“How was the investigation, Attorney Cha?”
Knowing that Choi Jong-hyun would be very curious about how the investigation went, I dropped Jo Bong-joon off at his Seocho-dong residence and headed to the office.
As soon as I opened the office door, all eyes were on me.
Perhaps because we had only had a few consultations and hadn’t officially taken on any cases yet, Kang Min-jae and Manager Oh were eagerly waiting for news from me.
“How did it go? Attorney Jung Chang-yoon is a classmate from your training institute. Were you able to communicate with him?”
“I told you we weren’t close.”
“Well, still…”
Kang Min-jae studied my expression and then sighed deeply.
“It doesn’t sound good.”
“I always expected it, but it seems like he’s not a favorable prosecutor for us this time either.”
I seem to be particularly unlucky with prosecutors.
In most major cases, the prosecutors have been hostile to me.
Yang Han-seok is a prime example, and now Jung Chang-yoon as well.
“Why? Is he a stooge for Wooshin like Senior Yang?”
Kang Min-jae asked, bristling.
“No. He’s the type who’s unenthusiastic and just tells you to settle.”
“Ah.”
Unless the client is in a very unfair situation, lawyers usually recommend settling.
It’s true that it’s the fastest and most amicable way to resolve a case.
However, if that’s not the case, meeting a prosecutor like Jung Chang-yoon can often be frustrating.
It’s like you’re working hard for your client, but the prosecutor thinks you’re wasting your time on something trivial.
Kang Min-jae seemed to have had similar experiences, grumbling that he felt drained whenever he met such prosecutors.
“We’re still gathering evidence, so there should be progress. Oh, Attorney Kang.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know anyone at the Western District Prosecutor’s Office?”
“The Western District Prosecutor’s Office? Yes, I do.”
“Then find out about Prosecutor Jung Chang-yoon.”
“I offered to look into it last time, but you said it was okay.”
Kang Min-jae grumbled as if he was dissatisfied, but his lips twitched.
I smiled faintly.
Seeing him unable to hide his emotions like this, I wondered if Kim Chan-young was being too harsh in calling Kang Min-jae a darker version of himself.
“I’m not asking you to find out about his personality or style, but to look into his acquaintances. Who he’s close to, whether Jung Chang-yoon has received any ‘love calls’ [job offers or recruitment attempts], and if he’s thinking of resigning, where he plans to go.”
Jung Chang-yoon’s strength is that he’s a doctor.
Doctors and prosecutors are both so-called ‘Sa-jja’ professions [Korean term for professions requiring specialized licenses, like doctors, lawyers, etc.], and their prestige is similar.
In fact, in terms of money alone, doctors are better off than prosecutors, so it’s rare for someone who graduated from medical school to bother preparing for the bar exam.
And among those people, unless there are special circumstances, many feel attracted to the professional nature of the legal profession itself or have a strong sense of duty in that area.
And if I remember correctly, Jung Chang-yoon’s grades at the Judicial Research and Training Institute were quite good.
He could have easily considered being appointed as a judge, but he chose to be a prosecutor, which means he had a reason to become a prosecutor.
In such cases, it’s usually because of a sense of duty to pursue justice through direct investigation…….
Judging from Jung Chang-yoon’s attitude today, he certainly doesn’t seem to be the type with a strong sense of duty.
It’s not just because he didn’t take our side, but because I couldn’t read in him the unique enthusiasm of someone who wants to know the truth.
So, I wonder if he’s aiming to build a career as a prosecutor and then go to a law firm.
Of course, he has the rare and tremendous advantage of being a doctor, so law firms would try to recruit him even without prosecutorial experience, but everyone thinks differently.
If he’s aiming for a law firm, and that place is Taekwang.
So, if he’s maintaining a close relationship with Taekwang, and this case is also being handled under the influence of Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals, shouldn’t we have a contingency plan?
“I understand what you mean. I’ll check it out myself first.”
“I’ll ask around too. Investigators usually know these rumors better than prosecutors.”
Manager Oh, who had been silent, suddenly chimed in.
That’s right.
The people who spend the most time with prosecutors and are closest to them are not the prosecutors in the same department, but the investigators and staff.
Rumors often circulate among them and are later passed on to the prosecutors.
“Thank you.”
* * *
“How many minutes left?”
“Five minutes.”
Today is broadcast day.
Officially, it’s the third broadcast.
The first broadcast exceeded 2,000 viewers due to the hype, but the second broadcast only reached 1,000.
But today, the atmosphere was quite different.
There were already over 1,500 people waiting, and it seemed like about 3,000 would join as time passed.
“Look at those bastards waiting because we said we’d talk about the prosecutor’s office visit today.”
Jo Bong-joon chuckled as he checked the chat room before the broadcast started.
“I’ll start the broadcast.”
Kim Jung-woo said after adjusting the camera angle.
Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon quickly sat down at the table and nodded.
As their faces appeared on the screen, Choi Jong-hyun started the opening remarks.
“Hello, this is reporter Choi Jong-hyun.”
“This is Apollo Jo Bong-joon.”
“This is our third time, right? We have a lot of viewers today.”
[KkanImaTtokka: Enough with the boring opening, hurry up and tell us about the prosecutor’s investigation ㄱㄱㄱ]
As the broadcast began, the number of viewers began to increase exponentially.
Perhaps because they had announced on the last broadcast that they would be talking about their visit to the prosecutor’s office today, everyone was urging them to tell the story without even listening to Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon’s greetings.
“Alright, guys. Shibal [Korean slang, similar to ‘damn’ or ‘fuck’], let’s talk a little. We can’t just jump right into the story. We have to chat a bit before we talk. Haven’t you guys seen Superstar K [Korean talent show]? The most interesting part is revealed after 60 seconds.”
“It’s not as long as you think. We’ll tell you everything, so stay tuned.”
“Hyung [Korean term for older brother or male friend], what’s ‘stay tuned’? Your comments are too old.”
[StockGenius: Jonghyun hyung’s age is showing lololololol
PorkBellyKiller: Superstar K is a major broadcast, and you guys are just small-time BJs [Broadcast Jockeys, similar to streamers]. Hurry up and tell the story, or I’m leaving ㅅㄱ [Korean internet slang for ‘goodbye’]]
“Small-time BJ? You little… Did anyone beg you to listen? I swear… You rude bastard.”
[YooHanDoJeon donated 1,000 moon balloons!]
“1,000 moon balloons? Hyung, how much is 1,000 moon balloons?”
“Isn’t it 100,000 won [approximately $75 USD]?”
“Wow, Dojeon. Thanks for the moon balloons. But we don’t have any reactions like that? You don’t have to give us this. Just watch the broadcast and spread the word.”
The two spent time chatting until a certain number of viewers gathered.
After about an hour, the number of viewers surpassed 2,000 again.
It was also featured on the platform’s main page.
This was the perfect timing.
Kim Jung-woo changed the broadcast title to [Apollo’s Review of Visiting the Prosecutor’s Office].
“Okay, alright. I’ll really start now. But before that,”
[FantasticDribble: Stop saying ‘before that’ and just start; it’s annoying]
“Ah, you little shits. Listen to the end. Before that, I’ll tell you something you didn’t know. When I went to the prosecutor’s office that day, I was charged with an additional charge? Obstruction of business. Crazy, crazy.”
[MichaelJohton: Obstruction of business lololololololololol]
I wondered who would be the first to publish the news that Jo Bong-joon had also been sued for obstruction of business.
After refreshing the portal news lab a few times, the article appeared.
[‘Apollo’ Jo Bong-joon Sued by Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals for Obstruction of Business]
The hype was amazing.
Starting the internet broadcast at this time might have been a stroke of genius.
“The data we brought to the prosecutor was nothing special. It was about Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals being aware of the problems with the US research institute even before submitting Antrozol Alpha for clinical trials, and that the Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals researcher wasn’t sent there for supervision as they claimed, but was a low-level employee sent for a technical exchange? Haha, nothing special, right? It just proves that my predictions were exactly in line with reality.”
[Lee5NelMessi: That’s a big deal lololololololololololol
MichaelJohton: Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals knew? They pretended not to know, but they really knew?ㄷㄷㄷ [Korean abbreviation for ‘daedan하다,’ meaning ‘amazing’ or ‘incredible’]]
“Okay. I think Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals officials are probably watching this broadcast. I’ll say just one thing.”
Jo Bong-joon, who had been excitedly talking loudly as the viewers reacted positively, looked directly at the camera and raised one corner of his mouth.
“I have no intention of settling. Honestly, we’re broadcasting like this for the public good and to expose your corruption, so if we get indicted? Then we’ll just accept it.”
[PorkBellyKiller: Bongjoon is going wild. What if they add a charge of being offensive? lololololololololol]
“Hey, no. I’ve already gone beyond being offensive and become a public shibal saekki [Korean slang for a very offensive and rude person] a long time ago. Imagine you’re an executive at Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals. Since last month, you’ve been praying that everything Jo Bong-joon does will fail, right?”
“And the fact that there isn’t a single newspaper reporting on this properly in a world where the internet is so developed is ridiculous, right?”
“That’s right. So, what’s wrong with me broadcasting it myself? Since when has Korea become a country where you can’t even raise suspicions? Hey, our lawyer said so. Korea is a country with freedom of expression. And I’m doing what reporters don’t do for the public good.”
[凸MyunghwaPharmaceuticals凸: The lawyer’s packaging skills lololololololololol almost like a gift shop employee
JjamTiger: Did Bongjoon hyung get a good lawyer? I saw a post on Jooge [likely a typo, should be ‘Joonggo nara’, a Korean online marketplace] last time saying he wears ripped underwear to save money for stocks, so didn’t he save on lawyer fees too?]
“I got a good lawyer. A prosecutor with a degree from Seoul National University. He’s watching me broadcast right now?”
[BillionaireKing: Oh, appearance ㄱㄱ [Korean abbreviation for ‘gogogo’, meaning ‘let’s go’ or ‘show us’]. Let’s sit closer together, there’s room for one more]
“Our lawyer is like a movie star. He’s really handsome. When I first saw him, I’m not kidding, I was so handsome that I just stared at him for 10 seconds without saying a word.”
[BillionaireKing: He’s so handsome and even studied well? I don’t like it ㅡㅡ [Korean emoticon expressing disapproval] He’s probably bald]
“Hey, don’t disparage bald people. Do you think you’ll never lose your hair?”
Choi Jong-hyun, who had been quiet, shouted.
Unlike Jo Bong-joon, who spoke loudly and roughly, Choi Jong-hyun, who had been maintaining a calm demeanor with a soft tone and polite language, became agitated, and the chat started to rise rapidly.
Most of it was filled with ‘ㅋ’ [Korean equivalent of ‘lol’].
[AssaultMonster: lololololololololol Choi Jong-hyun’s hair is probably a wig]
“It’s not a wig, it’s just a family history. That’s why I’m a little scared. Let’s not talk about baldness, guys.”
“Ah, forget it. Attorney Cha, come and sit here. Let’s introduce you to our viewers.”
Jo Bong-joon gestured to me, who was standing behind the camera watching the broadcast.
I crossed my arms in an X shape and shook my head.
Personal broadcasts will grow into a much more influential medium in the future.
But the image of personal broadcasts right now isn’t that good.
There’s nothing good for me to go out there.
“Ah, the lawyer doesn’t want to. Maybe if I’m on the news later, then we’ll see.”
[StockLifeBetting: lololololololololol almost like a drunken dad telling his son to say hello to his friend]
“Anyway, I hope you know that we’re preparing well, so don’t worry too much, guys.”
The rest of the broadcast didn’t cover anything significant.
I didn’t think there was any need to watch the broadcast anymore, so I left the studio first.
At 10 PM, I received a text message saying that the broadcast had ended.
When I went to the portal at that time, the content discussed on today’s broadcast was already being uploaded as internet articles.
[‘Apollo’ Jo Bong-joon Has Evidence That Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals Lied]
[Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals Already Knew About the False Clinical Trial Records of the US Research Institute?]
[Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals’ Numerous Lies, Words, Words.]
At this point, it seems like even public broadcasting stations will have a hard time ignoring it.
I was sitting at my desk, engrossed in reviewing the new data that Kim Chan-young had given me today, when I suddenly heard the phone ring.
The caller ID was a number not registered on my phone.
“This is Cha Joo-han.”
-Ah, Attorney Cha. This is Jin Hye-kyung from News9. I wasn’t sure if you’d answer since it’s an unknown number, but I’m glad you did. I changed my phone number recently. It was too well-known.
“Ah, yes. What’s the matter?”
-I’m sorry to call you so late. It’s about the recent Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals issue. I heard that you’re in charge of it.
“Has the rumor already spread that far?”
-Jo Bong-joon said on the internet broadcast that he hired a prosecutor with a degree from Seoul National University who looks like a movie star. Is there anyone else besides Attorney Cha? Haha.
It was yesterday that I went to the prosecutor’s office with Jo Bong-joon for the investigation.
The fact that I was in charge of this case had already been widely known within the prosecutor’s office even before that.
It was only a matter of time before it reached anchor Jin Hye-kyung’s ears.
It’s a lie to make me feel good, but it’s not like there’s no reason to give it meaning.
The fact that she directly mentioned the content that came out on today’s broadcast means that she’s been checking Jo Bong-joon’s broadcast to put up the Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals case.
-The decision to report on the Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals case was made at today’s newsroom meeting. I want to put it up as soon as tomorrow, but I was wondering if you had any data. We’re in a win-win situation, right?
An issue that had been going back and forth between cable and radio broadcasts was going to be on News9.
The internet broadcast, which I started because public broadcasting stations hadn’t been showing interest for a long time, ironically seems to have advanced the timing of the broadcast.
“I’ll have to create it even if I don’t have it.”
I said to her, looking at the data I was holding in my hand for a moment.
-Oh, really? You’re not going to reveal it for the first time on Jo Bong-joon’s broadcast?
“…….”
Something caught my eye, and my eyes, which had been checking the data for comparison, became a little busier.
-Attorney?
I didn’t have time to answer.
My gaze was fixed on the list of researchers in the existing Antrozol and Antrozol Alpha preparation reports, and the final research report of Antrozol Alpha.
-Attorney, can you hear me?
I smiled faintly.
I think I found a clue.