Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Professor's Fatal Flaw
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“ What the hell is this?”
“ He’s saying he’s going to sell his books out in the open now, right?”
As Kang Hyun approached, a few students who recognized him stepped aside, allowing him to read the notice clearly.
-…Selling textbooks authored by oneself to students constitutes content related to the class, and reflecting textbook purchases directly in actual grades is not unfair; therefore, within the professor’s authority, disciplinary actions, warnings, or (non-disciplinary) cautions that contradict the lecture do not constitute unfair dispositions….
‘Ha! You’re really stirring up more trouble?’
Kang Hyun gritted his teeth upon seeing the public notice.
“ This seems related to Professor Yoo Dong-hee, right? The Teacher Administrative Review Committee?”
“ It’s saying he got confirmation that he’s in the right?”
“ Ugh, yeah. It’s basically an open threat that they’ll penalize anyone who protests more.”
Yoon Chan-rim had sidled up at some point, wearing an incredulous expression as he spoke to Kang Hyun.
“ Hyung, what the…?”
It was a somewhat unfamiliar deliberative body, so Yoon Chan-rim wasn’t sure if it referred to an internal school committee or an external one.
Kang Hyun relayed the information that popped into his head.
“ It’s a quasi-judicial collegial deliberative body under the Ministry of Personnel Management—the Central Administrative Appeals Commission. It’s a committee that handles administrative appeals when public officials object to unfavorable dispositions or failures to act. He checked in advance whether the content listed there qualifies as grounds for discipline.”
“ Wait, so in the end, it’s saying forcing his books on students is legitimate?”
Kang Hyun forced a smile at Yoon Chan-rim’s dumbfounded look, but his eyes only sharpened with anger and frustration.
Despite Kang Hyun’s warning, Professor Yoo Dong-hee was acting even more brazenly, as if to say he’d do what he wanted and Kang Hyun should mind his own business.
‘ So this is how you’re playing it?’
The situation seemed even more tangled.
Professor Yoo Dong-hee had been dodging Kang Hyun left and right, and now he’d dragged in an administrative review to defend himself.
If things continued like this, it was clear Kang Hyun would get caught in the professor’s trap and change nothing.
Now that he knew exactly how Professor Yoo Dong-hee was handling this incident, Kang Hyun couldn’t just sit back.
The way he treated students like suckers and ignored them, abusing his power as an authoritative professor.
It was a textbook example of behavior that would never be tolerated in a proper society.
“ Tsk tsk! That damn bastard….”
A voice thick with a dialect accent came from beside Kang Hyun. It was Dean Kim Jong-hwan.
Kang Hyun looked at him and gave a wry smile.
“ It falls under practical operation of major criminal justice systems. A case study for our research topic.”
“ Yeah, the Central Administrative Appeals Commission is a good example for our research this time.”
“ But it doesn’t seem like the kind of system that saves the weak, as you mentioned, Professor. I’d prefer this case not be included in our study.”
“ Is that so?”
“ Yes.”
After a curt reply, Kang Hyun shared his thoughts so far.
“ No matter what papers I dug through, there was nothing. A relief system that sides with the weak but is practically useful in the field. Even someone like Professor Yoo Dong-hee uses systems like this to build a pretext.”
Kim Jong-hwan seemed to mull over his words, but what he said was different.
“ The law always sides with those who know it. In a democratic judicial system, using what you know is skill, not a crime.”
He seemed to be testing Kang Hyun, or perhaps provoking him.
In response, Kang Hyun shot back sharply. His voice was heavier than ever.
“ Then, may I freely use and wield what I know as well? Within the bounds of the law.”
His eyes gleamed, his expression a perfect mix of fury and cold resolve.
At Kang Hyun’s intensity, Kim Jong-hwan chuckled, hands behind his back, and shrugged.
“ If you have the ability.”
Dean Kim Jong-hwan seemed eager to see just how far Kang Hyun’s ‘ability’ extended.
“ If you can pull it off, flatten Professor Yoo Dong-hee’s nose with your own power this time. I give you permission.”
Who would think a mere student could beat a law policy expert professor?
But Kang Hyun accepted the words and nodded vigorously.
‘ Alright, let’s do this.’
He could feel with every fiber of his being that time was running short until his next confrontation with Professor Yoo Dong-hee.
“ Thank you. I’ll head out first.”
“ Go ahead.”
Just like in the dean’s office last time, Kim Jong-hwan accepted his greeting with an nonchalant expression.
Kang Hyun slowly raised his bowed head and left the spot.
Professor Yoo Dong-hee’s crime was airtight; it couldn’t be pierced without exploiting loopholes. Moreover, he’d set everything up and was waiting with mouth wide open.
What could crush him in one go within days?
How could he flip the board?
Kang Hyun felt his mind racing.
Then, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
“ Ah!”
Yoon Chan-rim, who had been trailing a short distance behind, halted at Kang Hyun’s voice.
“ Hyung, what’s up? Did you think of something? What are you gonna do?”
“ I’ll be right back. Gotta go somewhere.”
“ Where?”
Leaving the baffled Yoon Chan-rim behind, Kang Hyun hurriedly exited the classroom.
‘ Just you wait.’
In that instant, he vowed.
In just days, before Professor Yoo Dong-hee’s next class, he’d flip the board and ring the alarm on his arrogance.
Bam!
Professor Yoo Dong-hee burst into the classroom, his face sharp with irritation.
Kang Hyun, Yoon Chan-rim, and the other students all eyed him with displeasure.
But unexpectedly, Professor Yoo Dong-hee grabbed the microphone from the podium and shouted as if he were the angry one.
“ No class today. It’s canceled—get out!”
Incredibly, he’d come to the classroom just to announce the cancellation.
“ Again?”
“ What? Is this even allowed?”
The classroom buzzed with students’ murmurs and grumbles now that class was suddenly gone again.
Thud thud.
Professor Yoo Dong-hee slammed the podium and bellowed, pointing at one person.
“ And, Kang Hyun.”
“ Yes.”
Kang Hyun stood from his seat as Professor Yoo Dong-hee called him.
As students sensed the tense atmosphere and froze, the classroom noise died down.
Even though class was canceled, no one left; all eyes were glued to the unfolding drama, tension thick in the air.
Unfazed, Professor Yoo Dong-hee set the mic aside and yelled at Kang Hyun.
“ How dare you file a ‘request to cancel the administrative review’—what do you think you’re doing!”
His voice boomed through the room without the mic.
Murmurs erupted among the students.
“ Request to cancel the administrative review?”
“ He’s demanding a re-review of that bulletin board notice?”
“ Wasn’t that decision super recent?”
“ What the hell did Kang Hyun do?”
Everyone was stunned because, just as Professor Yoo Dong-hee had applied for a teacher administrative review with the Ministry of Personnel Management’s Central Administrative Appeals Commission, Kang Hyun had filed a request to cancel the review with the same committee.
It was a counterfire strategy.
And the most shocking part? This response had come in just days.
Kang Hyun stepped forward toward the fuming professor, who looked ready to explode.
Professor Yoo Dong-hee froze, seemingly overwhelmed by his presence.
“ The Commission’s administrative review isn’t a trial; it only examines the facts of the claim, not the truth of the incident. The review result posted on the bulletin board was just a response to the inquiry.”
“ So what?”
“ You used the review result as a defense in this textbook forcing incident, didn’t you? You clearly wielded the power of the law.”
Professor Yoo Dong-hee raised his voice even louder in retort.
“ And? Let’s say I did. What’s wrong with that? Is it wrong!”
“ No, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“ Then why did you maliciously push for a re-review!”
“ Malicious? I just submitted additional materials on the review result and requested confirmation that the Commission’s judgment was appropriate.”
As Kang Hyun calmly parried, the students nodded along, hanging on his every word.
Some pulled out phones to record the exchange; one even started a video call with someone, but Kang Hyun didn’t care.
This was all part of his plan.
“ If anything, the malice was on your side, Professor. The recent controversy over forcing textbooks—you acted with that in mind, didn’t you?”
“ Ridiculous. A professor selling his own books is the professor’s inherent right. How dare you call it forcing….”
“ No, it is forcing. Selling a textbook barely related to the class at exorbitant prices every year. A simple translation with a few foreign paper annotations costing over 60,000 won!”
“ Textbook pricing is my judgment as the author!”
“ Then what about your policy of barring non-buyers from class? You even dodged the rule banning reflection of purchases in grades by tying it to ‘class attendance eligibility’!”
“ Enough with the nonsense!”
“ Let’s start with the notice. The National Civil Service Act excludes certain matters from administrative review! Dispositions not affecting civil servant status. Internal administrative decisions. Acts like opinion statements with no legal effect. This forcing incident qualifies. Yet you filed a review claim under the pretext of seeking an opinion.”
“ That’s for the administrative office to judge—not for you to question with what authority!”
“ Forcing your own textbook regardless of class relevance. Whether purchases are or will be reflected in grades is disciplinary grounds. Your claim only had general inquiries; it didn’t include this. If you used your position to force book sales, the Commission’s judgment is meaningless. They only ruled on what you claimed, not on whether you abused your professorial authority to force sales.”
“ What the hell are you trying to say?”
“ And if it’s connected to the campus welfare facility copy room infringement case, that changes everything.”
At Kang Hyun’s final shout, Professor Yoo Dong-hee swallowed hard.
“ W-what does an illegal copying bust have to do with this? You’re making this fuss over just this book price?”
“ Just this book price?”
Kang Hyun took another emphatic step toward him.
“ To you, it’s thirty, forty thousand won per student. But with this precedent, the total damage to victimized students is billions—no, tens of billions. And….”
For a split second, Professor Yoo Dong-hee trembled as if sensing defeat.
“ ...books with copyright issues.”
He knew what Kang Hyun was about to say. The suddenly deflated professor grabbed Kang Hyun’s arm.
“ Kang Hyun, there seems to be a misunderstanding… Let’s talk about the rest outside.”
“ No, I can’t do that.”
But Kang Hyun shook him off.
“ Are you ignoring me!”
“ This happened in Korea University’s Law Department, the flagship for training legal professionals. All students have a right to know, and a professor who ignores students has no legitimacy.”
“ Shut up!”
“ I’ve gone through every one of your publications. What a sight. You’re the one violating copyright law.”
“ Stop!”
That was it.
Kang Hyun’s final card.
Not evidence of Professor Yoo Dong-hee’s complicity in crimes.
The opposite: analyzing every one of his publications and compiling all materials that could ensnare him in copyright violations.