You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 610

Several days had passed since Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho underwent their initial investigations.

They began sending the prepared materials to the police one by one.

And they confessed how they had bribed officials from affiliated companies.

Officials from Angel House, Oh Jun-hong, and Im Hyun-il, who had also been tight-lipped, opened their mouths and gave statements identical to those of Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho.

The flow didn’t seem as contrived as one might think.

It simply appeared as though they were letting go of everything.

To someone who viewed the world naively or didn’t know much about Wooshin, it was enough to make them feel that Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho were genuinely repenting.

[‘Strategic Office & Secretarial Team’ The Shadow of the Chairman, the True Power Broker]

The organ trafficking investigation that occurred last August had reached a major turning point.

One internet investigative outlet had been releasing various materials, reporting that the individuals behind the organ trafficking were Wooshin Group Chairman Go Sang-jun and his eldest son, Go Yoon-soo, president of Wooshin Electronics, and that they used their positions to involve officials from affiliated companies in organized organ trafficking. The outlet’s reports always included seemingly plausible evidence, leading the public to believe without a doubt that Chairman Go Sang-jun and President Go Yoon-soo were the masterminds behind the organ trafficking.

Then, on the 6th, Kim Soo-chan, managing director and head of the secretarial team in the strategic office, who was also Chairman Go Sang-jun’s executive secretary, and Gong Won-ho, director and executive secretary to Go Yoon-soo, president of Wooshin Electronics, turned themselves in, completely reversing the situation. Managing Director Kim Soo-chan and Director Gong Won-ho submitted to the police not only the burner phones used to plot the organ trafficking but also the overseas accounts used to pay for it.

Looking at the materials they submitted, the image of a *chaebol* [a large South Korean business conglomerate] chairman’s secretary commonly portrayed in the media seemed to be far from reality. They have no difficulty embezzling vast amounts of corporate funds because of the great authority given to them. Even high-ranking executives of major affiliates can’t utter a peep to them…

There were also short articles, but articles that subtly conveyed Go Sang-jun’s message, disguised as if they were telling a very interesting story, sprang up like mushrooms after the rain.

While the popular news articles on portal sites had been filled with articles criticizing Go Sang-jun and Go Yoon-soo, they were now filled with articles talking about how ugly the abuse of power by the secretarial team leaders, who were called ‘shadows’ and ‘hidden power brokers,’ was.

Go Sang-jun was trying to escape from being the target by making Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho the axis of evil.

*Isn’t he being too harsh on his loyal subjects who committed what was no different from a suicide bombing?*

Of course, he didn’t forget to make Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon’s broadcasts look like third-rate broadcasts spouting silly conspiracy theories.

[***918: The real axis of evil wasn’t Go Sang-jun but the shadows ㄷㄷㄷ]

[***rat: Choi Jong-hyun • Jo Bong-joon • These • Two • Bastards • Are • The • Problem ••• A talented person is bound to be slandered by others ••• No matter how jealous you are, how can you suspect organ trafficking ••!! Instead of being grateful to the people who contribute to Korea’s exports ••ㅉ]

[***ppb: Go Sang-jun has done many bad things, but his merits and demerits should be considered separately. No matter what, would he really try to give a Korean child’s organs to the Japanese Prime Minister? It’s a big problem that Koreans are so easily swayed.]

[***ewz: Sensationalist media are ruining the country. At first, I found Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon’s broadcasts interesting, but as they kept calling evidence that wasn’t really evidence ‘irrefutable evidence,’ I stopped watching.]

[***k81: An innocent person almost got hurt… How much ridicule did Wooshin Welfare Foundation face after its statement..;;]

[***770: Go Sang-jun and Go Yoon-soo are also pitiful. If they were executive secretaries, they would have trusted them a lot and revealed a lot of their inner thoughts, only to be backstabbed like this.]

It’s difficult to distinguish between comment bots and real citizens, but with experience, you get a sense of it.

On the first day Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho turned themselves in, the proportion of bots was high, but now, quite a few people seem to believe in Go Sang-jun and Go Yoon-soo’s innocence.

“Wow, that’s some fantastic bullshit.”

“Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho are true loyalists. Look at them taking all the blame.”

“What did they agree to receive in return?”

Although there were many people claiming that Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-joon were rumor-mongering con artists, the two didn’t seem particularly upset.

Because they knew that Wooshin was struggling to mount a counterattack.

“How much would you take to take the fall for all these crimes and even go to jail?”

“10 billion? Ah, but wait a minute. Min-jae, how much prison time are we talking about?”

“Well, the prosecution could ask for life imprisonment. It’s organ trafficking after kidnapping a minor, after all.”

“What about the actual sentence? The actual sentence wouldn’t be life, would it?”

“Probably not at this stage. The prostitution case hasn’t even been revealed yet.”

“Then, considering good behavior and parole, how much should we expect?”

“I don’t know, you’d have to see how the atmosphere is. But I think you’d be rotting in jail for at least 10 years for organ trafficking. And you can forget about special pardons because of the organ trafficking.”

At Kang Min-jae’s words, Jo Bong-joon began to seriously contemplate.

“Ah, so let’s say roughly 15 years. Since those guys are in their 50s, they’ll be almost 70 when they get out. They’re probably rich now anyway. Would they do this to get their hands on another 10 billion when they’re 70? Absolutely not. Not even for 100 billion.”

“I wouldn’t either.”

Choi Jong-hyun chuckled.

“Ah, but you have to give them credit for their effort. They would never think that their conversations would be recorded.”

“They wouldn’t. They used metal detectors at the hostess bar to prevent eavesdropping, and they refrained from or disposed of any communications that left a record. That’s why they’re putting on a show by blatantly lying like that.”

For a week, Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho had been producing fake evidence and statements that made it inevitable that they were the culprits.

Of course, they also gave the feeling that they were still hiding something.

Because they hadn’t yet said how they had come into contact with Onodera Shizuka.

*I suspect they’re holding back on matters related to Japan because an agreement hasn’t been reached yet.*

“Let’s watch the recordings for the rest of this week and decide when to release them. The more fake evidence they pile up, the more we can add to their list of offenses.”

Bzz.

Leaving the people who were enjoying their conversation behind, I went out to the terrace to answer the phone.

The caller was Kim Mi-ja.

“This is Cha Joo-han.”

─ Attorney, I got a call today. My parents and younger brother’s family have gone up to Seoul.

As the time to release the eavesdropped audio was approaching, it was decided to protect Kim Mi-ja’s family, who were living in Mupyeong, in Seoul.

To do this, Kim Mi-ja’s younger brother, who was teaching in Mupyeong, had to take a temporary leave of absence or transfer.

But since it wasn’t yet the right time for a transfer, he eventually decided to take a leave of absence.

“Yes. Our staff are helping them move and checking to see how they’re doing. We’ll do our best to keep them safe.”

─ Yes, I believe you’ll take good care of them.

She was very hesitant to tell her family about her situation.

Her parents already thought they had lost their child due to their carelessness.

In that situation, if she told them how she had survived, her parents would be overwhelmed with guilt.

─ I’m worried about bringing up the prostitution story, but for now… I’ll start with this much.

Kim Mi-ja said in a small voice.

She hadn’t told her family about the years she had lived.

She only informed them that she was planning to expose Wooshin.

Her family also knew that her husband was a Japanese Diet member and that Wooshin had been caught trying to illegally transplant organs to the Japanese Prime Minister, so they seemed to understand the situation roughly.

“Yes. Please do so.”

─ Please take good care of my family until I return to Korea. I’m always relying on you.

“It’s nothing. Ah, has Oda Satoshi contacted you at all? I thought he would have contacted you by email or some other means.”

The staff guarding her family reported that they had not yet witnessed any suspicious approaches.

But that doesn’t mean Kim Mi-ja wasn’t suspected.

Organ trafficking was discovered immediately after Kim Mi-ja left Japan, and she hadn’t contacted anyone from Oda Satoshi’s side since then.

In a suspicious situation, and with no contact, Oda Satoshi would have asked the school about Kim Mi-ja’s business trip.

Of course, he would have received the answer that they had never heard of a business trip.

Then, unless he was an idiot, he would have no choice but to think that Kim Mi-ja had leaked the secret.

However, he didn’t seem to think that Kim Mi-ja had contacted her family.

I had also asked Kim Mi-ja’s family and the neighbors I met in Baekgeumdo to keep the secret, and so far, it seemed to be well kept.

─ I think an email might have come. But the reporter told me not to access the school email account because the IP could be traced. So I didn’t.

“That’s a relief.”

─ Yes. I don’t plan to access it in the future either.

“You’ve made a good decision.”

─ I bet he’s trembling right now. It’s fun just imagining it. That’s what I live for these days.

Kim Mi-ja said with a laugh.

*She seems to have a similar hobby to me.*

* * *

“You can go in now.”

The Blue House security guard removed the metal detector from my body and pointed to the official vehicle parked in the open space.

As I stood in front of the back seat door, the security guard opened the door for me.

“It’s nice to see you after a long time.”

Lee Se-hwa, who was sitting in the car, smiled when she saw me.

“Attorney Cha doesn’t seem too happy to see me.”

“I’m happy to see you.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

As I sat down next to her, Lee Se-hwa opened her mouth.

“Quite some time has passed since Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho turned themselves in, but since there’s been no movement from Attorney Cha’s side, I thought I’d call you in to hear what’s going on. I happened to have an official schedule nearby today. You wouldn’t want to have dinner, would you?”

Lee Se-hwa had been fully supporting this investigation.

But suddenly, Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho turned themselves in, and the atmosphere changed a lot, so she must have judged that she couldn’t just wait quietly like before.

“It’s not that you can’t release the audio, is it?”

“No. I was planning to watch Wooshin until the end to see how far they would go this week. Anyway, I have to do some groundwork to give the wiretapping file evidentiary value.”

When I first started wiretapping, I didn’t intend to use the file itself as evidence.

My only purpose was to understand their conspiracy and reduce risk factors.

But so many incredible stories came out that I had to use the wiretapping file as evidence.

Wiretapping is illegal under the Protection of Communications Secrets Act.

Among the many acts defined as illegal, there are often cases where reasons for justification are given, but wiretapping is not one of them.

Of course, the Protection of Communications Secrets Act must comply with the General Provisions of the Criminal Act, so illegality can be excused in cases recognized as legitimate acts.

However, that is an extremely rare case that can be counted on one hand in the current situation in 2012, and it is reasonable to view it as unconditionally illegal in reality.

Even if it is not used as evidence and is simply disclosed, it is subject to accusation.

Therefore, appropriate measures are needed.

“Attorney Cha has bluffed me with cards that didn’t exist before, so I’m afraid of being fooled again, so I have to check.”

I had bluffed with cards that didn’t exist to move Lee Se-hwa to exclude Lee Jung-chan from the Minwoo Party.

As a result, Lee Se-hwa became a liar.

But thanks to that, isn’t Lee Se-hwa riding in this official vehicle five years earlier?

“If you don’t make the wiretapping file legal evidence, it will be a big burden on Kim Mi-ja. Frankly, I’m constantly worried because of Kim Mi-ja’s situation.”

“No problem. I’ve been waiting for Wooshin to keep lying and digging their own grave, and I think I’ve extracted as much as I can now. You’ll be able to see the results soon.”

“Okay. You’ve been through a lot. Ah, tell Reporter Choi and Mr. Jo Bong-joon that I’m watching their broadcasts. It’s still fun.”

“I understand. Ah, President.”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

At my words, Lee Se-hwa burst into laughter.

If I hadn’t been reminded of what Heo Min-woo had said when I met him at Daebak House, I wouldn’t have brought it up.

“Attorney Cha, I see now that you shouldn’t go into politics. You like favors too much. Let’s hear it. What is it?”

“The investigative authority of the investigation headquarters is limited to the organ trafficking case, so there are limitations to investigating paper companies. The scope that can be investigated is up to RND, which is directly related to organ trafficking.”

“Um, I know what you mean. In short, you’re saying that even if a direct link between RND being the successor to KDL Company doesn’t come out for a long time, you want the investigation headquarters to be able to investigate L&B and KDL Company, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Is there really a need for that? Once you release the wiretapping, a special prosecutor law will be proposed immediately, and the special prosecutor team will investigate together soon. So, to keep it going without interruption, Attorney Cha needs to release the wiretapping file quickly.”

“Even if the ruling party lawmakers propose a special prosecutor law, wouldn’t it take a long time in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee? To prevent a gap in the investigation until the special prosecutor team is launched, I’ve judged that it’s better to expand the authority of the investigation headquarters.”

Since Lee Jung-chan’s bribery is certain, the scope of the special prosecutor law’s investigation cannot be limited to just Wooshin Group insiders.

Wouldn’t there be people in both the ruling and opposition parties who feel guilty?

It seems that proposing a special prosecutor law wouldn’t be difficult, but there was a high probability that they would spend a long time arguing over the detailed clauses.

“Leave that to me. I’ll make sure there’s no gap in the investigation.”

[Truth]

But Lee Se-hwa seems confident.

I suspect the ruling party’s official position has already been somewhat settled.

“Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”

After a short conversation, Lee Se-hwa’s vehicle left for the Blue House.

As I headed to my car, I called Kirihara Sachiko.

Since she’s so confident, I need to move on to the next stage quickly.

“Reporter, I think it’s about time to release the audio. Start the washing machine.”