You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 366

[Testimony from Dr. Na Jeong-hoon, Forensic Examiner at the National Forensic Service]

The following was the image title.

The materials I’ve prepared today contain details so thorough, you’d believe the two individuals were actually present in court that day. It’s that detailed.

This is because the data was compiled from a journalist’s meticulous record of the trial, combined with the recollections of myself and Kang Min-jae, who were both present.

“This forensic examiner also appeared as a witness for the prosecution. Dr. Na Jeong-hoon was the first to perform an autopsy on the victim’s body after its discovery. I understand he also conducted a second autopsy. In court, Dr. Na Jeong-hoon testified that the back of the victim’s head appeared to have been struck by something. To be precise, he only testified that it *seemed* to have been struck.”

“Typically, court appearances involve discussions about fingerprints—whose fingerprints were found where, or the circumstances surrounding them. Or even the absence of fingerprints. Fingerprints are almost always mentioned, but in this trial, they weren’t mentioned at all.”

As Jo Bong-joon pressed the space bar, a summary of the dialogue between the forensic examiner and the prosecutor appeared on the screen.

“But there’s no way fingerprints wouldn’t have been found. According to the recorded statements revealed in court, the victim said, ‘Let go of this’ to the brothers. Of course, they might have been grabbing her hair, but with that level of violence, there’s no way no fingerprints would have been found.”

Ordinary people tend to avoid direct lies.

Of course, some people lie outright, but most prefer to skirt the truth or speak evasively.

This is often accompanied by a clumsy attempt at self-justification—convincing themselves they haven’t *really* lied—and a subconscious preparation of an escape route for later.

During the trial, as I observed the forensic examiner’s careful avoidance of any direct statement about Kim Hwa-young’s fingerprints being detected on the body, I wondered if Go Sang-joon was offering him one last chance to be truthful.

However, looking at it another way, if that were the case, he could have simply stated that no fingerprints were detected. The fact that he avoided the topic entirely makes me wonder if it was a flicker of conscience the forensic examiner was clinging to.

[BabySquirrelJonghyun: Did the forensic examiner hide something?

WantSomeDriedSaury: The probability of *no* fingerprints at all is definitely low.

MyStocksAreHalved: Hmm… Well, if the prosecution’s claim is true, Kim Hwa-young’s fingerprints *should* have been found, and according to the revealed evidence, the brothers’ fingerprints should have been found too, right?]

“Of course, I’m not definitively claiming that Dr. Na Jeong-hoon lied! But we need to address these suspicious points.”

[Capitalist: LOL, do you *really* just want to say it’s ‘suspicious’?

ILoveJoBongjoon: It doesn’t seem like that’s *all* you want to say, considering today’s broadcast.

Americano: LOL, be honest, it seems like he lied. That’s how I see it too, LOL]

“Oh? Americano, be careful. You’re a regular person. You could be sued for defamation [the act of harming someone’s reputation by making false statements]. We’re just presenting possibilities, not making definitive statements.”

[LemonHaulingDebtRepayer: LOL, of course, I wondered why you were hedging so much.

BringBackTheHandsomeLawyer: LOL, you’re just doing it because you don’t want to get sued, LOL.

AnakSuNamun: LOL, got it! Just ‘suspicious things’! There’s room for suspicion!]

“That’s right. Just ‘suspicious things’! There’s room for suspicion! Got it? Okay, let’s move on to the next one.”

As he advanced the slide, the next witness was Park Hyun-sook.

“This is a very unique case. The witness withdrew her testimony midway and left as if fleeing, which became a major topic of discussion. Those who have looked up related articles probably already know about it.”

I still remember the furious tapping of keyboards from the audience when Park Hyun-sook, who had strongly asserted in court that Kim Hwa-young’s relationship with the housekeeper was terrible and essentially cornered her, suddenly withdrew her testimony and fled the courtroom.

Many articles covering the trial details used headlines criticizing her actions, such as ‘Witness withdraws testimony and flees in a farce.’

“In the case of this witness, she initially argued vehemently that Kim Hwa-young was a terrible employer, claiming that the relationship with the victim was inherently bad. However, she was completely dismantled by Attorney Cha Joo-han’s questioning, and all her claims were refuted. Eventually, she even made statements that left her vulnerable to being considered a suspect herself. Let’s look at the details.”

Choi Jong-hyun read a summarized version of the cross-examination that had taken place.

Although he only highlighted the key points because the cross-examination was quite lengthy, it was sufficient to illustrate to the viewers how the trial progressed and how Park Hyun-sook was backed into a corner.

“Because of this, only Kim Hwa-young and the victim should have been at the scene that day. Suddenly, the witness became someone who was at the scene. She even eliminated the evidence that she had been there.”

“It became incredibly suspicious.”

[BetweenTheSkyscrapers: LOL, but the lawyer is just toying with this witness.

MarriageIsCrazy: The witness’s evasiveness is something else;; It must be dizzying.

BringBackTheHandsomeLawyer: Attorney Cha Joo-han, are you watching? Please come back and spar with the viewers too.

Nannya: LOL, the witness’s heart must have shrunk, LOL]

“In the end, the witness withdraws all her testimony, fearing that she too would be considered a suspect.”

[Boy: The lawyer made her do it, LOL.

MerryChristmas: LOL, the lawyer’s skill in coaxing her to withdraw her testimony is superb.

BareFace: The lawyer *coaxed* her to withdraw her testimony, LOL]

“…Ha, that guy really. He charms people with his face, and now he’s coaxing people to withdraw their testimony in court. He’s such a bad person.”

Jo Bong-joon said, looking at me through the camera.

I snatched the pen from Kang Min-jae, who was frantically scribbling ‘ㅋ’ [Korean equivalent of ‘LOL’] on scrap paper, and wrote ‘When did I ever’.

Kang Min-jae shrugged.

“Anyway, that’s how this witness disappeared. She confessed that she had lied because she harbored a dislike for Kim Hwa-young. But now, let’s think about it. How could this witness even make it to court?”

[CockleKillerFromBeolgyo: Because the investigation was a mess?

Boy: I know, why couldn’t the police filter out such an obvious lie that would make her look so bad?

GoodView: The prosecutors and police were just playing around, seriously;;]

“Boy just said, ‘Why couldn’t the police filter it out?’ If this witness was just an ordinary employee, and really lied because of her dislike for Kim Hwa-young, as she claimed, there would have been numerous discrepancies with the facts revealed during the investigation, and she would have been weeded out. But she wasn’t filtered out and even testified in court after passing through the prosecution. What does that mean?

It could be argued that it aligned with what the police were aiming for, whether by coincidence or not. If that’s the case, you can’t complain even if it was a targeted investigation. Because all the testimonies were torn apart by Attorney Cha Joo-han’s refutation. Why would the police and prosecutors, who directly examined the crime scene and possessed the most information, endorse the testimony of someone who would be completely discredited by the lawyer’s words? Isn’t it because they were fixated on Kim Hwa-young and their peripheral vision was clouded?”

“That’s right. And this is only if everything the witness said was true. If not, well, we can suspect her of being an actor. An actor who recited lines after receiving a script. Of course, it’s just a suspicion. I’m not stating it definitively.”

[LemonHaulingDebtRepayer: LOL, here we go again.

Capitalist: LOL.

Sanctus: Struggling not to get sued, LOL]

“Anyway, the fact that this flawed witness could be presented as a witness is the result of many people turning a blind eye. Whether this witness is an actor, or genuinely wanted to screw over Kim Hwa-young because she had a grudge against her… Why would the police close their eyes and ears and conduct a targeted investigation? Unless there was pressure from someone, why would the police conduct a targeted investigation? If the witness was cast as an actor, who would have cast her?”

Choi Jong-hyun took a sip of water and moved on to the next slide.

“Okay, let’s summarize. The evidence that the police found during the investigation? It was incredibly forced. The testimony of the forensic examiner at the National Forensic Service? He didn’t even mention fingerprints. If the brothers’ fingerprints didn’t appear, it means the brothers were wearing gloves when they assaulted her, but well… They would have had to assault her with the intention to kill, but in the recorded statements, the brothers were panicked when the victim died. And third, even the witness who withdrew her testimony and ran away. Isn’t it too suspicious? Even if there’s only one of these three, it’s suspicious, but it’s even *more* suspicious because there are three things that reek of a targeted investigation or manipulation.”

“If you add the fact that the brothers said in the recorded statements that they had to pin the murder on Kim Hwa-young, the puzzle is perfectly complete.”

[SwallowtailButterfly: Wow, after summarizing it like this, it really smells like fabrication.

ApolloWorshiper: Yeah, it’s really suspicious… It definitely seems like some force was trying to pin everything on Kim Hwa-young.

PayMyCreditCardCherry: Seriously suspicious, LOL. But why did those brothers try to pin everything on Kim Hwa-young?

Acquittal: Yeah, why did those brothers go into Kim Hwa-young’s house and do that?;;.

PayMyCreditCardCherry: What connection do Kim Hwa-young and those brothers have…?]

After summarizing the overall content covered in the broadcast, people began to express their doubts.

In fact, people had been curious about the relationship between Kim Hwa-young and the brothers since the articles were published.

All sorts of speculations were rampant.

They were involved in business, they used to be acquaintances but something went wrong, and there was even a rumor that Kim Hwa-young was someone’s mistress, and that it was Go Sang-joon…

“We don’t know that either. And in fact, we don’t really need to know. Anyway, we prevented an innocent person from being harmed, and a new suspect has emerged, so everything is back to normal. I know there are all sorts of rumors going around right now. But I hope you refrain from that in our room [online community]. Anyone who spreads rumors will be permanently blacklisted.”

Kang Min-jae briefly turned off the broadcast screen and accessed the internet to check the articles.

Articles were pouring out about whether the prosecution’s witnesses in this second trial could be trusted.

As always, they were articles that Jo Bong-joon and Choi Jong-hyun had watched and transcribed from their broadcasts.

But it won’t be something that can be ignored.

Park Young-gi said he would entrust the investigation to the right person, and even if he couldn’t investigate the forensic examiner, he might be able to investigate the detective in charge.

Since it would be difficult to judge the truth about the forensic examiner because the body had already been cremated, even if we put that aside for a moment, it would be a sufficient gain if we could catch the detective taking money.

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

Before we knew it, the broadcast was over, and Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon came to the table where we were, groaning and collapsing.

“Shall we go grease our bellies a bit?”

Then Jo Bong-joon put his arm around my shoulder and said.

“How about it, Attorney Cha? Some soju [Korean distilled rice liquor] with pork belly. Min-jae will definitely say okay.”

“You’re going to take me even if I say I’m going home anyway. Let’s go.”

“What, what’s this? Let’s go!”