You Have Been Defended [EN]: Chapter 633

You Have Been Defended – Episode 633 (633/641)

This investigation was to be conducted by me and Lee Ye-jin, the deputy head of the Special Investigation Department 3 of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office. While Lee Ye-jin holds the title of deputy head, her capabilities are on par with a chief prosecutor.

Originally, she should have been promoted to ‘Chief’ around last year, but due to a lack of available positions, her entire cohort remained as deputy heads.

Furthermore, she only made a lateral move from Special Investigation Department 1 to Department 3.

Therefore, a piece of human garbage like Go Sang-jun should consider it an honor to have a chief prosecutor-level official taking his statement.

“I would like to inform you that this investigation is being video recorded.”

At Lee Ye-jin’s announcement, Go Sang-jun glanced at the camera positioned beside him.

She briefly exchanged glances with me and then began the process of verifying his personal information.

“State your name.”

“Go Sang-jun.”

“Resident registration number.”

Go Sang-jun answered calmly.

He seemed slightly hesitant when stating his residential address.

This is likely because he rarely needs to remember it.

“Mr. Go Sang-jun, you have the right to remain silent or not to answer individual questions. You will not be penalized for refusing to testify, and if you waive your right to remain silent and testify, your testimony may be used as evidence against you in court. You also have the right to have an attorney present and receive assistance from an attorney.”

If you don’t inform them of their rights before the investigation, you risk having the entire statement, which you worked so hard to obtain, deemed inadmissible, so the procedure must be followed meticulously.

“You have been informed of your right to remain silent and your right to counsel, correct?”

Lee Ye-jin handed a document to Go Sang-jun along with a pen.

“This is a confirmation that you have been informed of your rights. Please fill in ‘Yes’ or ‘Okay’ in your own handwriting, whichever you prefer. Then, write your name at the bottom and sign.”

Go Sang-jun did not consult with a lawyer. He picked up the pen, obediently filled in the answers, and signed.

He must know very well that signing is not a problem, as he was thoroughly investigated during the accounting fraud investigation in the early 2000s.

This is why they say experience matters.

After that, additional procedures such as identity verification were carried out, and the investigation began in earnest.

“Mr. Go Sang-jun is currently charged with luring and kidnapping children and adolescents belonging to the House of Angels [an orphanage] for the purpose of molestation, statutory rape of a minor, carnal knowledge of a person under custody, arranging prostitution, bribery, and organizing a criminal organization.”

I was dumbfounded even while listing the charges written on the document.

Even though this was a simplified version, there were still so many.

“Do you admit to the charges?”

When I asked, Go Sang-jun stared at me intently.

─Prosecutor… It would be good if you do it moderately. You seem to be overdoing it.

─If what you’re doing now isn’t overdoing it, then what is? Haha. It’s not wrong to dream, but… trying to realize a dream without proper preparation is arrogance.

The moment I made eye contact with Go Sang-jun, the 2018 special investigation office from my previous life flashed before my eyes in an instant.

Even the voice I heard back then echoed in my ears.

Go Sang-jun was relaxed even as he entered the special investigation office.

The lawyer he brought with him shook hands with the special prosecutor, the special prosecutor’s assistant, and some dispatched prosecutors, flaunting his connections.

In an instant, my palms were filled with cold sweat.

It was fleeting, but I was seized by a strange sensation as if the contents inside my body were spinning while my outer shell remained the same.

This is not a good sign.

This is the first time since starting this life that I have faced Go Sang-jun while being aware of each other’s existence.

Considering that I had seizures just from hearing his voice before, I swallowed a larger dose of medication than usual, but my left hand, placed under the desk, trembled slightly.

Fear?

It’s not that.

Rage?

Rage towards Go Sang-jun was always with me, so it’s nothing special.

Unlike before, when I showed seizure symptoms even with minor stimuli, I was able to control it sufficiently with medication after changing my mindset in various ways.

Even when I met Go Yun-soo, I felt like Go Sang-jun was in front of me, but I got through it well, didn’t I?

But as expected, Go Sang-jun was Go Sang-jun.

“Do you admit to the charges?”

I asked once more before the silence grew longer and caused unnecessary suspicion.

The last thing I needed was for the ridiculous news that the special prosecutor showed seizure symptoms from the first investigation to leak out.

The Special Prosecutor Act also stipulates that the special prosecutor can be dismissed if it is recognized that they have a mental or physical illness that makes it significantly difficult to perform their duties.

A seizure is a clear reason for dismissal to anyone.

How did I get this far? I can’t be dismissed for something like that.

I stabbed the palm of my hand hard with the nib of the fountain pen I was holding.

“…….”

I felt a clear pain as the pen nib pierced my skin.

The memories of the past that were eating away at my mind also gradually began to fade.

“I do not admit to the charges.”

And then, Go Sang-jun answered slowly.

“I see. What is your relationship with Kim Mi-ja, the victim of sexual exploitation and the manager of the establishment where you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, committed acts such as prostitution?”

“I don’t know her.”

“You don’t know her?”

“I have heard of her because she is a very talked-about person.”

Go Sang-jun answered calmly.

“What kind of stories have you heard?”

“As you said, I heard that she made false claims in a media interview that I had done such things.”

If this case had simply ended with slush funds or illegal lobbying, or even if it was about me ordering Go Yun-soo to kill someone like before, Go Sang-jun would have consistently claimed that he ‘doesn’t remember’.

However, responding to Kim Mi-ja’s claims at that level is practically the same as admitting it.

It is a large-scale crime that is so vile that only third-rate gangsters would commit it, which he must deny unconditionally.

Besides, isn’t everyone predicting that he will deny the charges?

Denying the charges will not draw any particularly greater criticism.

I continued, listening to Lee Ye-jin’s typing.

“If it’s a false claim, does that mean that you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, do not know Kim Mi-ja at all, and you don’t even know the existence of that establishment?”

“That’s right.”

“About a month ago, there was an article that victims from the House of Angels who were sent to Japan under the pretext of studying abroad were rescued by the Japanese police. Are you aware of this?”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“According to the information shared by the Japanese police, all the victims have traces of physical assault on their bodies, deep scars that have healed on their genitals, and show signs of extreme aversion to being touched or being in contact with middle-aged men. In your opinion, Mr. Go Sang-jun, why do these symptoms appear in the victims?”

“I don’t have any medical knowledge, so I don’t know.”

“Even if you don’t have medical knowledge, do you have any reasons that come to mind?”

“No, I don’t.”

Go Sang-jun answered bluntly without changing his expression.

“The House of Angels is a children’s home under the Wooshin Welfare Foundation, which was established for the purpose of Wooshin’s social contribution. Currently, the chairman of the Wooshin Welfare Foundation is So Myung-woo, but you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, have been the chairman for a long time, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You, Mr. Go Sang-jun, have often said through official channels that you established the Wooshin Welfare Foundation to carry on the legacy of your father, the founder. You also said that you personally set the areas that you thought were blind spots in welfare as business areas. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“You said that you were heartbroken by the news that many children from the House of Angels were separated from their parents for various reasons and adopted overseas, and that you personally named it the House of Angels, inspired by your father’s saying that ‘children are all angels.’ You also said that you consider all the children of the House of Angels as your own children or grandchildren. Is that correct?”

“That’s correct.”

“When I compared the list of victims with the list of adolescents sent to study abroad from the House of Angels, the list of children sent for overseas adoption, and the list of adolescents who left the facility for various reasons such as running away, they matched. And some of them had their resident registration revoked, that is, they were reported as dead, even though they were alive and well. What do you think about this?”

“…….”

Go Sang-jun did not answer.

I continued without waiting.

“The children who belonged to that House of Angels were confined, assaulted, and raped overseas where they couldn’t even communicate…”

I paused for a moment and took a breath.

“…Did you not know at all and only found out through the media?”

“That’s right.”

“What were your feelings when you heard that news?”

“…I was devastated.”

Go Sang-jun frowned and said.

It wasn’t an overreaction.

However, it didn’t feel like he was answering carelessly either.

The impression was that he was suppressing his sad feelings because of the situation.

“What kind of feeling is ‘devastated’?”

“I stepped down as chairman of the Wooshin Welfare Foundation to focus on Wooshin Group’s business, but I have not forgotten the purpose of its establishment. Nevertheless, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for this happening because I failed to properly manage and supervise the person in charge.”

“Then you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, would also want to find out who committed these absurd criminal acts, even in a very organized manner, and punish them severely, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“On August 26th, at the Ribbon Medical Center located in Miseong, medical staff from Seoul Wooshin Hospital and Shin Gaku University in Japan were caught trying to illegally transplant the heart of Park, a child belonging to the House of Angels, to Onodera Hiroki, the grandson of Onodera Masao. Are you aware of this?”

“I am aware.”

“In the audio file submitted by Kim Mi-ja, it is confirmed that Onodera Masao planned the illegal heart transplant surgery with you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, and paid you a large sum of money for this. Also, the file contained the content of Mr. Go Yun-soo, who received instructions from you, directly explaining the progress of the illegal transplant surgery. What do you think about this?”

“…….”

When Heo Min-woo called Go Yun-soo and asked him about this fact, Go Yun-soo said, ‘Oda Satoshi is claiming wiretapping, so the admissibility of the evidence cannot be recognized, and I will refuse to testify based on the audio file.’

Go Sang-jun seemed to be using the same strategy.

He didn’t bother to put a lawyer forward and make a fuss, but he didn’t open his mouth.

“Here are the results of the investigation sent to the special investigation team this morning by the Japanese police, who launched an investigation following Oda Satoshi’s claim that the audio file was created by wiretapping.”

I placed two documents on the desk.

Since we decided to conduct a joint investigation, the documents were exchanged in English, so the original text was in English.

Go Sang-jun, who has a doctorate, may not be unable to read English, but just in case, I prepared another copy translated into Korean.

[1. We have checked Oda Satoshi’s cloud login records, server records, etc., and compared and reviewed Oda Satoshi’s location information at the time the records were created.

2. We compared and reviewed the PC used to access Oda Satoshi’s cloud and the details of its storage.

3. We analyzed detailed records such as the quality of the audio files.

Considering all three factors, it is determined that there is no significant reason to suspect wiretapping. The Japanese National Police Agency informs you that it plans to refer 18 audio files, including ‘20120428_192809′, to the prosecutor’s office based on evidence from suspects such as Onodera Masao.]

Go Sang-jun and his lawyer did not move and quickly read the documents with their eyes.

Onodera and Oda Satoshi, as well as Japanese political figures who were particularly close to them, had all resigned, so there would have been no channel to hear this news.

This document came directly to the special investigation team, especially right in front of me, so there would have been no room for it to leak through domestic connections.

“Based on this, I will ask again. The conversation in the audio file was based on the definite premise that you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, attempted an illegal heart transplant with Onodera Masao, Oda Satoshi, etc.”

I started reviewing the documents a week before the special investigation team’s signboard ceremony [establishment ceremony], so I had all the recording files, which were well over 40 hours long, transcribed by a stenographer.

Lee Ye-jin handed me the document file, and I spread it out in the middle of Go Sang-jun and his lawyer.

Then, I pointed to the parts marked with a highlighter.

“Onodera Masao and Oda Satoshi said they spoke directly with you, Mr. Go Sang-jun. Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho, who belonged to the strategy team’s secretarial team, have already confessed that they committed crimes such as human trafficking under your instructions, Mr. Go Sang-jun, so why do Onodera Masao and Oda Satoshi keep saying that they spoke directly with you? And why does Go Yun-soo say that he is conveying his father’s wishes?”

“…….”

“Is Go Yun-soo Kim Soo-chan’s son? Mr. Go Sang-jun, isn’t he your eldest son?”

At that moment, anger flashed in Go Sang-jun’s eyes.

However, even that gaze was fleeting.

He regained his composure and answered in a metallic voice.

“I refuse to testify.”

“Yes, then let’s go back to what we were talking about earlier. Mr. Go Sang-jun, the site of the Ribbon Medical Center, where Onodera Hiroki’s heart surgery was performed, was owned by a company called RND. You know this too, right?”

“…I learned about it through the media.”

“This RND is presumed to be the successor to KDL Company, which was previously majority-owned by L&B, a paper company [shell corporation] owned by you, Mr. Go Sang-jun. What do you think about this?”

“It has nothing to do with me.”

“L&B is owned by you, right?”

At my question, Go Sang-jun sighed and nodded.

How could he say no?

The document with his name clearly stamped on it came out.

Above all, it is also necessary to admit this much.

“Is it because Kim Soo-chan and Gong Won-ho were the ones who established RND, as they claimed?”

“…….”

“RND bought more than 90% of the real estate that KDL Company sold just before it went out of business, and you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, didn’t know that at all?”

“I didn’t know at all.”

“Are you saying that you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, have nothing to do with organ trafficking, prostitution, etc., using children from the House of Angels?”

“That’s right.”

“Were you aware that the House of Angels was running a program to select gifted children and send them to sister schools in Japan for study abroad?”

“Yes. I was aware.”

“How much were you involved, Mr. Go Sang-jun?”

“The study abroad program was started at the suggestion of related companies that looked favorably on the Wooshin Welfare Foundation’s business, and I was only involved in the system in the beginning, and the rest was handled by the staff. Since there are many things to do, it is realistically difficult to be directly involved in every process.”

“So, you accepted it because you thought it would be a good thing for the children without knowing much about it?”

“Rather than not knowing much about it, I reviewed the program details at the planning stage, and after the staff conducted a field survey, I expected that there would be a positive impact on the opinions they raised. So, I approved the study abroad program.”

“You only approved it, and you, Mr. Go Sang-jun, were not involved in the study abroad program at all, so you didn’t know anything. The managers of the House of Angels committed human trafficking using the study abroad program without your knowledge. To summarize, is this correct?”

“That’s right.”

When I looked at Lee Ye-jin, she neatly placed several photos that were inserted in the document file on the desk.

“These are press releases related to the House of Angels’ study abroad program in Japan, commemorative photos taken with the gifted children and program officials, etc.”

I pointed to the parts marked with a red name pen on the photo.

“Check the list of sponsors for the study abroad program. Iljung Ilbo [a newspaper company], Korea Talent Development Association, then what does it say next?”

“…….”

I tapped the marked area with my fingertip once again.

“This is not a statement. I’m just asking you to read the letters as they are written. What does it say?”

Go Sang-jun glared at me.

His wrinkled hands placed on the desk were trembling.

“What does it say?”

I urged him to answer.

Then, Go Sang-jun opened his lips, which were as dry as a dead tree stump.

“It says… L&B…”