You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 556

“Okay, so, we weren’t actually planning to broadcast today. But after watching the news live, I got so worked up that I couldn’t just sit still.”

“I was just holed up in my room analyzing the stocks I’d bought when Jonghyun *hyung* [older brother or respected male figure] called me. He said we needed to turn on the broadcast, that Wooshin had set the stage for us. So, I hurriedly checked the content and contacted the PD [Production Director] to prepare the broadcast. The PD was going crazy making slides right up until we started. Applause for the hardworking PD!”

[ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ: Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk

Sejin Yoo: Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk

ApollonFanatic: Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk

Jonghyuk K: Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk]

Kim Jungwoo, who suddenly received applause, seemed a bit awkward but soon wore a proud expression.

Indeed, he deserved the applause.

Kim Jungwoo had been called upon unexpectedly and had been preparing frantically.

“Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve seen this consonant applause [referring to the Korean slang of typing repeated consonants to indicate applause]. Guys, how long has it been?”

Perhaps it was because they had been on hiatus for so long.

Jo Bongjoon seemed genuinely missing the viewers, on the verge of tearing up.

“Actually, we weren’t planning to announce the platform transfer so suddenly either… Can you see our interior construction? It’s not even finished yet. We were going to put up the program title in neon lights, but we haven’t decided on a title yet, so we haven’t even made it. We’re so grateful that three thousand people have tuned in already, even though we’re not fully prepared. Honestly, I thought we’d be lucky if even a thousand people watched.”

[BabySquirrelJonghyun: Why are you guys acting so different… Why aren’t you asking how many reporters are watching?

LemonHaulerDebtPayer: Lol, don’t be so humble. Your charm is the overconfidence that Korean media is paying attention to this broadcast]

“That’s not overconfidence. Honestly, there must be more than a few reporters frantically turning on YouTube at the news that we started broadcasting. Look at this. The viewer count has increased by 17 in this moment. But at least 10 of them are probably reporters.”

Choi Jonghyun kept checking the viewer count as he spoke.

[minsu lee: There’s an article saying the *hyungs* [older brothers or respected male figures] started broadcasting after a long time? The person who wrote this article must be in here, raise your hand

GreenGrape: Hand

Gomdori: Hand

lmaolmao: It’s me

minsu lee: You’re lyingㅡㅡ]

“Well, as always, we’re the people who most want reporters to take our broadcast and use it. You don’t have to bother with the search operation. Everyone will be embarrassed. Anyway, for now, please keep in mind that things might be a bit chaotic since we started the broadcast so suddenly.”

Choi Jonghyun winked at Kim Jungwoo, and Kim Jungwoo immediately displayed the PT [presentation] materials on the screen.

“Let’s cut to the chase and get to the topic. As Bongjoon said earlier, the reason we suddenly turned on the broadcast is because of the news live report. Specifically, ‘A juvenile delinquent arrested for drug use, who was actually abused by college students volunteering at the orphanage, leading to his delinquency.’”

“Seriously, I scoffed as soon as I saw it. First of all, it’s funny how this logic jumps so many steps. According to News9’s initial report, the juvenile had been missing from the orphanage for over a month, roughly two months, before being arrested for drug use. Well, let’s just say that they claim he ran away because of the college students. Then isn’t running away the fault of the college students? As if the college students even gave him the drugs… It’s absurd.”

Jo Bongjoon leaned back deeply into the chair, letting out a hollow laugh.

And that hollow laugh soon turned into a burst of laughter.

When we were having meetings, neither of them reacted this strongly.

I thought I wasn’t surprised anymore because I had seen so many of Wooshin’s criminal acts, but it seems I was holding back.

“This is an extreme exaggeration. Can they even be called the media? Ah, well, they are the media. Yellow journalism [sensationalist or biased reporting].”

[lsadjla: Nobody said the college students gave him drugs;; They said the kid went astray because of the college students; You guys are the ones exaggerating;;

sndlaqksa: Anyone here think the college students gave him drugs? Nobody~ But the reason the juvenile got into drugs is because of his delinquency, and that delinquency was because of the college students, right?]

“Okay, English nicks, I was wondering when you guys would show up. I knew this platform has a lot of English nicks because it uses Google IDs as is, but I can tell what you guys are. You just closed your eyes and typed random letters to create an ID.”

Jo Bongjoon seemed happy to see these English nicknames now.

He started scrolling up the chat log, counting how many English nickname users were causing trouble.

Meanwhile, Choi Jonghyun crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

And he copied their chats into a separate notepad, enlarging the text.

“Okay, here’s what the English nicks are claiming. You said nobody said the college students gave him drugs. Yes, that’s right. But what are people saying in the news article comments and all sorts of sites right now? Everyone is saying he did drugs because of the college student volunteers, right? Why is everyone exaggerating like that when nobody said it? Are people collectively unable to read the context?”

[ChoiJonghyun’sWig: Have you only experienced this once or twice? Their tactic is to subtly blur the cause-and-effect relationship and drive people into a corner…

MinwooParty’sTears: Lol, it really seems like a group of comment-rigging *hyungs* [older brothers or respected male figures] came in. Otherwise, there’s no way there would be so many people picking fights on a broadcast that already has half the viewers since the platform transfer]

“Even when reporting the same incident, the feeling changes depending on what you focus on and in what order you explain it. That’s why everyone chooses which newspaper to read and which news channel to watch, right? News agencies put a lot of thought into it, more than people think.”

“Right. No matter how much people call them trash reporters, they all have intentions.”

“Therefore, the News Live and Iljung Daily reports are the same. Of course, they don’t outright say the college students gave him drugs, obviously. Because that’s just not true. But making it feel like that naturally is a piece of cake. We’re pointing that out.”

“I think many people are forgetting, but even though he looks like this, this person was at Iljung Daily for a long time. It’s his old home.”

Jo Bongjoon searched for Choi Jonghyun on the portal site and endlessly circled the words ‘Iljung Daily Reporter’ in Choi Jonghyun’s career section with the mouse pointer.

“What do you mean, ‘looks like this’?”

“You know better than anyone. Why are you acting like that?”

[D192: Lololololol it’s starting again

jongsoo kwon: Lololololololol why are you like this, reporter Choi Jonghyun? You really seem like a reporter

ApollonFanatic: Lololololol you seem a bit cleaner, though. Your skin looks a bit more refined than before lololol]

“If you’re curious about this difference, just compare and read several articles, and you’ll get a feel for it. There’s no reason for us to compare them one by one here. So, then…”

[HandsomeLawyerComeBack..: But at the beginning of the broadcast, you said it was related to cownew, so I’m curious how cownew could be involved in this case ㅇㅇ

cownew: lololol if cownew is involved, it must be related to the orphanage or the college students in this situation, so it must be one of the two. Either the college students’ school is under the cownew foundation, or the orphanage is]

“Well, that’s right. And since someone with the nickname cownew is saying it, I suddenly feel a lot of trust.”

“I won’t say specifically which one it is. But as you listen to the story, you’ll get a sense of which one it is. Okay, enough with the preamble. Look at the slide.”

At the same time, the screen showing Choi Jonghyun and Jo Bongjoon was reduced and placed in the lower right corner, and the PT [presentation] materials filled the screen.

[han kookin: What is this, an email?

SocialIssueMoaTV: What email all of a sudden?

SocialIssueMoaTV: Ah, I shouldn’t be chatting with this account;;

Lim Sangjoon: Reporter caught lol]

“This email is, well, everyone knows about it now, so I’ll just say it comfortably. It’s data we received from lawyers Cha Joohan and Kang Minjae, who have occasionally appeared on our broadcast. About two months ago, that is, the same time that the juvenile who was arrested this time was reported to have run away. At that time, it was an email sent to the representative email account of the law firm Jungdo, where the two of them are working. You can see the date here, and you can see the email address here.”

[HandsomeLawyerComeBack..: !!!!!!!!!!

HandsomeLawyerComeBack..: I came in hoping there would be a mention of our lawyer, and there is ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

“We’ve mosaicked out all the content that could identify anyone. If you go to our site, you can download the high-quality file that we just uploaded. Reporters, don’t forget to indicate the source when you use it.”

“If you’re curious, download it and read it. You’ll say we’re lying again.”

When Choi Jonghyun pressed the mouse button, a summary in red letters popped up next to the image containing the full text of the email.

“Okay, here’s the summary. The first part starts like this: ‘I am a student living in Mo Orphanage.’ This student is the juvenile who was arrested for drug use this time.”

[ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ: Holy moly, *hyungs* [older brothers or respected male figures], you had this high-quality data????]

“While searching, I learned about the lawyer. The lawyer they’re talking about is, of course, lawyer Cha Joohan or lawyer Kang Minjae, right?”

“If you think about how they searched and got the names of the two people, you’ll quickly realize it. Whether cownew is on the university side or the orphanage side.”

[kim hyuksoo: I just searched and found that the YS Welfare Foundation operates an orphanage called CHSYJ. Is this it?

oh jongmin: When I looked at the pictures of CHSYJ, the scenery is the same as the place that was mosaicked out in the news??

ApollonFanatic: lololololol if the orphanage is cownew, then the abuse is… not the college students… ahem… Judge, I don’t know anything…]

“Following that, ‘Mo Orphanage is trying to forcibly send me to study in Japan. But I didn’t want to go.’ So! This is important from here on. ‘So, I fought with the teacher, telling them I didn’t want to go. But they kept telling me to go. Eventually, I left the orphanage without permission.’”

[BabySquirrelJonghyun: lololololol I couldn’t see it well, so I read it with my nose on the monitor, and the tone is just real, just a high schooler’s tone

HandsomeLawyerComeBack..: The kid is smart… He has a very wise eye for knowing who will help him..]

“‘I didn’t have any money, so I bought the cheapest ticket at the terminal and came to Hojung, Gangwon-do. Please help me. My number is this. Contact me.’ The end.”

[BongjoonAhLet’sGoToSchool: lololololololol show me the bastard who said the reason for running away was college student abuse lololololololol

GOD: He clearly wrote that the reason he ran away was because he didn’t want to study abroad.. lol, it’s obvious

sdjalsdjals: Is there any proof that that email isn’t fabricated?

nqlaozxj: Email fabrication is so easy, if you know even a little bit of Photoshop lol

gldmzp: Even if it’s not Photoshop, how are you going to prove that the person who sent that email is that student?]

“Hey, English nicks. Show some sincerity and make your nicknames decent before you start trolling. Seriously, which company does Wooshin use for comment rigging? They’re not professional. I’m giving you sincere advice, change the company.”

The speed at which the chat was coming up noticeably increased when the email was revealed.

The English nicknames, which had been quiet for a while, brought up the issue of the data’s credibility as if they had been waiting for it.

The chat window instantly became a mess.

People who were trolling and those who were cursing them started fighting.

“Okay. Stop fighting. We’re going to move on to the next data now. The data we’re showing you now is all stuff we had already prepared in advance, thinking we would cover it on the broadcast someday anyway. Also, I’m adding this in case you say, ‘You suddenly started broadcasting, when did you prepare all this?’ What follows is the content of the call between lawyer Cha Joohan and the juvenile who ran away. They talked several times. But you can understand if you listen one by one. Let’s listen together.”

Kim Jungwoo moved the slide and immediately played the video.

It contained the content of me suggesting to Son Jungmin that he move to Munyeok and repeatedly urging him to be careful not to be noticed by others.

It included everything, even repeatedly asking if anyone was following him while he was moving to Munyeok and if it was dangerous.

Kim Jungwoo had added subtitles after listening to the conversation several times, so even though Son Jungmin’s voice was altered, the content was easy enough to understand.

[HandsomeLawyerComeBack..: Ah… lawyer Cha Joohan is so kind…

kwak seungwoo: His tone is very stiff, but he’s taking so much care.. I was surprised to see him even sending a gift certificate because he was worried the kid would be hungry;;

ApollonFanatic: I might have ignored the email, thinking, ‘What is this?’ but I was a bit surprised when he said he would go there himself

lsmqanl: Can’t you just talk to Cha Joohan and get anyone to record it? How do you know the other person is that drug-using juvenile when the voice is altered?

skqmal: And even if you didn’t alter it, we don’t know the voice of that drug-using juvenile, so we can’t verify that it’s the same person anyway. You’re bringing this out as evidence? lol]

“Okay, you can doubt it. So, we’re going to submit all the emails and audio files we released today to the police. At least if the authenticity of this is confirmed, it will also be confirmed that he didn’t run away because of the college students, right? Right?”

[Kim Jinwook: That’s right. Because he directly stated the reason for running away. There’s no mention of the college students at all. But when I watched the news live today, there was also an interview with an orphanage employee. After the juvenile was arrested for drugs, they conducted a full investigation of the residents, and there were many responses that they had a hard time because of the college students.

JeongAPapa: But if that email is true, isn’t it a bit strange? I didn’t know orphanages sent people to study abroad, but let’s say it’s because a good opportunity came up. If the student says they don’t want to go, they shouldn’t send them, why push them to the point where they run away?

Kim Yoonjoo: If the orphanage sends them to study abroad, they get credit for it? When I search now, it says that CHSYJ originally has a program to send outstanding students to sister schools in Japan lol;;

ChoiJonghyun’sWig: lololololol if they pushed a study abroad program that they didn’t want to go to because of their own achievements and made the kid run away, then they’re the ones who abused him lololol]

“We will submit these files that we just released to the police tomorrow. Then the police will determine whether they are fabricated or not, right? But shouldn’t we also verify the employee’s claim that they conducted a full investigation of the children at the orphanage?”

“According to the reports, the arrested juvenile hasn’t started making statements yet. But he will open his mouth someday. And what if he says that he did send this email? The college students are being unfairly criticized, and I saw that the website server even went down. Who will compensate for that damage?”

[GgwamegiWantsToEat: I found out late that the broadcast started and came in 10 minutes ago, what’s all this fuss….?

cownew: Person with definite evidence and saying they will have the police determine the authenticity vs Person who only said they conducted a full investigation and has no evidence of abuse lololololololol]

“And it’s not over here. For those of you who listened to the phone call. Didn’t some familiar words pop out?”

[MinwooParty’sTears: …? Familiar words, what is it…

GangnamStyle: What… is it…?

korea11: …I don’t know

younghyun80: Did I miss something…?]

“Okay, the email was exchanged and the call was made two months ago, right? One more thing, as a result, where did the law firm Jungdo head to?”

[LemonHaulerDebtPayer: Munyeok…?!

GgwamegiWantsToEat: Huh

GgwamegiWantsToEat: Ah

GgwamegiWantsToEat: Ah crazy

GgwamegiWantsToEat: Huh;;;

GgwamegiWantsToEat: Ah crazy??????]

“It looks like Ggwamegi is going to get the answer right again. Aren’t there any other people who noticed?”

[ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ: Two months ago… Munyeok….

ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ: Huh?

SmallBusinessOwner: Ah, what is it? It seems like some people have noticed, tell me quickly

ChoiJonghyunDon’tHoldItIn: Tell me!!!!!!!!!!!]

“Someone who noticed, say it once.”

[ㅗMyungHwaPharmaceuticalㅗ: Lawyer Kang Minjae’s accident was also two months ago… The place where the accident happened was also Munyeok… But there are many rumors that lawyer Kang Minjae’s dump truck accident was a contract killing…]