You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 17

You Have Been Defended – Episode 17

The next day, 9:50 AM.

Seoul Central District Court, courtroom No. 309.

Kim Yeon-jun’s patricide trial date.

“Senior Prosecutor, hello. You look very tired.”

Prosecutor Yang, dressed in his legal robes, approached me ten minutes before the trial.

He offered a handshake and smiled brightly, so I responded in kind.

“It’s an honor to face you, Senior Prosecutor.”

“The honor is all mine.”

“I never thought I would be the one to break your 100% win record. Thank you for this opportunity.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his subtly sarcastic remark.

“Why are you laughing?”

It seemed that Hwang Young-chan’s newly chosen ‘golden boy’ was indeed Prosecutor Yang.

It wasn’t a bad choice, objectively speaking.

A graduate of Seoul National University’s Law School, second in his class at the Judicial Research and Training Institute [a prestigious institution for aspiring judges, prosecutors, and lawyers].

The woman he’s currently dating is the daughter of the Vice Minister of Justice, and they’ll likely be married in a few years.

They’ll push and pull each other, diligently climbing the career ladder.

“Well, anyway, please go easy on me, Senior Prosecutor.”

Prosecutor Yang whispered, glancing at Kim Yeon-jun being led in by a bailiff.

Kim Yeon-jun looked terrible, as if he hadn’t slept a wink all night.

“Did you have breakfast?”

“No. What about you, Attorney?”

“I did.”

In reality, I hadn’t had time to eat.

However, I had to lie because the defendant needs to feel reassured by a composed attorney.

I looked around the gallery.

Several reporters who had managed to obtain tickets, and reporter Yoon Se-yeon, were also busily preparing their laptops.

She gestured that she was watching me, as if to say she would sue if I didn’t provide proper sources.

“Attorney.”

“Yes.”

“…Thank you for your efforts so far.”

Kim Yeon-jun said with a faint smile.

At that moment, Hwang Young-chan quietly opened the courtroom door and entered.

He took a seat at the very end and looked at me.

I nodded slightly, and he smiled faintly with his arms crossed.

“Mr. Kim Yeon-jun.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t give up. If the defendant gives up, it will all show on your face.”

10:00 AM sharp.

The bailiff rushed towards the gallery.

“The judge is entering. Everyone, please rise.”

After a brief standing, we sat back down.

The judge looked at the people filling the gallery and both sides, and said solemnly.

“Hello. This court feels a heavy responsibility for this case, which has garnered great public interest. We promise to deliver a fair verdict without bias.”

Chief Judge Go Il-guk. He is a veteran with two years left until retirement.

I had encountered him frequently in trials, and personally, I held him in high regard.

The associate judges on the right and left were also familiar faces.

In any case, both of them were the type to defer to the chief judge’s decisions, so there would be no need to target them separately.

“This court will now begin the trial for Seoul Central District Court case number 2008 Gohap 4308, regarding the charges of patricide and assault against the defendant, Kim Yeon-jun. Is the defendant’s name Kim Yeon-jun?”

“Yes.”

“Age 24, born in 1983, currently a medical student. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Is your registered residence Pyeongguk Apartment in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul?”

“…Yes.”

“Prosecution, please state the charges.”

Prosecutor Yang stood up.

“On April 1, 2008, the defendant Kim Yeon-jun, after arguing with his adoptive parents, Kim Cheol-hwan and Yeo Hee-suk, at their home in Dogok-dong, murdered them with a blunt weapon and was apprehended at the scene. Furthermore, he had been continuously inflicting violence and injuries upon Kim Cheol-hwan and Yeo Hee-suk prior to the incident. Therefore, we are indicting the defendant Kim Yeon-jun on charges of patricide and assault.”

“Defendant, do you admit to the charges?”

Prosecutor Yang smirked at the judge’s words.

A smile as if to say, ‘How could he possibly deny it?’

“I deny all charges.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Prosecutor Yang’s face instantly contorted.

The same was true for the people sitting in the gallery.

This was because I had misled Prosecutor Yang, telling him that my goal was a reduced sentence, and the media had been reporting that the key point was how much the sentence would be reduced, given that he was caught red-handed.

Prosecutor Yang gritted his teeth as if he had been struck a blow, and Judge Go Il-guk chuckled secretly.

As if saying, ‘Well, of course.’

That old man knows me too well.

“The defendant stated during the investigation that he did not kill the victim couple. And he claimed that the defendant’s brother, Kim Hyeong-jun, killed the victim couple.”

Prosecutor Yang stared at me intently as he spoke.

“I request Kim Han-soo, the police officer, as a witness.”

After a simple oath, Prosecutor Yang displayed a photo on the screen.

“Please explain the situation at the time when the witness was dispatched after receiving the report.”

“When we told them to open the door, it was Kim Hyeong-jun who opened it. He cried and asked us to save his parents and stop his brother. When we entered the master bedroom, which was the scene of the incident, the defendant Kim Yeon-jun was standing blankly, holding a blood-dripping baseball bat, staring at the deceased victim couple.”

As soon as Officer Kim Han-soo finished speaking, Prosecutor Yang pressed the remote control.

“These are the defendant’s appearances at the scene of the incident and immediately after the arrest. And the baseball bat mentioned in the witness’s testimony is the one on the screen. It is the only weapon used in the crime. Also, the defendant’s entire body was covered in blood, and the blood was identified as belonging to the victim couple as a result of forensic analysis.”

At the same time as Prosecutor Yang’s words, the screen changed, and a photo of Kim Yeon-jun smiling while holding a baseball bat on the sports field was displayed.

“Furthermore, the weapon used in the crime belongs to the defendant.”

“Defense, do you have any cross-examination?”

I stood up from my seat.

“Witness, you said that the defendant was holding a baseball bat in his hand when you arrived at the scene, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“And it was the defendant’s brother, Kim Hyeong-jun, who opened the door.”

“Yes.”

“Was there blood on Kim Hyeong-jun’s body as well?”

“Yes, there was.”

“When the police told them to open the door, how long did it take for Kim Hyeong-jun to open it?”

“I think it took about three to five minutes.”

“If it wasn’t the defendant, but someone else who was there who killed the victim couple… Well, five minutes would be enough time for ‘that someone’ to hand the baseball bat they were holding to the defendant and take off the gloves they were wearing. What do you think?”

“Between three and five minutes… it could happen, but what does that mean?”

Officer Kim Han-soo asked as if he couldn’t understand, and Prosecutor Yang, who caught on to the intention of the question, shouted.

“Your Honor! The defense attorney is leading the witness.”

“Sustained. Defense attorney, please refrain from leading the witness.”

Prosecutor Yang glared at me with all his might.

It seemed he had firmly believed my words that my goal was a reduced sentence.

He must feel betrayed.

“I apologize. Then, when the police arrested the defendant at the scene, did the police see the defendant swinging the baseball bat at the victim?”

“…We did not.”

“Then how did you determine that he was apprehended at the scene?”

“Because he was standing in front of the deceased victims, holding a blunt weapon covered in blood.”

“He was holding a blunt weapon covered in blood, and the defendant was in his house. That’s the only reason, right?”

The police’s judgment wasn’t necessarily wrong.

In that situation, Kim Yeon-jun naturally met the criteria to be apprehended at the scene.

However, it was definitely the police’s mistake not to conduct a proper investigation after the arrest.

“But!”

“That’s all.”

Officer Kim Han-soo sighed and stepped down from the witness stand.

Prosecutor Yang gnashed his teeth and stood up from his seat, and the next witness took the stand.

“Please introduce yourself.”

“…I am Kim Hyeong-jun, the biological son of the victims Kim Cheol-hwan and Yeo Hee-suk.”

He seemed to have been rehearsing his sadness in advance.

His voice was filled with emotion, and there was a strange emphasis on the words ‘biological son.’

His face, which looked like he would cry if you poked him, was almost comically pathetic.

Prosecutor Yang began the interrogation with a relaxed expression.

“Did the witness see the defendant murdering the victim couple?”

“…Yes, I did.”

“In the previous witness examination, the police said that there was blood on the witness as well as the defendant. How did that happen?”

It was a question that gave Kim Hyeong-jun, who was the target of the arrow, an opportunity to defend himself.

Prosecutor Yang didn’t want to create any other possibilities besides the defendant he had indicted.

For him, this courtroom was to reveal Kim Yeon-jun’s brutality, not to find another suspect.

“I was also investigated, and I made related statements. It was because I was trying to stop Yeon-jun from brutally assaulting my parents that the blood splattered…”

“I see. Then, does the witness think that the defendant had a motive to murder the victim couple?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

Kim Hyeong-jun opened his mouth with an expression as if he was steeling himself to look at Kim Yeon-jun’s face.

If he were a movie actor, it was acting that could even aim for a ticket to Cannes [a prestigious film festival].

“It’s a known fact, but I am the biological son of my parents, and Yeon-jun is an adopted son. My parents loved both of us equally, but Yeon-jun didn’t think so.”

“Please explain in more detail.”

“Yeon-jun thought that my parents loved me, their biological son, more. He usually assaulted my parents for that reason. He said things like, ‘If you adopted me, I’m the same child, so why do you discriminate? If that’s the case, why did you adopt me? Am I a tool to improve your image?'” He choked up.

As Kim Hyeong-jun swallowed his tears, a rattling sound was heard from somewhere.

Kim Yeon-jun was trembling, his handcuffed hands shaking.

In these cases, there are countless defendants who jump up and shout that he’s lying.

It would be a disaster if he received an expulsion order [being removed from the courtroom for disruptive behavior], but he was holding it in well.

“…Yeon-jun started assaulting my parents when my business started having problems.”

I raised my head in an instant.

I thought he would hide the fact that his business was failing until the end, and I was planning to use that point to establish a motive for murder.

To reveal that himself!