Chapter 7

"Congratulations, Prosecutor! - Chapter 7 (7/341)

Whistleblower (5)

After the briefing ended, Deputy Prosecutor Park Seung-su let out a hollow laugh and said,

“You’ve really done a lot.”

Song Hyun-sung also opened his mouth wide in amazement, but amidst this, only Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-won maintained a poker face and spoke.

“His name is Choi Seo-jun, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Does this seem certain to you?”

As the question, devoid of any playfulness, echoed in my ears, cold sweat automatically trickled down my back.

Is this evidence not solid enough?

No.

In general, this level of evidence would be enough to end a prosecutor’s career.

It would lead to a resignation and further investigations.

I had reviewed it repeatedly and thoroughly.

Wait, while this might be enough for an ordinary prosecutor, this case is special.

This is Im Sung-jin, who has climbed to his current position without a single blemish despite engaging in such corruption.

There must be others like Shin Yong-ho who had the same thoughts.

Yet, he survived, and very cleanly.

I need to think objectively.

Not from the perspective of Shin Yong-ho, who was wronged, but from the perspective of an objective prosecutor.

The decision will be made by a third party, the judge, not by me.

While I was organizing my thoughts, Kim Seok-won spoke again.

“If you were Im Sung-jin, what would you have done?”

If I were Im Sung-jin.

If I were Im Sung-jin, would I have committed such corruption without any safeguards?

Absolutely not.

No matter how much I trusted my subordinates, I wouldn’t leave any room for my corruption to be exposed, knowing I would eventually have to get rid of them.

This means there must be a loophole.

Even if I can’t see it with the evidence I have, his plan can’t be perfect unless I see his cards.

There must be something he believes in.

I’ve been thinking too simply.

Upon closer inspection, the corruption evidence Shin Yong-ho prepared is not directly against Chief Prosecutor Im Sung-jin but against the Economic Crime Investigation Department.

Im Sung-jin is the head of the Economic Crime Investigation Department, but this isn’t direct evidence against him.

Damn, I was shortsighted.

I took a deep breath and spoke.

“The evidence is solid for the Economic Crime Investigation Department, but it’s not enough to bring down Im Sung-jin.”

Kim Seok-won finally nodded.

“You’re right.”

Surprised by his words, Song Hyun-sung checked the documents again and let out a faint exclamation.

Kim Seok-won continued, looking at me.

“Of course, I’m not blaming you. This is already incredible evidence and will be a great help to me. If we play this card, we might not be able to cut off Chief Prosecutor Im Sung-jin’s head, but we can make him stagger.”

He twisted his lips again.

“Even if all his limbs are cut off, Im Sung-jin will have to lie low for a while.”

Deputy Prosecutor Park Seung-su, who had been observing the atmosphere, spoke up.

“I will personally organize the evidence for now. It’s better not to let it leak out.”

“Don’t do that. Work with this guy.”

Kim Seok-won pointed at me and asked.

“Do you have any urgent business in Gwangju?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Good. Stay in Seoul for a while.”

***

I was worried about having to go to work at the Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office, but a call from Kim Seok-won resolved the issue.

I wasn’t transferred to Seoul, but my trip was treated as a business trip for support.

Indeed, he has great influence.

At his level, he has powers I never imagined.

I rented a dormitory near Seocho Station and planned to work at the Seoul High Prosecutor’s Office for a few days to devise a plan to bring down Im Sung-jin.

The only downside is that I don’t know his cards.

If I knew them, I might be able to not just make him stagger but bring him down completely.

“Prosecutor Choi, what’s this about?”

The documents Park Seung-su handed me were the ones I had checked during my late-night work the previous night.

“Yes. The other accounts are in the name of front companies. When the Han Dong Group sends money, it is withdrawn and used through homeless people, but this account is different. It sends money to another place.”

“Do you know who receives the money?”

“No. It’s likely someone behind Im Sung-jin, but I couldn’t confirm it.”

Park Seung-su chuckled and said,

“It’s a bribe. If it’s the Im Sung-jin line, it probably goes to the Chief Prosecutor.”

“Do you mean the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office?”

“Yes. Im Sung-jin is part of that line.”

This was news to me.

I had guessed there might be someone behind him, given the scale of his operations, but I didn’t expect it to be the Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office, the most prestigious position in the prosecution.

The situation is more entangled than I thought.

Indeed, one must come to Seoul to see things that can’t be seen in the provinces.

“This might be bigger than we thought.”

Park Seung-su twisted his lips and smiled with interest.

“On the contrary, it might be even more interesting if we don’t cut off Im Sung-jin’s head this time.”

I understood what he meant.

If Im Sung-jin’s network is severed, he will likely turn to the Chief Prosecutor, who is higher up in his line.

If the Chief Prosecutor accepts him and gives him a chance to make a comeback, we might have an opportunity to bring down the Chief Prosecutor through Im Sung-jin.

If the Chief Prosecutor abandons Im Sung-jin, he will fall, which would also be good.

“We should just keep him breathing with a ventilator.”

“You’re right. Don’t reveal this account. If they think we haven’t noticed, they will continue to use it.”

“Understood.”

***

“Hey, Yong-ho.”

-I did some investigating, and it turns out Im Sung-jin and Professor Jung Jae-won have been in regular contact.

“Really?”

-Yes. They don’t have a fixed schedule, but they call or text at least once every one or two months. And additionally...

While I was preparing in Seoul, Shin Yong-ho wasn’t just resting in the provinces.

The connection between Im Sung-jin and Professor Jung Jae-won, which I had seen in the mysterious text message.

I asked him to investigate, and sure enough, Im Sung-jin and Professor Jung Jae-won had been in contact since they graduated.

This alone could have been plausible, but what followed was surprising.

-I investigated the additional numbers that appeared in Im Sung-jin’s call records after the start of the judicial examination.

No way.

-There were about eight calls from remote areas. I went to each of these places, and one of them turned out to be a restricted area.

In other words, this restricted area is where the judicial examination is set.

In other words, it has been confirmed that Im Sung-jin is in contact with the person setting the judicial examination.

If they are communicating despite the ban on electronic devices, there’s no doubt they are trying to leak the exam papers.

The mysterious text message only showed Im Sung-jin passing the exam papers to Professor Jung Jae-won, but in this situation, it’s clear he is passing them to other people as well.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t have caught him trying to leak the exam papers without telling Professor Jung Jae-won.

-Are you going to expose this too?

“No, let’s hold off for now. Let’s keep this between us. I won’t report it to the Inspection Department.”

-Then what are you going to do?

“If we expose it now, the Ministry of Justice will handle it, and it won’t cause a big controversy. They will try to make it quiet. So, we should expose it right after the judicial examination is set.”

That way, it will have a bigger impact.

Especially since this is the last judicial examination, and the results will be closely watched. If we expose it, the examinees who don’t do well will likely cause a big stir.

Timing is crucial in exposing a case.

The most important thing is the timing.

-Okay, I understand. I’ll look for additional evidence. The phones used at the judicial examination site are likely burner phones, so I’ll find out the real owners as well.

“Thanks.”

-You’re welcome, but I’m the one who should be grateful.

“Alright, let’s go in.”

***

The day of the final battle has arrived.

Today.

Today is the D-day to take down the Economic Crime Investigation Department.

Deputy Prosecutor Park Seung-su and I worked tirelessly for over ten days, preparing the evidence, but from today, the regular prosecutors from the Inspection Department will join us.

From today, things will start to move.

Of course, Im Sung-jin will hear about this in a few hours, but our pace will be faster than he expects.

And the Economic Crime Investigation Department will be dismantled.

“Did you sleep well?”

Park Seung-su, who had arrived, tapped my shoulder and asked.

“Yes. Did you sleep well, Deputy Prosecutor?”

“No, I didn’t sleep well.”

He shrugged and said,

“The thought of Im Sung-jin, who usually acts so superior, having his face twisted in fear made me too excited to sleep.”

I was surprised to learn that Park Seung-su disliked Im Sung-jin.

He chuckled and lowered his voice to explain.

“That guy is in the same line as Prosecutor Baek Seong-tak.”

Baek Seong-tak is the Chief Prosecutor of the Inspection Department, Park Seung-su’s direct superior.

If the Economic Crime Investigation Department is dismantled, Im Sung-jin will stagger, and the shock will spread to his line.

If Chief Prosecutor Kim Seok-won becomes the Chief Prosecutor of the High Prosecutor’s Office before the shock subsides, Baek Seong-tak will naturally be pushed out, and the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Inspection Department will naturally go to Kim Seok-won’s line, which includes Park Seung-su.

So, he can’t be anything but happy.

He tapped my shoulder again and headed to the conference room.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”