Chapter 198
Chapter 198
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: With the God of Law
-----------------------------------------------------------------
199.
"You're turning into a lackey of power, bit by bit, Chief Park Min-seong. That's what you don't want to admit, right?"
"..."
Hwang Jae-eun's response to Kang Hyun's words was silence.
Both of them knew all too well that it was composed of a measure of surprise, a hint of defiance, and mostly acceptance.
"I know full well that the Prosecutor General is using the KW Construction investigation as a starting point to drag Namyangju Branch Chief Gu Ik-hwan down on bribery charges, then leveraging that to strike at the current administration."
"Yeah."
"And you're his frontman, Chief Park Min-seong."
"..."
"Am I wrong?"
"..."
Kang Hyun's relentless way of speaking left Hwang Jae-eun—a prosecutor several ranks his senior—speechless. She clenched her lips tightly and bowed her head.
Kang Hyun didn't let up and piled on even more.
"Let me add this: I've come down to Namyangju on the orders of Central District Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor Jeong Jung-hun. He's aiming to nail Branch Chief Gu Ik-hwan just the same, but to take down the Prosecutor General in the process."
Hwang Jae-eun's head snapped up at Kang Hyun's bombshell statement. She startled and blurted out,
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Am I wrong?"
"...Is that your thinking?"
"That's my final conclusion, now that I know."
A flicker of anger crept into her expressionless face. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice cold.
But all she could manage was to cut the conversation short.
"It's pointless anyway. What are you gonna do, strutting around here like you've uncovered some big secret? I'm leaving regardless. Take care—and you should quit the prosecution too."
She spun on her heel, about to storm off the way she'd come in a huff.
"Sunbae."
She froze.
Kang Hyun's simple call—no deeper meaning behind it—held her in place like it had some magnetic pull.
She knew it.
In moments like this, Kang Hyun always came up with astonishing ideas no one else could imagine.
Wondering what it could be, Hwang Jae-eun turned back to face him.
"I have no intention of getting tangled up in political games or factional infighting within the organization."
"...What?"
"I'm saying I have no plans to get swept up in it or dive in headfirst."
"What are you—"
"Of course, investigating Branch Chief Gu Ik-hwan's bribery is absolutely necessary to uphold justice and root out corruption. But using it as an excuse to push someone else out? That's not right. Linking Gu Ik-hwan's bribery to the current administration? No way. Conversely, letting the Central District Prosecutors' Office score points off it? I don't like that either."
If they tied it all together through this case, it would be like stringing beads on a thread—multiple heads would roll.
It would be a setup where the sacrificial lambs of the Park Min-seong faction or the Jeong Jung-hun faction were waiting.
Hwang Jae-eun surely knew that. Yet she feigned ignorance to the end.
"What... what are you saying...?"
"Do you know why I didn't go after Chief Park Min-seong this time?"
True enough. It was clear Park Min-seong had abandoned Kang Hyun and left him to fall into a trap.
Yet Kang Hyun hadn't sharpened the blade of revenge or whipped up public opinion against him.
"...Why didn't you?"
"I'm planning to investigate this case thoroughly and credit the achievement fairly to the entire Namyangju prosecutors' office. That way, there'll be no 'orders from above.' No core conspirators either. In the end, no one gets blamed."
Clatter.
Hwang Jae-eun's shoulders slumped as if the strength had drained from them, and she dropped the box she was holding. He could see her mind racing.
"To do that, the contributions of me, Chief Park Min-seong, and all the other prosecutors involved have to be equal. The investigation results have to be convincing to the public too. In other words, everything has to be perfect."
"...If you could pull that off."
She seemed drawn into Kang Hyun's words. His persuasion made sense.
Spotting it, Kang Hyun delivered the finishing blow.
"Sunbae."
"...I know what you're gonna say."
"But you can't refuse, can you?"
Gulp.
She swallowed hard.
"Want to nab Branch Chief Gu Ik-hwan before Chief Park Min-seong does? Us regular prosecutors beating them to the punch."
Right now, Kang Hyun was thinking something no other prosecutor could.
Two unremarkable line prosecutors teaming up to pull something off.
It was rebellion—a seductive act of defiance. An idea more astonishing than expected.
They were about to unleash an unprecedented incident in the annals of the prosecution.
"Hey, Lee Joo-im, what's up?"
"Section Chief."
The burly Lee Joo-im stood before the slight-framed man, completely blocking him from view.
Even so, Lee Joo-im bowed at a perfect ninety degrees without a second thought.
The man was Namyangju's administrative section chief, Jo Young-jin.
With his long white beard, he looked like a grandfather—or maybe a Taoist sage.
An administrative section chief was a grade 5 or 4 general position.
Starting from grade 9 and reaching retirement age while rivaling the prosecutors' power and dominating the administrative office? That was impressive in itself.
Yet he was gentle and soft-spoken with underlings, while pushing back relentlessly against superiors if something was unfair—a true prosecutor at heart.
"The top floor has an unused empty room. Someone requested a fingerprint scanner for access control. I wasn't gonna report it since it's a security thing, but I figured I'd check so we don't stir up trouble."
"Why?"
"The budget from the general affairs supply team got cut in half this year. You said last time to run a tight ship."
"So?"
"Should I do it?"
"Who requested it?"
"Prosecutor Hwang Jae-eun."
"Hwang? Anyone else?"
"Uh, not really... Doesn't seem to go through the chiefs. Looks like a personal request."
Jo Young-jin blinked, lifting his droopy eyelids. As Lee Joo-im tilted his head, still awaiting a reply, the section chief finally spoke after a long pause.
"Do it."
"I'll tell them it's the last one."
"No. Do them all."
"Do all of them?"
Blink, blink.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Do it if I say so."
"You always said blind obedience to prosecutors isn't a virtue."
"This is that virtue. Do it. Supplies, personnel—whatever they need, make it happen."
"...? Yes, sir."
As the bowing Lee Joo-im left, the section chief cracked a faint smile.
Hidden in his beard, invisible to others, but paired with eyes that had realized something.
"What's meant to flip should flip."
Heh heh. The section chief's low chuckle echoed softly through the spacious office.
The very top of the Namyangju Branch Prosecutors' Office.
Next to the evidence room, across from the gym, around the corner in the hallway—a small room labeled "Club Room."
Its lights blazed on.
"Set it down here?"
"Yep."
Rustle.
Copies of KW Construction case files, all investigation records.
It was six in the evening—the time Hwang Jae-eun and Kang Hyun had sweated over organizing the case files.
Their secret operation, which no one should know about, had been underway for hours.
"So, what's your plan?"
"Shall we do a quick briefing and get started?"
Kang Hyun leaned casually against the freshly dusted desk and began.
"I've reviewed the KW Construction case progress. President Park Jung-seok still has the leash in hand, but he's unscathed. No cracks in the charges for business negligence resulting in injury or death, housing law violations, building code violations, or construction technology promotion law violations."
"It was progressing smoothly overall. The prosecutors on it are Seoul-level competent, but now it's at a standstill. That's it."
"Next: the covert internal investigation that Chief Park Min-seong is likely conducting into some shady deal—bribery—between KW President Park Jung-seok and Branch Chief Gu Ik-hwan. If we let Park Min-seong handle it, it'll end up politicized."
"Covert internal investigation? Impossible."
Thud!
"...?"
Kang Hyun silently slid over a slim file. A copy of the internal investigation records.
Hwang Jae-eun's eyes widened as she read it.
"Prime suspect: Gu Ik-hwan. Second suspect: Park Jung-seok. Already under internal investigation? No way."
How did he get this?
And how did he figure it out?
As Hwang Jae-eun stared at Kang Hyun in a daze, her eyes round, he smiled faintly and continued.
"Normally, when there's suspected crime by an internal staffer, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office dispatches an inspection prosecutor. That was likely here too, but it hasn't happened yet. Someone's covering for Park Min-seong: Prosecutor General Bae Seong-sin."
"Bae Seong-sin..."
Hwang Jae-eun's eyes trembled slightly. The arrow forged by line prosecutors' scheming was aimed at severing the line tied to the ship steered by Prosecutor General Bae Seong-sin.
"Prosecutors' Office Act Article 28-2: 'Special provisions on appointment of Supreme Prosecutors' Office inspection prosecutors.' Article 35: The Prosecutorial Personnel Committee selects up to three candidates from those with 10+ years in the positions listed in Article 27 and recommends them to the 'Minister of Justice.'
However, if the inspection prosecutor falls under any disciplinary grounds in Article 28-3 or Inspection Prosecutors Discipline Act Article 2, after review by the Article 35 committee, the 'Prosecutor General' may propose to the President, at his discretion, the appointment of another prosecutor. The current Supreme Prosecutors' Office inspection prosecutor is already slated for transfer."
"What?"
"When it blows up, Prosecutor General Bae Seong-sin's pick, 'Prosecutor Park Min-seong,' gets dispatched. In other words, Chief Park Min-seong's team switches to Supreme Prosecutors' Office inspection duty on the day of the incident."
"Ha..."
The groundwork was already done. Kang Hyun spotting it was impressive, but bewilderment flooded her mind. It might be untouchable.
"Then it's already over, isn't it?"
"It looks that way on the surface. We arrest Park Jung-seok on this case and stop Park Min-seong from transferring to inspection prosecutor and investigating the bribery between Park Jung-seok and Gu Ik-hwan."
"Impossible."
Hwang Jae-eun looked grim. But Kang Hyun was utterly relaxed.
"It's plenty possible. We can just switch the order."
"Switch the order?"
"It's a given that Chief Park Min-seong will expose their bribery—giver and taker—but with the KW building collapse investigation dragging, that moment keeps getting delayed. Because..."
"We have to indict on the collapse first, then drop the bribery bomb."
She said it as if grasping the situation. Kang Hyun nodded.
"Yes. Chief Park Min-seong has to do the bribery probe under the Supreme inspection prosecutor's name per the Prosecutor General's orders, but that means he can't handle the KW jurisdiction."
"Ah! That's why he can't switch!"
She grimaced, exclaiming in admiration at Kang Hyun's analysis.
"Right. But we have no such constraint. If we blow the bribery lid right before KW indictment, the Supreme office sends an inspection team picked by the Minister of Justice—not Prosecutor General Bae Seong-sin's 'Park Min-seong.' Chief Park Min-seong will have to switch to defense to block it, and we just adjust our investigation pace from there to fit."
Mad logic. Hard to even conceive.
Yet the odds of it playing out exactly as Kang Hyun said were one hundred percent.
"Here, sunbae."
Kang Hyun picked up the internal investigation copy again and handed it to her.
"Three days from now, we drop it."
"...Three days."
"We go full throttle on the KW case until then. But not too fast, not too slow. At the right moment, we need a headline: 'Perfect substantive truth uncovered under Chief Park Min-seong's Criminal Division 1.'"
Kang Hyun's eyes gleamed.
Time for the magical scheme to shine.
[D-Day: 3 days]