You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 175

[To Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical Insiders (Written by: Apollo)

To all you Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical part-timers.

Is the work environment pleasant?

It’s getting hotter, and this *hyung* [older brother or male friend] is worried sick about whether those Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical guys are blasting the AC.

What fault is there in you guys just chanting mantras as you’re told for money?

I’m just writing this for the Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical insiders to read and feel guilty.

But before that, some of you are wondering why I, who was keeping a low profile, am suddenly stepping up like this, and whether I got paid off. So, I’m going to answer that.

That’s right.

I’m usually a fence-sitter.

I don’t care much about corporate ethics; I just stick my nose where the money is, and that’s how I make a living.

But this incident… I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut as a human being.

Hey. Antrozol Alpha is, among other things, an arthritis injection mainly given to the elderly.

And my own family member suffers from arthritis.

If my family member were to get Antrozol Alpha and then pass away from a cardiovascular disease, my heart would be torn into a thousand pieces, you know?

I think any human being would feel that way.

But, Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical is trying to sell that kind of drug, so I can’t sleep at night.

I just can’t stop thinking that I have to stop it no matter what.

Oh, and to Lee Jun-sung, the Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical researcher who supposedly directed the Hyizolam study in the US.

Lee Jun-sung is a newbie who joined Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical right after getting his doctorate.

Joined in 2003, and directed the Hyizolam study in 2007?

Only 5 years in?

How can such a greenhorn direct research in the US, you morons, lol.

If you’re going to spout nonsense, at least know what you’re talking about, lol.

Okay, let’s get back to the main point.

Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical officials, you’re reading this, right?

Since you guys seem kind of dumb, I’ll kindly explain it again.

Just tell me straight.

You guys also recognize the fact that Apilataylene and Lopetamine increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, right?

So you said you added Hyizolam to prevent this.

But it turns out there’s a problem with the place that conducted the research on that Hyizolam.

The guy who was in charge of that research institution when the Hyizolam study was being conducted falsely recorded clinical data.

So, honestly, if you were human, shouldn’t you be stepping up to conduct your own research out of anxiety?

And honestly, it’s hard to believe that you guys, who are in the same industry, didn’t know that there were many problems with that research institution.

If you really didn’t know, that means you’re a second-rate company that doesn’t even check industry trends.

And if you did know?

Showing people the results of the research conducted by that institution and saying, ‘We have no problems, so shut your mouths,’ isn’t that really treating people like idiots?

How many times do I have to say it?

I’m saying you can sell it if you do a proper clinical trial again and prove that there’s no problem, right?

But you never say that, and instead, you’re like, ‘There’s no problem with that research, so shut up, or we’ll sue you,’ and seeing that, I’ve come to a conclusion.

From the moment you decided to release Antrozol Alpha, you were only thinking about hiding the drug’s problems and selling it.

You don’t really care about relieving the pain of arthritis patients with Antrozol Alpha.

You’re just really focused on making money by showing that it’s effective for arthritis itself.

Whether the people who get it collapse from heart attacks or not.

You’re just thinking about making money.

And you *sikyakcheong* [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety] assholes.

You guys do your jobs properly too.

Is *Wooshin* money sweet and delicious? ㅋㅋ

Lastly, to the *juge* [bastards] who say I’m getting paid from somewhere.

Think about it.

As you guys know, I’m a name, right?

In this situation, which would make me more money, writing articles saying that Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical has no problems because I got paid by Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical, or writing articles criticizing Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical like this?

You better make the right judgment.

Broadcasting stations and experts who have already caught the scent are working hard to find the problems with Antrozol Alpha.

At that time, Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical’s stock might not be halved, but less than half of half of half.

Who knows? It might be delisted, lol.

Then, good luck.]

Jo Bong-joon pressed the post button and leaned deeply into his chair, gasping for breath.

“Ha, shit. I really think I’m going to get sued.”

And he frantically refreshed the post he uploaded, constantly counting the explosively rising views.

While he was preparing himself to be sued, I went into Jo Bong-joon’s email and sent emails to all the media outlets, attaching the data we had collected in a compressed file.

To make sure that all the recipients knew that I had sent it to every media outlet in Korea, I sent it as a group email all at once without using the blind carbon copy function.

Media outlets that write articles defending Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical were naturally included in the recipient list.

Since they are people who get paid by Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical to write articles, they will be the first to report to Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical that we are frantically spreading what they consider ‘false information.’

“Seyeon contacted me, and it seems like *Iljung Daily* is definitely out of the question? It seems like they’re even standing by to write a defense article.”

Choi Jong-hyun cracked his knuckles, looking tired.

He was in charge of contacting reporters he knew and gathering people who would write articles using Apollo’s post and our data.

He hadn’t received a response from anyone yet, but it seemed like Yoon Seyeon was the first to reply.

“I didn’t expect anything in the first place. It’s *Iljung Daily*, after all.”

Considering the bond between *Iljung Daily* and Wooshin Group through intermarriage, it doesn’t make sense for them to write an article attacking Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical in the first place.

“That’s true, but anyway, Seyeon said she’s going to a reporters’ gathering today, so she’ll check out the atmosphere.”

“The reporters are probably confused about which side to get on right now. If Antrozol Alpha seems like it will be released without any problems, they should obviously write a defense article. But if they later find out that there really is a problem with Antrozol Alpha and public opinion turns against them, they’ll get a lot of flak for shielding Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical with Wooshin’s money.”

Jo Bong-joon chuckled and said.

“The atmosphere is good. The part where I said my family member has arthritis and that my heart would be torn if my parents passed away really resonated well.”

The post had just been uploaded, but in that short amount of time, it received a lot of recommendations and rose to the top of the best posts.

The comments mainly consisted of stories about how many surrounding adults, such as their parents, relatives, and mentors, were suffering from arthritis.

There was even someone who said that if Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical messed with this and their parents passed away, they would strap a bomb to themselves and rush into Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical’s headquarters.

Moreover, *jjokji* [ 쪽지, direct messages] were constantly flying into Jo Bong-joon’s *jjokji* [ 쪽지, direct messages] box.

[This is Ji Sang-hyuk PD of MBS Radio .

I have been reading Apollo’s post with interest.

I believe you have been conducting in-depth investigations into this Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical situation.

Would you be willing to appear on our and have an in-depth conversation about the Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical issue?

Please contact us at the phone number below.]

Among them, the most noticeable was, of course, the contact from the broadcasting station.

News Now was the number one radio news program in its time slot.

Of course, it was less influential than television news, but it was by no means negligible.

The main audience of News Now is middle-aged and older adults.

To put it more simply, if you take a taxi during News Now’s broadcast time, there is an 80 percent chance that they will be playing News Now, unless they are listening to a religious broadcast.

“Oh, radio is good. But haven’t you heard from any television broadcasting stations?”

“No.”

“Contact from the television side will probably be the last. And the moment you get a call from there, you can consider it a success. But seeing that you got a call from the radio, it seems like they want to test it out and, if it’s okay, raise the issue on television.”

In this day and age, the fastest news is, of course, the internet.

When something becomes a hot topic and trend on the internet, all kinds of cable channels naturally take that material.

And the last place that material circulates is, of course, public television.

So, when a trend is introduced on television, it is said that the trend has already ended among the youth who are at the forefront of trends.

The same goes for this issue.

The only difference is that when an issue that only young people knew about is exposed to all age groups, its impact becomes significant.

“That’s right. The internet is always the fastest, and the television side is the slowest. Compared to the internet, where anyone can post, public broadcasting has a lot of restrictions, so if they broadcast anything, they’ll get a warning from the *simui wiwonhoe* [Deliberation Committee].”

The Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical issue has only become a hot topic among some people who are interested in it, and there is a lack of national interest.

Several cable channels have covered it, but they have only introduced already known facts, and they have never requested an interview with ‘Apollo,’ who directly publicized this issue.

In other words, it means that it is just beginning now.

“Let’s go on here.”

I said to Jo Bong-joon, who was searching for News Now on the internet.

“Me? Not Lawyer Cha?”

“It’s a *jjokji* [ 쪽지, direct message] that came to Apollo. Of course, Jo Bong-joon should go.”

“Ah, I’ve never been on a radio broadcast before…….”

Jo Bong-joon rubbed his blue beard with his hand and replied awkwardly.

For someone who answered like that, he seemed quite happy.

I can feel the vibe of an *attention seeker* from this person too.

That’s even better.

Apollo is the face of the Antrozol incident.

It’s much better than someone who is shy and backs out, or someone who is scared and backs out.

“Anyway, Reporter Choi’s internet broadcast will start soon, so you should go out and promote it.”

“That’s right, Bong-joon. Go out and promote our broadcast.”

Choi Jong-hyun clapped his knees and said.

The story about the site development was finished when I met with the National Intelligence Service a while ago, and they are probably working hard to create it now.

Our plan was to broadcast simultaneously on that site and a large internet broadcasting platform when the site opened.

I was going to start with a stock broadcast with Jo Bong-joon as a guest to attract attention, but it would be better to revise the plan a little.

“After appearing on the radio, start the internet broadcast right away. In the internet broadcast, you’ll cover stories that you can’t tell on the radio. If Apollo says he’s going to cover the Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical issue in earnest, they’ll flock to it like bees.”

“And I’ll get one step closer to being sued?”

“I think the complaint will be filed as soon as you appear on the radio.”

This is the first time that Wooshin affiliates have mentioned suing.

That means they’re desperate.

Why wouldn’t they be?

They need the stock price to rise even more to acquire the *Geumsan* card, but instead of rising, it plummeted because of Apollo.

“If I go to the radio and spread false information, they’ll sue me right away. I thought he was just a guy who was *kkabulda* [acting up/being cocky] on the internet, but he’s going to go on the number one radio broadcast and say that, so would they just stand by? If the complaint comes out and then I do an internet broadcast, the buzz will be amazing. Hehe.”

Choi Jong-hyun chuckled and said gleefully.

In fact, I was planning to continue posting articles on the internet until they sued me, but if a radio appearance is decided, I don’t have to.

Even if we don’t do anything, it will be made into an article, and the Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical issue will be widely known to middle-aged and older adults who are far from the internet.

As Choi Jong-hyun said, it is a step closer to being sued.

“Ah, my hands are itching because I want to be sued soon. Please sue me, *jebal* [please].”

If you are sued for ‘defamation due to the spread of false information,’ the first thing you do is to determine whether what the defendant has spread is really false information or not.

Originally, this debate should be done by the pharmaceutical company and the *sikyakcheong* [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety], but the *sikyakcheong* [Ministry of Food and Drug Safety] sided with the pharmaceutical company.

In a situation where the agency that should be launching a full-scale investigation is standing still, if we want to dig into the truth of Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical with a good excuse, there is nothing better than being sued.

“I’m looking forward to it. I should hold a *jesa* [memorial service] so that they sue me quickly.”

“Ask General Lawyer Cha when Myung Hwa Pharmaceutical will sue Bong-joon.”

“……How would I know that.”