You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 170

You Are Defended – Episode 170

Apollon. Real name, Jo Bong-joon.

‘Apollon’ is the name he sometimes uses on a major stock trading site.

It’s a nickname he got because people praised him as being like the sun, for the knowledge he shares.

In my previous life, I had no connection to him. I only heard from Choi Jong-hyun that he knew someone who made a fortune day trading stocks.

He didn’t mention him often, so I wasn’t really aware of his existence.

Today is the first time I’m meeting him in person.

He’s older than me, but younger than Choi Jong-hyun.

The two seemed to be on familiar terms, addressing each other as ‘hyung’ [older brother or male friend] and ‘dongsaeng’ [younger brother or male friend].

“……Hmm, Attorney Cha. You know Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals is very hot right now, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you also know that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of Wooshin, right?”

“I do.”

“But there’s a problem with Antrozol Alpha, the ambitious product released by Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals?”

“That’s correct.”

Choi Jong-hyun, who was rummaging through the dishes in the kitchen, suddenly turned to us in the living room and shouted.

“What’s so untrustworthy about it!”

“Ah, hyung, hold on. Attorney Cha, where did you get that information? Antrozol has already been approved for Phase 3 clinical trials by the US FDA [United States Food and Drug Administration], you know?”

“That’s Antrozol. Antrozol Alpha is a newly approved drug in Korea. It hasn’t passed the US FDA.”

“Isn’t Antrozol Alpha an upgraded version of Antrozol? I heard the ingredients aren’t that different?”

Instead of answering, I handed him a stack of documents.

It was the result of analyzing the ingredient information of Antrozol Alpha.

I had even highlighted the changed ingredients for his convenience.

Jo Bong-joon sat down and meticulously reviewed the documents, one page at a time.

Then, he suddenly stopped turning the page midway.

“Apilataylene and Lopetamine increase the possibility of cardiovascular disease when combined?”

“Taking Apilataylene and Lopetamine together for months increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by more than threefold. But as mentioned earlier, Antrozol Alpha is a long-term injectable.”

“Then why did Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals put both of those ingredients in Antrozol Alpha?”

Jo Bong-joon looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Well, if you only look at arthritis as a disease, it certainly shows remarkable effects.”

“But you’re saying the risk of heart disease and stroke increases threefold. It also says here that the risk increases the more and the longer you take it. Why would Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals do something that would be so openly resisted? That’s what I’m saying.”

Jo Bong-joon still seemed unconvinced.

It’s understandable.

When Antrozol first became a problem, people were skeptical, saying that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t do anything that would negatively affect its parent company, Wooshin.

“That’s right. But a drug with those two ingredients together has never been marketed anywhere in the world.”

“So there was no comparison group?”

“That’s right. And those two ingredients aren’t a problem when looked at separately. If there were no issues in clinical trials, there’s no reason why it wouldn’t be approved just based on the ingredients.”

“But if it’s a problematic drug, shouldn’t something have come up in clinical trials?”

“I can’t say for sure what results Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals had while conducting the Phase 3 trials required by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety [Korean equivalent of the FDA]. But isn’t the data you’re looking at now proving it?”

Jo Bong-joon rubbed his stubbly beard and made a humming sound.

“Assuming Attorney Cha is right. Then, from what I see now, the interaction between those two ingredients hasn’t been widely publicized in Korea. So, even though there are press releases about Antrozol Alpha being approved and production lines being prepared, it’s quiet, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.”

“But how did Attorney Cha, who isn’t even an expert in that field, know about this and tell me there’s a problem now? The medical community hasn’t raised any issues, and there’s no buzz.”

Dealing with suspicious people is tiring, but not entirely unpleasant.

A person who carefully examines things is more trustworthy than someone who blindly believes anything that sounds plausible.

“The data I gave you is a translation of research data published in a medical journal by German researchers. Unfortunately, there are no papers in Korea that point out the problems when those two ingredients are combined yet.”

Jo Bong-joon flipped through the papers and checked the list of researchers and the name of the institution that conducted the research on the last page.

Then, he started searching on Choi Jong-hyun’s laptop for a long time.

“In this advanced age, I don’t understand how a drug like this gets approved.”

He muttered throughout his search, not letting go of his suspicion.

“Until 50 years ago, humanity used radium as a cancer treatment. They applied radium to cosmetics and brushed their teeth with radium toothpaste. They even recommended cigarettes for bronchial health. Freud recommended cocaine for depression, and there was a time when cough syrup contained chloroform. It was a time when human technology advanced rapidly after the Industrial Revolution. Most people at that time probably thought it was an already sufficiently developed era.”

“What do you mean?”

Jo Bong-joon took his eyes off the laptop and looked at me.

“After repeated research, they came to the conclusion that radium ingredients were extremely harmful to the human body. At first, people probably didn’t believe it. Just like Mr. Jo Bong-joon now.”

“…….”

“But as time passed, as the research results were recognized, people probably came to accept it. Among the companies that sold toothpaste containing radium at that time, weren’t there companies that had earned as much trust as Wooshin? Coca-Cola also initially sold cola containing cocaine.”

“……So, are you telling me that because I said that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals, which is a Wooshin affiliate, wouldn’t do that? That Antrozol Alpha was approved because people don’t know about it now, but it will be known as more research results come out in the future?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, are you saying that Wooshin didn’t know that those two ingredients have harmful effects on the human body, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety didn’t know either, so it was approved?”

“That’s another story.”

Choi Jong-hyun, who had been listening quietly, interjected.

I smiled faintly.

“Then are you saying that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety knew and did it anyway?”

“I can’t say it’s a certainty, but honestly, I don’t think the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety knew. However, I find it hard to believe that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals didn’t know.”

I had already finished talking with Choi Jong-hyun before meeting Jo Bong-joon.

He already believed without a doubt that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals knew and released it.

And that’s the truth.

“Do you know how long it takes to make a drug? Basically, 10 years. And look at when that research data you’re looking at was published. It’s from 2007. It’s been 3 years. But, they didn’t know that? Then that means they made the drug haphazardly. Those bastards.”

Choi Jong-hyun shouted, grinding his teeth.

Jo Bong-joon crossed his arms and sighed deeply.

“If you’re really suspicious, look up this research result. You need to be sure for yourself whether what I said is based on facts or not, before the next part of the story can progress.”

I didn’t expect to be able to persuade him as soon as we met today anyway.

Even Choi Jong-hyun couldn’t let go of his suspicion until I solved the Go Yoon-sung case.

As I tried to get up, pushing off the floor, Jo Bong-joon shouted in a hurried voice.

“Hey, wait a minute. You’re too hasty, Attorney.”

He narrowed his eyes and smiled slyly.

He gestured for me to sit down again, so I put down the coat I had picked up and sat down.

“Just one more question. Hyung Jong-hyun and Attorney Cha seem to be saying that Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals sold it knowing that those two ingredients have a negative impact on the human body. Then why do you think Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals would go that far?”

I have experience with a family member who died from the side effects of Antrozol.

That’s why I know better than anyone how many families have been destroyed and plunged into sorrow because of that one drug, Antrozol.

Antrozol is also the reason why I decided to take revenge on Wooshin.

The most important goal is to prevent Antrozol from being sold, but the ultimate goal is a bit broader than that.

“Wooshin Group Chairman Go Sang-joon’s two sons, Go Yoon-ho and Go Yoon-seok, were fighting fiercely until 3 years ago, you know that, right?”

It’s almost certain that Go Sang-joon will hand over the Wooshin Group to his eldest son, Go Yoon-soo.

But the problem was the remaining sons.

The youngest, Go Yoon-sung, is still young and considered an exception because he’s a troublemaker, but the second and third sons are not normal.

So, Go Sang-joon decided to have each of them take charge of a subsidiary to gauge their abilities.

But, the problem arises in a strange place.

The two sons started fighting over who would take charge of the more valuable company.

Perhaps they thought that the one who took charge of the bigger company would receive more trust from their father.

The fight lasted for quite a long time.

There were rumors that Go Sang-joon deliberately started the fight to check the abilities of his two sons, but in any case, the situation was finally resolved 3 years ago.

“But that ended well, didn’t it? In the end, Go Yoon-ho took charge of the more valuable securities company, and Go Yoon-seok took charge of the card company. Go Yoon-seok lost because he was the younger brother, wasn’t he?”

People who were watching the two brothers fight while eating popcorn thought that the situation was all over.

But Go Yoon-seok is not someone who would easily give in, even to his older brother.

“How do you think Go Sang-joon ended that fight?”

“I don’t know?”

“There’s only one way. If he promises to match the market capitalization of the two subsidiaries, he can make even the troublemaker Go Yoon-seok quiet.”

“Is that possible?”

“3 years ago, that method was created. And now, they can start that work.”

“……Matching the market capitalization, wait a minute.”

Jo Bong-joon’s eyes widened as if he had remembered something.

“Geumsan Card!”

He shouted.

“Geumsan Card has a high debt ratio, so everyone has been eyeing it, right? Geumsan Group has been trying to normalize its management for the past 5 years, selling its headquarters and everything else, barely keeping afloat. But rumors that Geumsan Group would sell its card company first have been circulating since 3 years ago. Wait a minute…….”

Jo Bong-joon started typing on his laptop again.

He seemed to be trying to check the market capitalization.

“If Wooshin Card acquires Geumsan Card, the market capitalization will be matched. So, are you really saying that Wooshin will acquire Geumsan Card? Is this certain? Then I should buy Wooshin Card stock?”

“That’s right. The effects of acquiring Geumsan Card are enormous. Wooshin Card’s market share in the Korean card market will also rise to number one, and if you consider the resulting stock price increase, it’s a win-win situation. Everyone else is desperate to acquire Geumsan Card right now.”

“……That makes sense. But, what does that have to do with Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals?”