You’ve Been Defended – Episode 233
[Following the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s (MFDS) complete revocation of the product license for Antrozol Alpha, the KOSDAQ [Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations] Market Committee has decided to delist Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals. In response, Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals has filed an objection…]
[The prosecution has booked Kim Hyung-joong, CEO of Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals, on charges of bribery, and similarly, former MFDS Director Oh Jin-shik has been arrested on charges of accepting bribes. Furthermore, arrest warrants have been issued for all members of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Review Committee who received money and artwork from CEO Kim Hyung-joong in exchange for approving the Antrozol Alpha product license.]
[Park Young-gi, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, announced that an arrest warrant has been issued for former Minwoo Party leader Lee Jung-chan and that a search and seizure will be conducted at the Minwoo Party headquarters and his residence. The public is in shock at the unprecedented fraud perpetrated by the leader of a major political party.
– I don’t think it makes sense. How can this be real…? How could he even think of becoming president after deceiving the people like that?]
A citizen interview was playing on the news.
It’s one of the reasons why I make sure to watch the news about this case.
It’s amusing to see the public’s sharp criticism of Lee Jung-chan.
“What.”
And there was someone who naturally appeared in the citizen interview.
[
I was really dumbfounded. What was the reason why Representative Lee Jung-chan had so much support until now? It was because he was a politician who cared about welfare for the socially vulnerable. But the reality was completely different. And the most infuriating thing is…]
“…Isn’t that Attorney Kang?”
I wondered when he went to Gwanghwamun [a major intersection and public square in Seoul] again. Kang Min-jae was there in casual clothes, criticizing Lee Jung-chan in front of the camera.
“That’s not me?”
And he glanced at me, trying to lie.
Kang Min-jae was the lawyer for Choi Jong-hyun, who was suspected of causing the incident at the Light and Salt Foundation event.
Of course, there wasn’t a big problem because the case didn’t go through, but everyone who knew Kang Min-jae knew who he was.
It’s not a problem that he’s a lawyer in my office, but it’s a problem because he’s Kang Kwan-woong’s grandson.
“Good job, really.”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
“I wouldn’t be praising you, would I?”
Seeing Kang Min-jae, who had become gloomy at my words, Manager Oh cautiously added a word.
“What does it matter? Anyway, people won’t associate the Lee Jung-chan case with us that much.”
“…That’s right! I wasn’t even indicted for being Jong-hyun *hyung’s* [older brother or close male friend] lawyer, so it won’t be on record.”
“Aren’t you thinking about your grandfather?”
“Grandfather doesn’t care about things like this. He told me to live my life doing whatever I want.”
So he watched Kang Min-jae kick off from Taekwang and go under a newly opened, inexperienced lawyer.
I sighed lightly. What could I do?
The blood of an attention seeker flows in Kang Min-jae’s body.
And that blood was inherited from Kang Kwan-woong.
Politicians generally live the life of an ‘attention seeker’.
Kang Kwan-woong was also a politician.
Of course, in 2018, when I lived, ‘attention seeker’ wasn’t a very good term, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing either.
Getting attention means that you are a person who exerts influence.
Perhaps, now that I’ve decided to walk this path, isn’t it a quality that I should learn from Kang Min-jae?
“Ah, I changed my phone.”
Kang Min-jae, who was receiving my stinging gaze, took out his cell phone from his pocket, as if he wanted to change the subject.
“Oh, what did you change it to?”
“A smartphone, no less.”
“Oh, a smartphone! How is it? Is it much different?”
“The rate plan is terribly expensive, but it’s fun. If you download apps, you can play games for almost free, and the best thing is that you can use the internet while walking around. And there’s something called Kaka-something, which allows you to send texts for free? It’s really convenient.”
“Oh, really? That’s amazing.”
“There aren’t many friends who use smartphones yet, so I still have to use a lot of texts. Manager, you should switch to a smartphone too!”
“I just switched to this one not too long ago. I’ll have to switch to a smartphone for my next phone.”
“Lawyer, you should switch too! It’s really convenient. You can easily exchange photos with Kaka-something.”
I pushed the smartphone I had in my pocket deeper inside.
I lived in a world where smartphone addicts were rampant.
I’ve endured years with a frustrating feature phone, so of course I bought a new smartphone a while ago.
Once you’ve tasted Kaka-something, you can never go back to the text generation that costs dozens of *won* [Korean currency] per message.
That was the same for me.
Besides, I’m also invested in i-something Lab, the predecessor of Kaka-something.
But I don’t want to tell Kang Min-jae that I’ve switched to a smartphone too.
Besides, I have a feeling that Kang Min-jae will persistently ask why I don’t read the Kakao message if the ‘1’ [unread message indicator] doesn’t disappear…
So I’m using the smartphone as a secondary phone.
“No.”
“Ah, it’s really convenient.”
Coincidentally, the phone that Kang Min-jae boasted about is the same model as mine.
Thinking about how Kang Min-jae would like it if he saw this and said it was a couple’s phone, I got goosebumps.
* * *
[Live)
A chroma key blind was installed behind the studio.
It was thanks to Choi Jong-hyun’s idea that he wanted to synthesize a party atmosphere CG [computer graphics] in the back when there was something to celebrate like today.
With the broadcast start on standby, Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun began to check their appearance while looking in the mirror.
“*Hyung*, you didn’t shave enough. Here.”
“Ah, I haven’t been out of the house lately, so I look like a bum.”
“*Hyung* always looks like a bum. Didn’t you know?”
“What? You look like a LA homeless.”
…And the fight that started 5 seconds before the broadcast started didn’t seem to end even after the broadcast started.
No matter how much Kim Jung-woo waved his arms, they didn’t care and began to comment on each other’s appearance.
“What? LA homeless?”
“Yeah, you. Homeless, if you go to a convenience store in LA, you have a lot of friends. Ask them to let you stay in a tent. They’ll even give you a welcome drink when a new colleague appears. Of course, I can’t guarantee what’s in it.”
“Wow, this *hyung* is saying whatever he wants because there’s no one around to hear him?”
[TotalAsset탕진: There are 5,000 people listening
프로토스: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIt’s been a while since I turned on the broadcast and they’re doing a skit
최종현의가발: Do you think that’s a skit? They are always sincere. They fight sincerely and backstab sincerely. There is no backing down for them.]
“Hey, Jung-woo! You tell me. Honestly, who is more handsome between him and me?”
They still haven’t checked the monitor, so they asked Kim Jung-woo for a verdict.
Even if Kim Jung-woo gives a verdict, I wonder why they’re asking when they’re going to insist that they’re right.
And Kim Jung-woo, who was sitting in front of the computer and sighing deeply, finally screamed.
“The broadcast has started, you guys!!”
[제육덮밥: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋI think I’m hearing the PD’s voice for the first time
정찬아감방가자: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋPD’s anger
이세형의휠체어: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋCrazy old men]
“Ahem. The broadcast has started? You should have said so sooner~ Hehe. Okay, okay. Everyone. It’s been a while. After the Lee Jung-chan case was over, we took a break to rest, and we became bums. We gained some weight and slept more. I’m curious to know if you’ve been doing well.”
[최종현의가발: It didn’t feel like living without *hyung*…
아메리카노: It was so boring when *hyungs* were on hiatus. It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted a case to break out in Korea]
As Park Young-gi began to lead the investigation in earnest at the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, our work disappeared.
This was because we had made all the evidence so that it could be used as is if the national institution had the will to handle it properly from the beginning.
Since we had been focusing on this work for a long time, digging into Myunghwa Pharmaceuticals in earnest and involving Lee Jung-chan, wasn’t it time to take a break?
Well, viewers who didn’t know the details were adding words, asking why we were taking a break.
“Today’s broadcast will be the final episode of the Myunghwa Pharmaceutical and Lee Jung-chan case. It seems like we’re finally putting an end to it. In particular, the Myunghwa Pharmaceutical case is also the case that made me, who used to live in the stock community and occasionally write articles, reveal my face and come out into the light. Today, the CEO of Myunghwa Pharmaceutical was arrested, and the KOSDAQ Market Committee decided to delist Myunghwa Pharmaceutical.”
[한강물따뜻한가요: Ah… I lost 3,000 *won* in Myunghwa Pharmaceutical…
니주식휴지조각: That’s why you should have sold it right away when Fallon *hyung* said Myunghwa Pharmaceutical had no futureㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAnyway, people don’t listen to what others say
인생무상: I’m writing this after having a drink… I fought with my wife today… It was revealed that I had 5,000 *won* tied up in Myunghwa Pharmaceutical… Is Myunghwa Pharmaceutical going to end like this? Is there no way to recover at all?
미친개: Even if there’s money involved, why would you want a company with a dead ethical consciousness like Myunghwa Pharmaceutical to recover? ;;
인생무상: If you were me, would you care about that when your family is about to break apart? Damn it?]
“Okay, okay. Don’t fight. In fact, even if the KOSDAQ Market Committee has decided to delist it, Myunghwa Pharmaceutical won’t back down like this. They’ll file an objection, and then they’ll have a grace period and review it again. Waiting for that time might be a good idea, right?”
“Do you think that Myunghwa Pharmaceutical won’t be delisted if they get a re-examination, Jo Bong-joon?”
“No? It will be delisted. Hahaha!”
[프로토스: Are you a devilㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
凸명화제약凸: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
“Myunghwa Pharmaceutical not only defrauded people with Antrozol, but also bribed Lee Jung-chan, the MFDS, and members of the Central Pharmaceutical Affairs Committee to get product approval. If they want to get the delisting decision revoked during the grace period, they have to prove that there is no problem with the drug itself, but it’s actually a situation where they can’t escape, so it’s difficult. And even if they prove it, they will still be punished for the bribery mentioned above.”
“And to add to that, let’s talk about Lee Jung-chan. Anyway, thanks to the anonymous informant, we should be considered the main people who brought this situation to this point. Today, former Minwoo Party leader Lee Jung-chan was arrested, right?”
“…That man is so pitiful. He was abandoned by the Minwoo Party and by the Light and Salt, which he had invested a lot of money in for a long time. He must think he wasted his life.”
Lee Jung-chan will probably not be able to avoid arrest.
There is no trouble for politicians as common and immediate as bribery.
Besides, he’s already been branded as a national swindler, so the judiciary won’t be able to ignore the public’s opinion.
Anyway, the Minwoo Party has abandoned Lee Jung-chan, and he is now like a lamp before the wind [idiom for being in a precarious situation].
“Lawyer, are you leaving already?”
I was standing behind Kim Jung-woo, watching the broadcast, and I got up, grabbing my coat.
He got up slightly from his chair, but I shook my head.
“I have an appointment. I’ll go first. Good work, Kim Jung-woo.”
“Yes. Goodbye, Lawyer.”
I went down to the first floor and smoked in the smoking area.
With the cold weather already approaching, the cigarette smoke and breath were mixed together and scattered in the air.
When I’m alone, I suddenly fall into thought.
It’s the same now.
“…”
I decided to remember this moment without fail.
Because it’s one of the moments I’ve been waiting for since I came back to 2008 and started a new life.
The complete destruction of Myunghwa Pharmaceutical and the prevention of the release of Antrozol Alpha.
What was only vague when I first planned it has become a reality.
There is a long way to go, and I will have to fight against the intangible vagueness every time.
Can I really do it? Even if I quit here, can’t I live a successful life in my own way?
Whenever I have such thoughts, I will recall this moment in my head again.
I took out my cell phone from inside my coat.
And I pressed a familiar number in the phone book.
– Hello?
“Father, it’s Joo-han.”
– What’s wrong, you. Calling me.
“I thought you’d be happy, but you’re not.”
– I’m happy, of course. What’s going on?
“Just… I just called to see how you’re doing.”
I answered with a faint smile.
I forcibly swallowed the words that I was glad my father was alive.