You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 158

You Have Been Defended – Episode 158

[The court today sentenced Ko Yun-sung, former head of the construction division of Wooshin Corporation, to five years in prison. One year for the aggravated assault on Wooshin Corporation employee Mr. Oh with multiple accomplices, three years for attempted rape of a nurse at Wooshin Hospital, and one year for his drug use revealed during the attempted rape investigation, totaling five years of imprisonment. However, Ko Yun-sung showed no remorse and shocked reporters by cursing at them.]

The announcer’s voice echoed, and the screen immediately cut to the courthouse.

[Hey, you son of a bitch! Hey! Is nobody going to stop that? Huh? Zoom in on that bastard and film me now! Don’t film, you son of a bitch! You wanna die, you bastard? What broadcasting station are you from? Huh? You bastards don’t know your place and are acting up!]

To be precise, it was the scene of him being taken into custody after the trial, his hands restrained, and being escorted into a prison van.

When someone pointed a camera at him, he kicked and thrashed, spewing profanities that were too vulgar to repeat.

The scene of officials subduing Ko Yun-sung and shoving him into the transport vehicle was vividly displayed on the screen.

If the broadcasting station had gone rogue and broadcasted the swearing uncensored, it might have been even more sensational.

Perhaps concluding that Ko Yun-sung was beyond saving face, broadcasting stations and newspapers, which had initially been hesitant to report, now prominently featured Ko Yun-sung’s outburst.

“Haha, hahahaha! Ah, my stomach hurts! Ah!”

And Kang Min-jae had been spending days glued to internet portal sites, devouring all sorts of mocking posts about Ko Yun-sung.

[BEST! Highly Recommended Materialㅋㅋ

1 Ppappigo (PpappikoNomNomNomKoYunSung) – A play on words, likely a parody song.

2 I am Ko Yun-sung (Yain Era Man’s Tears Ko Yun-sung ver.) – A parody referencing a popular song or meme.

3 It’s a Detention (It’s a Castration Ko Yun-sung ver.) – Another parody, likely using a popular song.]

Among them were remixes of Ko Yun-sung’s abusive rant, infused with popular songs and swear words, transformed into audio clips.

Kang Min-jae boasted that he had set ‘Ppappigo’ and ‘I am Ko Yun-sung’ as his morning alarm tones and offered to send them to me via Bluetooth.

I declined, but it seemed that Manager Oh eventually succumbed.

He even changed his ringtone to ‘It’s a Detention’.

The noise pollution in the office was reaching critical levels.

“Kang, stop surfing the internet and get to work on the civil preparations for Oh Sang-hyun and Han Young-sun.”

“I’m doing it after I’ve done everything else. Wow! Hahahaha, look at this! A meme I haven’t seen before has appeared. It’s a magic trick where a dove comes out of the rope tied around Ko Yun-sung’s wrist! Hahahaha! Sniff!”

I couldn’t reason with him; he was making sounds that were indistinguishable between laughter and crying.

Well, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

Wasn’t it only yesterday that it was revealed that the testimony we used to persuade the chief, which was based on a fabricated story, was false?

Unfortunately, the investigation failed to uncover who exactly coerced him into lying.

No matter how meticulously they examined bank statements and tracked movements, they came up empty.

The prosecutor in charge promised further investigation, but I wasn’t optimistic.

It would likely be swept under the rug by those higher up.

[Breaking News]

At that moment, a blue text box flashed at the bottom of the screen with the words ‘Breaking News’.

As if to emphasize the urgency, the anchors exchanged glances and seemed to consult the teleprompter.

[Breaking news: Prosecutor Yang, who was in charge of the indictment and trial of Ko Yun-sung, former head of the apartment construction division of Wooshin Corporation, has been found to have concealed evidence as a result of an internal investigation by the prosecution.]

Even Kang Min-jae, who had been gleefully showing Manager Oh ‘Ko Yun-sung memes’, fell silent at the announcer’s grave tone.

Their gazes instinctively turned to the television I had switched on.

[He discarded all CCTV footage from the scene, including the CCTV that was crucial in proving Ko Yun-sung’s aggravated assault charge, which clearly showed Ko Yun-sung’s involvement.]

The Prosecutor Yang they were referring to was, of course, Yang Han-seok.

It was a blatant attempt to cut ties and find a scapegoat.

[In the end, Prosecutor Yang confessed that he concealed evidence to curry favor with Ko Yun-sung. Furthermore, he admitted to sending a suspicious individual to intimidate the witness who possessed the decisive evidence, causing widespread shock. A prosecution official stated that such acts, which violate professional ethics to ingratiate oneself with political and business figures, are unforgivable. The prosecution plans to arrest Prosecutor Yang and investigate any remaining crimes.]

It was skillful how they managed to detail Yang Han-seok’s crimes without mentioning the Wooshin Group even once.

If the word Wooshin appeared in the same context, the anger directed at Yang Han-seok would be diluted by association with Wooshin.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed.

I didn’t particularly sympathize with Yang Han-seok, but I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.

I, too, had been abandoned by Hwang Young-chan in my past life, and I’ve been driven by the anger from that betrayal ever since.

Was it a form of camaraderie?

However, judging by Yang Han-seok’s eventual confession, it seemed that Wooshin and Hwang Young-chan had paid a considerable price.

He would have to relinquish his prosecutor’s position for now, but they would undoubtedly assist him in other ways.

I would have refused such an offer, of course, but Yang Han-seok might have seen it as a lifeline.

Yang Han-seok had failed to frame Oh Sang-hyun as the perpetrator, so he had naturally fallen out of favor with Hwang Young-chan.

If they had offered him a deal to take the fall in exchange for future inclusion in their circle, he might have felt cornered and pessimistic about his prospects…

It would have been a difficult offer to refuse.

This is just speculation, of course.

“It’s amazing how they slither away like eels,” Kang Min-jae muttered, frowning as the news transitioned from the breaking report to pre-prepared segments.

“Anyway, it would have been difficult to expose Wooshin’s influence on Yang Han-seok with this much evidence. I’m surprised Yang Han-seok took the blame.”

“…That’s true.”

“Normally, they would have dismissed it as a mistake, feigned ignorance, and remained silent. Because those guys believe that criticism of incompetence is preferable to being labeled a hotbed of corruption.”

Was it a strategy to protect Ko Yun-sung?

He was the first member of the Wooshin family to face imprisonment for a personal scandal, and Ko Yun-sung was Ko Sang-joon’s beloved youngest son.

His reputation was already tarnished, and Ko Sang-joon might have been concerned that the rumors of bribing the prosecution would become undeniable.

So, instead of sacrificing his son, he offered Yang Han-seok as a scapegoat, instructing him to take the fall?

‘Whatever the reason, they’re all scum.’

I also believe it’s better to sacrifice one person in charge than to allow the prosecution to remain silent.

The ideal solution is to eradicate the root of the problem, but that’s just wishful thinking.

It’s hypocritical for me, who once vowed to imprison the entire Wooshin family, to say that, but that’s the reality.

Even catching one accomplice serves as a warning to others.

If we accumulate enough victories like that, fewer and fewer people will be willing to take responsibility and risk their careers.

Someday, the day will come when we take down the head, not just the tail.

* * *

“Father, when will you wake up?”

Ko Yun-soo asked, watching the water droplets fall from the IV drip.

His eyes, fixed on his father lying motionless in the bedroom, were filled with concern.

The doctor standing beside him replied in a low voice.

“He collapsed briefly due to shock, but he will recover soon. Please don’t worry too much, President.”

“How can I not worry? My father favored Yun-sung so much. Sigh… Yun-sung should have just quietly accepted his sentence. Why did he have to cause such a scene?”

Ko Yun-soo sighed, touching his forehead.

He had ignored his advice to quietly reflect and await his release, instead lashing out at reporters before being transported to prison.

If the video had remained confined to a small circle, he would have erased it, but it had spread across the internet in various forms, making it impossible to contain.

“Will the prosecutor’s situation be resolved smoothly? When you met with him, he boasted that even if the CCTV footage surfaced, he would prevent it from being admitted as evidence.”

Ko Yun-soo looked at the lawyer sitting in the caregiver’s chair beyond the bed and asked.

“If it were a conventional court, I might have been able to argue that point. However, with the introduction of citizen participation trials [trials where ordinary citizens participate in the jury], it has become more challenging.”

“It’s pathetic. That prosecutor, too.”

“There shouldn’t be any further complications. He will take the blame and the matter will be closed. Even if that prosecutor tries to speak out, he won’t dare mention the name Wooshin this time.”

“That’s a relief, but…”

Ko Yun-soo adjusted his father’s bedding with a heavy heart.

He had high blood pressure but was generally healthy, but the imprisonment of his cherished youngest son had caused him to collapse.

“Yun-soo.”

At that moment, Ko Sang-joon, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.

“Father, you’re awake?”

“Yes, have you heard any news about Yun-sung?”

“Yes. I spoke with the warden earlier. I requested that he take good care of Yun-sung.”

Ko Sang-joon nodded and attempted to sit up.

Ko Yun-soo and the lawyer assisted him, propping him up against the headboard of the bed.

“…That person who made Yun-sung a criminal…”

“Who are you referring to? The construction site manager?”