injured in an accident, I would have been the first to visit him in the hospital.”

“You’re saying that you fell out of love with him, although it may be a somewhat extreme expression because the defendant clearly did something wrong?”

“That’s right.”

It was a pretty plausible excuse.

“So, about a month before the assault, you and the defendant were still very close without anything that made you fall out of love with him.”

“That’s right.”

“But why didn’t you attend the defendant’s mother’s funeral?”

From the moment Shin Kyung-ho’s name appeared in the witness record, we reviewed a lot of data that could prove the relationship between Oh Sang-hyun and Shin Kyung-ho.

In particular, Oh Sang-hyun’s mother’s funeral, which took place a month before the incident, was the best data to confirm this.

“I know that your name was not on the guest book, and you did not send condolences. Did you have any special circumstances?”

Shin Kyung-ho began to roll his eyes and think of an excuse.

Judging by the fact that he answers well, his improvisation skills don’t seem to be too bad.

“……I was having financial difficulties, so I was unfortunately unable to deliver the condolences.”

“Then, what is the reason why you couldn’t go to the funeral hall?”

“That, that’s… I had something busy at that time.”

“On August 5, when the defendant’s mother’s funeral was held, you were drinking at a food stall with Kim Cheol-yong, who works at the same site, from right after work until 2 a.m.”

“…….”

“And on August 6, you didn’t come to the site because it was your day off.”

“I was going to go to the funeral hall on August 6, but something urgent came up and I couldn’t go.”

“I see, on August 7, as soon as you came to work, you showed Kim Cheol-yong a picture of you catching a huge *chamdom* [red sea bream] while fishing with your hometown friends yesterday. It seems that the urgent matter was fishing.”

I can’t call this perjury, but what is certain is that he has been framed as a ‘liar’.

The jurors will not be able to accept Shin Kyung-ho’s testimony credibly.

“I have doubts as to whether the witness was really close to the defendant.”

“…….”

“If the witness unilaterally felt a special feeling for the defendant, I can’t help it… I don’t think the defendant felt *chinmilham* [closeness/intimacy] enough to reveal his criminal plan to the witness. That’s all.”

After the cross-examination, Shin Kyung-ho left the court like a defeated soldier.

But there was still no clear rebuttal to the point that Oh Sang-hyun had planned the crime.

I gestured to Kang Min-jae to display the PPT screen on the beam project.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Please look at the screen. This is the result of a survey of *jikjangin*s [office workers]. 85% of *jikjangin*s answered that they had felt *salshim* [urge to kill] towards their *jikjang sangsa* [bosses].”

Among the jurors, I had filed a motion to recuse some people who had individual businesses.

This means that more than half of the jurors are *jikjangin*s [office workers].

I turned the screen back.

“Mr. Kim, 32 years old. Every time I walk on the sidewalk with my *jikjang sangsa* [boss], I seriously consider pushing him towards the road. Mr. Choi, 25 years old, I clean flower pots from the window every morning, and I think about dropping the flower pots on my *jikjang sangsa*’s [boss’s] head when he goes to work. Mr. Park, 28 years old, I wanted to kill my *jikjang sangsa* [boss], so I even looked into how much *cheongbu sarin* [contract killing] costs.”

After reading a few examples, laughter was heard from the *bangcheongseok* [public gallery].

“These are almost the same stories as the defendant told witness Shin Kyung-ho. It’s really scary, but fortunately, none of the *jikjangin*s [office workers] who responded to the survey actually put those words into action. Also, no one who responded to the survey thought of this as a criminal plan.”

I looked at the jurors and continued.

“If the stories the defendant told were really criminal plans, 85% of *jikjangin*s [office workers] in Korea would have to be on trial for injury and murder. But we all know it. It’s just talk. It’s because I’m stressed, so I’m trying to *pureo* [relieve/vent] like that.”

I want to ask Yang Han-seok too.

If he has ever told close acquaintances that he wants to hit Hwang Young-chan.

Of course, Yang Han-seok will say that he has never done that, but the [거짓] [Lies] letters will shine above his head.

“The defendant is the same. It’s not that he really wanted to put it into action. And the anger he feels towards Go Yoon-sung will also be similar to the anger that ordinary *jikjangin*s [office workers] feel towards their *sangsa* [superiors]. That’s all.”

Only after examining all the evidence presented by the prosecution did it become the defendant’s turn.

“I am applying for Han Young-sun, a nurse in the VIP ward of the former Seoul Wooshin Hospital, where the victim Go Yoon-sung was hospitalized, to be a witness.”

The courtroom door opened, and Han Young-sun, with a nervous face, appeared from the door.

Seo Hye-jin, who was sitting in the *bangcheongseok* [public gallery], looked at Han Young-sun with a worried expression and followed her every move with her eyes.

“Witness, you were a nurse in the ward when the victim Go Yoon-sung was hospitalized. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“At the time, Go Yoon-sung was hospitalized with a diagnosis of 8 weeks of treatment. Looking at the photos of Go Yoon-sung presented by the prosecution, it was really terrible. Could you tell us what you remember about Go Yoon-sung’s appearance?”

At my question, Han Young-sun tilted her head as if it was strange.

“Did you say that the photos of Go Yoon-sung presented by the prosecution were terrible?”

“Yes. I thought it would be difficult to move properly because there were fractures and there were no places on his body without wounds.”

“……Was his face in the picture?”

“Witness, it is the witness who must answer now.”

“I know. But what the lawyer said is so ridiculous.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Go Yoon-sung was really fine from the first day of hospitalization.”