You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 154

You Have Been Defended – Episode 154

The recess ended, and the trial resumed.

The documents submitted by the jurors before the recess seemed to be requests for questioning.

“Um, the jurors have requested to question witness Han Young-sun.”

Since Yang Han-seok’s cross-examination was over, the jurors had the right to request questioning.

This was the part I was most looking forward to in this trial.

“Before that, I would like to emphasize once again. This trial is to determine whether the defendant Oh Sang-hyun is guilty of inflicting injury on the victim Go Yoon-sung. The court is fully aware that the testimony of witness Han Young-sun may be somewhat distant from the case itself.”

The judge’s gaze lingered on Yang Han-seok for a moment before returning to the front.

I could sense his intention to convince Yang Han-seok, who had repeatedly protested that it was irrelevant to the case.

The judge can never ignore the requests made by the jurors within legal limits.

This is because it should not contradict the purpose of the citizen participation trial, where citizens take the initiative and participate directly.

Of course, the fact that citizens with insufficient legal knowledge influence the verdict does not always work positively.

The public’s legal sentiment is clearly different from practical affairs, and this can hinder the progress of the trial with inappropriate questioning.

However, even these negative aspects work positively for us.

The defendant in this trial, the protagonist, is Oh Sang-hyun, but my focus is on Go Yoon-sung.

For me, proving Go Yoon-sung’s criminal acts is the essence of this trial.

The judge and Yang Han-seok are probably aware of this.

If someone were to listen to a part of this trial without any information, the atmosphere has already changed so much that they would think the defendant is Go Yoon-sung, not Oh Sang-hyun.

Moreover, since I am trying to prove Go Yoon-sung’s criminal acts to prove Oh Sang-hyun’s innocence, I can avoid criticism for obstructing the smooth progress of the trial.

Above all, isn’t this what the jurors want?

“Witness Han Young-sun. Our presiding judge is going to ask you a few questions on behalf of the jurors. Have you calmed down a bit?”

“……Yes.”

Han Young-sun, who had been unable to stop crying for some time during the recess, nodded with a slightly haggard face.

“The issue in this trial is whether the defendant Oh Sang-hyun really assaulted the victim Go Yoon-sung. This is especially true because the defendant has denied all the charges. Therefore, if the victim Go Yoon-sung, who suffered injuries requiring eight weeks of treatment, was in a condition to subdue someone not long after being hospitalized, it could confirm that the prosecution’s claim of the victim’s damages was exaggerated. In that case, the defendant would be guilty of assault, not injury. That’s why we are trying to question witness Han Young-sun further.”

“……Yes.”

“Is it okay to ask questions?”

“Yes, Judge.”

Han Young-sun cleared her throat and nodded vigorously once again.

The presiding judge is Judge Park Sang-eun, the associate judge of this court.

She had previously published a column on sex crimes in ten installments.

Also, in sex crime cases where she was the presiding judge, the sentence was rarely lower than the average.

She could never just let Han Young-sun’s testimony pass.

“Witness Han Young-sun, you said you were almost raped by the victim Go Yoon-sung, right?”

Currently, there is no way to confirm Go Yoon-sung’s attempted rape other than Han Young-sun’s testimony.

She could have softened it by saying ‘I was almost forced to have sexual relations,’ but Judge Park Sang-eun used the word ‘rape’ exactly.

“Yes.”

“Can you tell us in detail about what happened that day?”

Following the presiding judge’s words, Han Young-sun calmly explained what had happened.

Unlike before, when she couldn’t hide her agitation at Yang Han-seok’s provocation, she seemed to be trying to calm down.

“Are you saying that the victim Go Yoon-sung moved his fingers to undo the buttons with his arm in a cast?”

“Yes. Sniff, and, with his leg, he pressed down on my lower body. With his hands, he was trying to remove my underwear…….”

“Witness, that’s enough. You don’t have to continue.”

As Han Young-sun began to shed tears, the presiding judge cut her off.

Since she wanted to hide the fact that she was almost raped, it was understandable that she couldn’t control her emotions.

It’s unfortunate.

After she left, I applied to have the site manager, whom I had placed last on the witness list, as a witness.

“Witness, please introduce yourself.”

“I am Chu Jeong-wook, the site manager of the Centre Apartment construction site where the incident occurred.”

“According to the testimony of a worker who was at the construction site at the time, when the defendant and the victim Go Yoon-sung headed to the alley behind the building where the incident occurred, you ran into the site office. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Chu Jeong-wook took a deep breath, lowering the zipper of his jumper, which he had pulled up to his neck.

He looked very nervous.

“Because there was a CCTV control room in the site office that contained footage of various parts of the construction site.”

“A CCTV control room. Can you tell us more about that?”

“I didn’t think much of it when Chief Go Yoon-sung called Deputy Oh aside to talk for a moment and went to the alley. But when he didn’t come back after a long time, I wondered if something might have happened, so I went to check.”

“That’s strange. If the two of them are gone for so long, wouldn’t you usually just think that the conversation is getting longer? Why did you try to check the CCTV?”

“……I was anxious.”

“What were you anxious about?”

“It didn’t seem like Chief Go Yoon-sung really wanted to have a simple conversation with Deputy Oh.”

“Why is that?”

“When Deputy Oh pointed out Chief Go Yoon-sung’s rudeness, Chief Go Yoon-sung’s reaction was very extreme.”

Yang Han-seok was watching Chu Jeong-wook, who was calmly continuing his testimony, with a blank expression.

But I can see that his hand holding the pen is trembling.

And also, his gaze keeps glancing at Hwang Young-chan, who has been in the audience since earlier.

Until now, I wasn’t sure who had sent someone to prevent the site manager from coming to court.

Whether it was Yang Han-seok or Go Yoon-sung’s side.

Excluding Hwang Young-chan, who would have passed it on to Yang Han-seok to escape if he was ever caught.

But now I know.

It’s definitely Yang Han-seok’s doing.

But he still hasn’t reached the level of complete brazenness like Hwang Young-chan.

Even though it was just an attempt, his agitation has definitely increased because the person he tried to injure is right in front of him.

Did he think that he might be able to win this trial if the presiding judge meaningfully accepted Han Young-sun’s testimony, and now the site manager’s testimony is added?

The frequency of him looking at Hwang Young-chan has also clearly increased.

Is it because he has a trauma from losing a trial in the past?

I think it would be better for him to go to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and gain more trial experience.

“You’re saying that you didn’t think the reason why the victim Go Yoon-sung called the defendant was simply for a conversation.”

“That’s right.”

“When the two of them first disappeared, what did you think then?”

“I thought that Chief Go Yoon-sung…… might assault Deputy Oh.”

“I see. Then, did you check the CCTV after entering the office?”

At my question, the site manager looked back for a moment.

His gaze was directed towards Go Yoon-sung’s lawyer, who was sitting in the audience.

“Witness?”

“……I saw it.”

“If you saw it, are you saying that you saw the CCTV footage of the incident scene?”

“Yes.”

“Then, can you explain the situation you directly confirmed?”

“Deputy Oh, the defendant…… was being gang assaulted by Chief Go Yoon-sung and his entourage.”

“Are you saying that the defendant was being assaulted by the victim? Not the other way around?”

“That’s right. Chief Go Yoon-sung was bleeding from his nose, but he was moving very freely. The entourage was holding Deputy Oh so he couldn’t move, and Chief Go Yoon-sung was punching and kicking him. I was worried that Deputy Oh might die.”

“Did you watch the CCTV until the end?”

“Yes.”

“The victim was so badly injured that he had to be carried out by his entourage. What did he look like in the CCTV footage you saw?”

“Not at all.”

“That’s all.”

I took a step back.

There is CCTV footage as evidence, but it’s not the time yet.

There will be a cross-examination by the prosecutor soon.

The CCTV should be revealed after that.

Yang Han-seok will constantly ask questions to portray the site manager’s words as perjury, and in the process, some people will be persuaded.

It was cleaner in many ways for the CCTV to be the final step.

In order to play the CCTV in court, which had not been submitted in advance, it was necessary to reveal that there was a way to refute the prosecutor’s words.

“Witness.”

Yang Han-seok grabbed the microphone and began his cross-examination.

“During the investigation, you testified that you ran to see the CCTV, but there was no CCTV at the scene, so you couldn’t see anything. But in court, you are telling a completely different story. What is the reason for this?”

“I was scared.”

The site manager answered calmly.

“Witness, you encountered a stranger on your way home about a month before this court hearing. Is that correct?”

At Yang Han-seok’s question, Kang Min-jae’s eyes widened.

This was a card we had prepared to use.

To do so, we deliberately reported it to the police to create a record, and even went to the police station to give a very detailed statement.

Besides, wasn’t Yang Han-seok himself the one who hired the assailant?

Why on earth is he bringing up this story himself and tying himself up!