You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 632

You Have Been Defended – Episode 632

After a brief interview following the unveiling ceremony, all media personnel left.

While some staff with assigned tasks had begun their work a week prior, today marked the first official gathering of the entire special investigation team.

“Greetings. I am Cha Joo-han, the appointed special prosecutor.”

A large group consisting of three special prosecutor assistants, ten dispatched prosecutors, and fifty special investigators fixed their gazes on me.

“As of today, the special investigation team’s investigation is officially launched. For the next 60 days, extendable to 90 days, the team will investigate Wooshin’s human trafficking activities and illegal lobbying of political and business figures.”

I carefully observed each member of the special investigation team.

Although I didn’t personally select all 63 members, I believed it was the best possible team we could assemble.

Nevertheless, I still had some concerns.

“I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has joined the special investigation team, despite your busy schedules and existing duties.”

This was a line that Kang Min-jae had repeatedly emphasized I should include.

“The scope of the special investigation team’s investigation is very broad, and the targets are deeply entrenched in various parts of the political and business worlds. Therefore, the team must investigate quickly and maintain strict security to achieve results that meet public expectations. Regarding security, the team is strictly prohibited from disclosing any unreleased investigation details to outside parties, except for reports to the President and the National Assembly as stipulated in the Special Prosecutor Act, and interim briefings on the investigation to inform the public. Here, ‘outside’ refers to all institutions, organizations, and individuals except for members of this team. Security extends to indirect information as well, even if it’s not directly related to the investigation’s content.”

Information not exclusively shared within the special investigation team, such as summons schedules or the issuance of warrants and search and seizure operations, would inevitably become public.

The media, under Wooshin’s influence, would surely try to corner the special investigation team based on that alone.

Therefore, we had to maintain thorough security in other areas to prevent obstacles to the investigation.

It was a given, but also one of the most difficult things to uphold.

The dispatched public officials might speak carelessly in private or inform their direct superiors.

In the case of dispatched prosecutors, they might think it natural to report the progress of the special investigation to the prosecution.

As a result, there was no way to completely prevent information from reaching the prosecution.

Dispatched prosecutors were essentially affiliated with the prosecution; they were only temporarily assigned to the special investigation team.

If we gave the prosecution the impression that the special investigation team’s orders took precedence over theirs, they would naturally be displeased.

However, there was a significant difference between setting the ground rules in advance and not doing so.

“Yes.”

At that moment, Heo Min-woo and the police officers responded.

Since no one usually responded during such remarks, I had asked Heo Min-woo in advance to do so.

If this kind of atmosphere was created, everyone would follow suit.

“Yes.”

While everyone was responding, 63 words floated above my head.

The number of lies was 17.

About five dispatched prosecutors and twelve special investigators were marked as lying above their heads.

I kept them all in mind and continued speaking.

“I will briefly introduce the team, outline the division of tasks, and then we will begin the investigation.”

I turned my gaze towards Go Il-guk, who was standing nearby.

“This is Special Prosecutor Assistant Go Il-guk. He will be in charge of public relations with me and will also serve as the team leader of Investigation Team 1, which is responsible for investigating high-ranking public officials who received illegal lobbying from Wooshin.”

Go Il-guk bowed his head and greeted the team.

“This is Special Prosecutor Assistant Ha Yeo-jin. She will be in charge of Investigation Team 2, which is responsible for investigating Wooshin’s human trafficking activities, such as prostitution and organ trafficking.”

Ha Yeo-jin had no experience as a judge or prosecutor and had been working as a human rights lawyer for a long time.

She was a typical example of someone who was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and I had heard from various legal professionals, including Attorney Go Il-guk, that ‘she is not someone to be taken lightly.’

After examining the cases and achievements she had handled so far, as well as her related statements, I selected her because there was no one more qualified.

“This is Special Prosecutor Assistant Nam Chang-wook. He will be in charge of Investigation Team 3, which is responsible for investigating politicians who received illegal lobbying from Wooshin.”

Nam Chang-wook is a lawyer from the prosecutor’s office and, like Park Young-ki, was known as a special prosecutor.

In the early 2000s, he was involved in the investigation of large corporations’ presidential election funds, and he pushed forward without showing any leniency, revealing that the head of the Northern District Prosecutor’s Office, who was once his direct superior, had acted as a broker.

He earned a lot of animosity for that incident and was transferred to various local branches, and the story that he took off his robe, saying, ‘I’m too disgusted to do this anymore,’ has become something of a legend.

He is a person who has many similarities with me, although his methods of expression are different.

I quickly snatched him up because he was considering an offer to become a law school professor.

I told him that he would be able to start teaching from the next semester if the investigation was completed quickly, but considering the need to maintain prosecution, it was virtually impossible.

“This is Park Young-ki, the 3rd Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, who is in charge of identifying the flow of funds used for Wooshin’s human trafficking and illegal lobbying. He also serves as the head of the investigation team, managing the overall investigation.”

Park Young-ki also bowed his head and greeted the team.

After that, I explained the special investigation team’s organizational chart and introduced the dispatched prosecutors and special investigators.

Ten special investigators were selected from the police, including those who had been dispatched to the Metropolitan Investigation Unit’s investigation headquarters, along with 25 lawyers, 4 National Tax Service officials, 10 legal scriveners [legal document drafters], and Manager Oh.

Since the division of tasks had already been completed, all members had been informed in advance which team they belonged to.

We planned to apply for more dispatched public officials if necessary, but since the more people there are, the more noise there tends to be, we would observe the situation first.

“The Metropolitan Investigation Unit’s investigation headquarters summoned the suspect Go Sang-joon four times before the special investigation, but he refused to comply with the summons due to health problems. Accordingly, we will begin the investigation by requesting an arrest warrant for Go Sang-joon.”

As soon as the statement ended, all the members dispersed to their seats in an orderly manner.

* * *

[Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Go Sang-joon]

[Will Go Sang-joon Finally Be Investigated After ‘Using Illness as an Excuse’?]

[Special Investigation Draws Sword from the Start of Investigation]

[Special Prosecutor Assistant Go Il-guk: “If Summons Are Repeatedly Refused Without Just Cause, Delaying the Investigation, We Will Request an Arrest Warrant Without Delay”]

The next day, the court issued an arrest warrant for Go Sang-joon.

Accordingly, three police officers and a prosecutor from the Busan District Prosecutor’s Office’s special investigation department moved towards Seoul Wooshin Hospital, where Go Sang-joon was hospitalized.

They all jumped out of the minivan parked in front of the hospital building where Go Sang-joon was hospitalized and headed for the elevator.

Even though it had become less crowded after the human trafficking incident, Seoul Wooshin Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the country, still had a considerable number of people.

All the users checked the name tags fluttering on the chests of the investigators hurrying their steps and whispered among themselves.

“It’s here.”

The VIP ward where Go Sang-joon was hospitalized was located on the 12th floor.

Speed gates were installed in the passage leading to the hospital room.

“What is your business?”

As soon as the investigators stood in front of the speed gate, a security guard ran out without even needing to call a staff member.

“Go Sang-joon is hospitalized here, right?”

“…….”

“We’ve come to execute an arrest warrant. Open the door.”

When the prosecutor presented the warrant, the security guard swiped his card and opened the gate without a word.

Even Go Yoon-soo had been arrested, and the special investigation had opened even before it went to the prosecution.

It seemed that they thought that if they showed any signs of non-cooperation here again, it would cause problems for Wooshin, no matter how powerful they were.

If an arrest warrant had been issued, there would have been nothing to say even if they had forcibly opened the door, so resistance was meaningless.

The security guard silently guided them to the hospital room where Go Sang-joon was hospitalized.

Creak.

“Mr. Go Sang-joon. We will execute the arrest warrant.”

When they opened the hospital room door, Go Sang-joon was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in a suit as if he had been waiting for them.

The lawyer next to him stiffened his expression, conscious of the investigators.

The prosecutor handed the warrant to Go Sang-joon without paying any attention.

“Go Sang-joon, you are under arrest on December 3, 2012, at 11:43 a.m., on charges of human trafficking of minors and bribery. You have the right to remain silent, you have the right to hire an attorney, and your statements may be used against you in court.”

As the investigator read the Miranda rights and tried to handcuff him, Go Sang-joon opened his mouth.

“Can’t you just let me go without handcuffs? I won’t run away.”

“Put on the handcuffs.”

The prosecutor, who was watching, said coldly.

Go Sang-joon slowly shifted his gaze towards the young prosecutor.

That silent act felt like a threat, as if he was memorizing his face.

The medical staff next to him moved Go Sang-joon to a wheelchair, and the lawyer covered his handcuffs with the muffler he was wearing.

It seemed that he felt ashamed and horrified to recall the sight of Go Yoon-soo wearing a prison uniform, bound with ropes, and even handcuffed.

When they reached the first floor of the hospital, reporters had already gathered, probably because of the news that special investigation investigators had gone up to Go Sang-joon’s hospital room with an arrest warrant.

However, perhaps to prevent the chairman’s disgrace, security personnel were blocking the reporters’ access and securing a passage.

The investigators put him in the car and headed to Teheran-ro [a major business district in Seoul], where the special investigation office was located.

“It’s Go Sang-joon!”

As soon as they arrived in front of the building on the first floor of the special investigation office and got out of the vehicle, the reporters, who were gathered in a crowd that could not be compared to the hospital, pressed their shutters.

“Do you still deny the allegations?”

The reporters, who were gathered in the aisle leading to the elevator, threw questions at Go Sang-joon with the single-minded determination to hear even a word from him.

However, Go Sang-joon remained silent with a blank face and his head half-bowed.

The elevator carrying Go Sang-joon, his lawyer, and the special investigators went up to the floor where the interrogation room was located.

Go Sang-joon, who got out of the elevator in a wheelchair pushed by his lawyer, let out a short sigh.

It was because the sign located at the entrance caught his eye.

[Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han for the Clarification of the Truth Regarding Wooshin’s Human Trafficking and Illegal Lobbying Allegations in Political and Business Circles]

‘Did I finally come this far?’

Go Sang-joon tried to suppress the laughter that seemed to be bubbling up.

The faces of some of the aides who had advised him, saying, ‘Don’t pay attention to that young, green lawyer,’ whenever he was conscious of Cha Joo-han flashed through his mind.

‘Should I still not have paid attention, even after this?’

His eyes, at that age, were full of a ferocity I had never seen before.

That weed-like guy who wouldn’t be trampled no matter how hard I tried to trample him, has reappeared as a special prosecutor.

“…….”

Before he knew it, he had arrived in front of the interrogation room.

And he found Go Il-guk, Park Young-ki, Lee Ye-jin, and Kang Min-jae gathered inside.

Judge Go Il-guk.

The man who helped Cha Joo-han’s dazzling lawyer debut.

Deputy Chief Prosecutor Park Young-ki.

The man who made Cha Joo-han a star with the Myunghwa Pharmaceutical case.

If it hadn’t been for Cha Joo-han, Park Young-ki would have taken off his robe and wouldn’t have been able to hold his head up because of his eldest son’s drug distribution problem.

Deputy Head Prosecutor Lee Ye-jin.

The determined woman who had been conveying internal news to Cha Joo-han, who left the prosecution.

Even when public opinion was bad for Cha Joo-han in the prosecution, she stood by him until the end.

Lawyer Kang Min-jae.

The guy who pulled Cha Joo-han out every time he threw him into the swamp.

He’s the same as Cha Joo-han, constantly attacking even when his grandfather dies and blood is pouring from his head.

All of them were people who had not received a single penny from the money Wooshin was spreading.

The air in the interrogation room was unfamiliar.

It was a completely different atmosphere from when he entered the prosecutor’s office interrogation room for the accounting fraud case, an atmosphere that Go Sang-joon had never experienced before.

“…….”

Even after entering the interrogation room and taking his seat, Go Il-guk and Park Young-ki did not sit at the interrogation desk.

Only Lee Ye-jin was sitting in front of the laptop.

Go Sang-joon frowned.

‘This might be…….’

Creak.

At that moment, the interrogation room door opened, and a tall man strode into the room.

He pulled out the chair placed opposite Go Sang-joon and sat down.

“It’s so hard to see your face like this.”

“…….”

He looked straight at Go Sang-joon and said.

“I am Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han, in charge of Mr. Go Sang-joon’s investigation.”