You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 525

“He’s on our side?”

“Completely on our side.”

No sooner had Kim Mi-ja sent us the recording file than we were able to verify its contents.

Although it was late, as soon as we received the file, we all stormed into Kang Min-jae’s hospital room as if we had planned it. Kang Su-il, who was peeling the fruit Heo Min-woo had bought yesterday, was handed a laptop and asked to translate it immediately.

Kang Su-il even said, ‘Oh, Oda Satoshi is going to cry,’ after hearing the voice, which showed how righteously Kirihara Sachiko had lived her life.

“Crazy, a weak dog. It’s hilarious the more I think about it.”

“In Korea, we usually say ‘empty wagons make the most noise,’ but a weak dog seems even more pathetic than an empty wagon.”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], you said you looked into Kirihara Sachiko’s activities. Tell us about that too. You didn’t even tell me, saying you’d talk about it when we were all together.”

At Kang Min-jae’s words, Kang Su-il came and sat on the sofa.

After the meeting yesterday, when we returned, Kang Su-il searched through Japanese web documents and looked for articles written by Kirihara Sachiko and the reactions to them.

“I think I know what Kim Mi-ja meant by that. If Kirihara was Korean, I think she would have been very close to Reporter Choi. She’s basically a humorous person, and besides Oda Satoshi, she’s given many nicknames to politicians who specialize in nonsense with her sharp remarks. At ICIJ [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists], she’s mostly involved in environmental and human rights-related projects. In Japan, she’s a political commentator, and at ICIJ, she’s active in a wide range of areas.”

“Is her political leaning negative towards the current ruling party?”

“Hmm, actually, the current ruling party in Japan has been in power for quite a while, and it’s a big tent, so there’s a cultural difference from Korea. Even if the same party is in power, the feeling changes depending on which faction seizes hegemony within the party. So, to be precise, it’s more accurate to say that Kirihara especially dislikes the politicians who have been eroding things lately.”

“Then, are there any politicians that Kirihara likes?”

“Likes… It’s not that she’s never written favorable articles. But it’s not consistent. I guess it’s right to say she doesn’t support any politicians. She criticizes more than praises. When she lectured at a journalism university, she said that political reporters should fiercely contemplate and assume the image of an ideal politician in their minds, and then monitor politicians to ensure they can become that image. She also said not to compromise.”

“To put it very bluntly, you could say she’s the type to criticize anything that doesn’t meet her standards. Actually, a figure who criticizes everything has clear advantages and disadvantages. Because she’s interested in and criticizes a wide range of fields, she’s often perceived by the public as someone who says refreshing things. But in important moments, she can be excluded because of the image of someone who only sees the bad side and just criticizes.”

Kang Min-jae seemed quite troubled.

“Right. Then, when we break this story, it could go strangely, like, ‘There’s someone who reported the same thing in Japan, but everyone ignores that person because they’re famous for talking nonsense.’ I’ve seen that kind of thing happen more than once.”

“And if she has too much of an idealist image, that could also cause resistance. Like she lacks a sense of reality. Especially because the world is getting tougher, there’s a tendency to think of people who pursue ideal states as fools. Personally, I think idealism is necessary, but what people think is more important than my opinion. But if it’s something she said in a university lecture, it means it’s a quality she wants to emphasize to future journalists.”

Choi Jong-hyun also nodded.

Then, Kang Su-il added.

“You could say that. Still, I don’t think the image of the ‘ideal politician’ that Kirihara talks about is simple. Actually, she received detailed questions about this statement, and Kirihara herself said she doesn’t have a clear idea of what an ideal politician should be like specifically. The emphasis of that statement is on ‘fiercely contemplating and assuming.’ So, she wanted to tell reporters that they should constantly think about politics.”

Regardless of what kind of attitude a journalist should take, we have been considering what kind of words from what kind of person would most effectively appeal to the public.

However, to determine whether Kirihara Sachiko is a suitable person to receive information from us in advance, we need to find out what kind of person she is.

“Cha-byun [Cha, the lawyer], what do you think? Of course, we’re not deciding whether to share it with her based on this alone, but what’s your feeling? Does it seem worth contacting her?”

Choi Jong-hyun asked me, who had been silent.

Unintentionally, I have been thinking more about the meaning of journalism since starting this work.

Of course, my activities are limited to investigative journalism, but I am naturally concerned because I am handling cases with Choi Jong-hyun, a journalist, thinking about what and how to show people.

I cannot judge whether Kirihara Sachiko is a good or bad journalist.

However, as one of the many people who have entrusted the monitoring function to journalists, I do not prefer journalists who illuminate the world with only extremely realistic perspectives.

Because it feels like leaving room for compromise.

So, if you ask if Kirihara Sachiko’s remarks at the university lecture are a problem, I don’t think it’s a disqualification.

Also, her past activities prove to some extent that the statement is sincere.

She would not ignore the crimes committed by Wooshin and Onodera’s faction even within Japan.

If you ask for a personal impression, I feel favorable.

Nevertheless, this is just my personal feeling and not a very important criterion for deciding whether to contact her.

“When the Chief looked into Kirihara, what was her image in Japanese society?”

“I think it’s pretty good. Her unique cynical attitude makes her less popular with the older generation, but she has the support of the younger generation. She also uses SNS appropriately without overdoing it, so I think it would be good for capturing public opinion in the early stages of the case. Her level of remarks is similar to Reporter Choi, and her authority is……”

Kang Su-il hesitated for a moment before speaking.

But we all seemed to know what he was going to say.

“That’s right. She also gives university lectures and has more experience than me, so of course, she can’t be compared to someone like me.”

He seems upset about something, but it must be my imagination?

“We need to focus on taking down Wooshin. Actually, as for Japan… If Kirihara has the same opinion as us and is a trustworthy journalist, it doesn’t matter much to us what method she takes. We are only looking at Wooshin and running, and Kirihara can take care of the Japanese side.”

“That’s right. So, we’re just checking if she’s someone who will never leak information and someone who will criticize Onodera’s faction, right?”

“Yes. We only need to look at those conditions. We don’t have to purify even the corrupt aspects of Japanese society. We are trying to increase the scale to complete a structure where Wooshin receives pressure from the international community even if he silences it domestically.”

Kirihara is the person who gave Oda Satoshi the nickname ‘weak dog.’

Whether intentional or not, her skill in ridiculing villains is extraordinary.

She seems to get along well with Choi Jong-hyun.

Moreover, this is a surprisingly important task.

In particular, heinous criminals tend to be unconsciously recognized as fearful beings, and criminals with underdeveloped minds sometimes think of this as a trophy.

Therefore, heinous criminals should be the object of thorough contempt and ridicule.

There are many social devices to prevent crime, but they are still insufficient.

Wouldn’t it be good to have one more braking device, ‘the fear of being excluded and despised by society’?

Also, people tend to gather where laughter is induced.

It also serves the role of adding fuel to keep the fire from going out.

“I think she’s worth contacting. I’d like to meet her in person, is that possible?”

I think Kirihara Sachiko is a suitable person, but that doesn’t mean verification isn’t necessary.

Kirihara Sachiko is the first outsider to come into contact with this case even before the domestic police can grasp it.

Unlike other ICIJ reporters, isn’t Kirihara Sachiko in a structure where she can profit through direct transactions with criminals?

“Meet in person? Not even a video call?”

I can’t trust her unless I use my ability to verify her, and my ability is only activated when I face her directly.

But I can’t tell these people who don’t know anything about it…….

In this case, I’ll have to go with the old-fashioned method.

“She’s someone we’re going to work with on important matters, so we should see her face at least once. She’s not someone we knew well; she’s someone we didn’t know at all.”

“Okay, then. I’ll contact her. Should we meet without informing ICIJ first?”

“Yes. And… It might feel rude, but if possible, please ask if she can come to Korea with the condition that we cover all the expenses. We can’t leave Korea right now to go to Japan.”

“Okay.”

* * *

“Hmm… Detective Jang Hyun-wook is definitely out.”

Yoon Se-yeon chewed on her straw, looking through the list of internal police collaborators that Heo Min-woo had sent.

“Why Detective Jang Hyun-wook? Aren’t you close to him?”

Choi Jong-hyun asked, as if surprised.

The list that Heo Min-woo had uploaded included 12 detectives and investigators.

The more people there are, the more the risk increases, so we decided to secure only 3 to 5 people at most.

The goal is to prevent Wooshin from fully grasping the situation from the time of arrest until we report the case.

Either Im Hyun-il or the people on Wooshin’s side moving with So-eun will contact Wooshin to call a lawyer from the moment the police take them, so the secret that I bit the bait will be broken.

It’s not necessary to keep the secret for such a long time, so it’s enough to have someone who can delay things and not give out the evidence when the higher-ups ask for it without leaking words outside.

Of course, they shouldn’t be Wooshin’s mole.

The important thing is that the fact that the police are moving must be kept secret until they are arrested at the airport, but this part is not a big problem.

Heo Min-woo will only tell them that he needs people to accompany him to arrest criminals, and he will not tell them the purpose until the arrest.

It doesn’t have to be as strict as the verification process for Kirihara Sachiko.

“Detective Jang Hyun-wook is a good person. And he’s not someone who would have bad intentions, and he’s not the type to take money from Wooshin.”

“Then why are you filtering him out?”

“Of course, I, as a reporter, can’t help but like Detective Jang Hyun-wook. He gives me a lot of scoops. But aren’t those the people that sunbae [senior colleague] and the lawyer should filter out the most?”

“Let’s filter him out right away.”

Choi Jong-hyun drew a line through the name Jang Hyun-wook.

“What’s the asterisk next to it?”

“This list is based on internal police reputations and rumors, and Heo Kyung-wi personally marked the good people he knows well.”

“Oh, Heo Kyung-wi has an eye for people. Make sure to include Kim Hak-chan here. This person really never tells anything. And his family is also in financial difficulty.”

“Doesn’t that mean that if his family is in financial difficulty, he might be swayed by money?”

“No. How long has he been a detective? He could have received money if he wanted to. But the fact that he’s still poor means he’s someone who never takes money.”

That makes sense.

I also know some people.

I quietly drew a line through the name Jo Byung-seok.

“Huh, why this person?”

Yoon Se-yeon asked, her eyes wide as if she couldn’t understand.

According to what I confirmed in my previous life, an incident related to prostitution businesses will break out in a few years.

At this time, it was a mess because some police officers were caught taking money and turning a blind eye.

I saw Jo Byung-seok’s name then.

“This person likes money.”

“Huh, he likes money? There’s even a rumor that he’s a police officer as a hobby because he has a lot of money at home?”

Is that so?

I don’t know about that.

Maybe he’ll have debt later, who knows.

“I heard something personally.”

“Huh… What is it?”

“I just heard that this person likes money.”

“Ah, you’re not going to tell me again. You’re so annoying. I’m helping you this much! Why don’t you tell me! Sunbae [senior colleague] also doesn’t tell me! You’re always exploiting me! You don’t even tell me why you’re filtering these people out!”

Yoon Se-yeon distorted her face as if she was about to cry and stomped her feet.

I know it’s all acting, and I know she won’t cry.

“Did you say exploitation?”

“Yes! I give you high-quality information, but the lawyer doesn’t give me money or information!”

My gaze naturally turned to her bag.

“Then what’s the laptop in that bag?”