The Kim & Jung Project
The fervent followers (Esquires) finally saw the end of Yoo Jae-won's deliberation three days later. He had not spent those days idle; he had thrown himself into company work and software development with his usual intensity. At the same time, following Chairman Jeon Myeong-heon's advice, he had begun preparing applications for Ivy League schools. Since the deadlines were not until the end of January, there was no need to rush.
In the meantime, Vincent Greenhill, acting on Yoo Jae-won's instructions, had begun pouring massive investments into futures and options tied to the Nikkei index. The sheer scale of the put positions was so aggressive that some Japanese securities firms and investors were openly muttering that it was excessive. ID Investment paid no heed. It released reports projecting a bleak outlook for the Japanese economy and steadily expanded its put positions day by day.
Few investors in the stock market welcome bets on a decline. After all, stock investing is fundamentally about buying shares. Who would applaud someone wagering that prices were about to crash? Most investment firms were simply watching ID Investment's moves from the sidelines. A few, however, had begun taking small put positions of their own.
After reviewing ID Investment's positions and the Nikkei's movements, Yoo Jae-won closed all his programs and opened the IDW file titled "Kim & Jung Project." It contained the results of three days of intense thought regarding the purge of judges and prosecutors in Korea.
"This should do it."
The document was straightforward. It outlined a plan to transform Prosecutor Jung Byung-woo and Judge Kim Chang-wan into icons of justice while ensuring they could live in comfort. Both men had passed the judicial examination, so they could open their own law practices upon resignation. For the first year they could rely on the prestige of their former positions, but after that they would face a harsh reality. Having been blacklisted by the chaebols, they would never be entrusted with major cases. They would be reduced to handling minor civil matters with correspondingly meager income. Any hope of running for the National Assembly, the most coveted post-retirement path for former judges and prosecutors, would vanish.
Yoo Jae-won intended to reverse their fortunes completely. Instead of serving as cautionary examples of what happened to those who crossed the chaebols, he would make them figures that every judge and prosecutor aspired to become.
He immediately launched ID Talk and clicked the name at the very top of his favorites list: Chief of Staff Choi Kang-wook. The connection opened at once.
"Yes, Chairman!"
"I'll send you a file. Read it first."
Yoo Jae-won used the file-transfer function to send the IDW file containing the Kim & Jung Project. At only 30KB, it took mere seconds.
"I've finished reading it."
It had taken Choi Kang-wook roughly a minute. The document ran to ten A4 pages; an ordinary person could not have read it so quickly. As a former lawyer, however, Choi possessed a trained eye for documents, so Yoo Jae-won did not press him to reread it.
"You intend to turn Judge Kim and Prosecutor Jung into idols rather than warnings. As expected of you, Chairman."
Choi Kang-wook had cut straight to the heart of the matter. The chaebols' message had been clear: cooperate, or end up like Kim Chang-wan and Jung Byung-woo. Conversely, cooperation would bring powerful sponsorship and a life of luxury. Yoo Jae-won planned to flip that equation. Those who delivered just rulings would be protected even after being purged.
"Kim & Jung Law Firm. That will be the organization carrying out the plan. ID Group will provide full support. It will begin as a law office under the ID Foundation, since the Attorney-at-Law Act that would permit the establishment of a full law firm has not yet been enacted. Still, the structure is already standard in advanced countries, so Choi Kang-wook understood it well."
"For now, it would be best to place them under the ID Foundation. Chief of Staff, please go and recruit them personally."
"Understood. What level of compensation are we offering?"
"An annual salary of 200 million won for Judge Kim and 150 million won for Prosecutor Jung."
Choi Kang-wook drew a sharp breath. In 1991, those figures were enormous—roughly equivalent to a 1-billion-won salary in the early twenty-first century when adjusted for inflation. Yet there was more to consider. Both men were former judges and prosecutors. The influence of such "former officials" was formidable; until their prestige faded, they could expect a win rate above 90 percent in any case lacking overwhelming evidence against their client.
"If they are to become icons of justice for the judiciary, they must receive treatment worthy of the role."
Salary was only the beginning. Yoo Jae-won intended to provide cars with drivers, lavish offices, generous allowances for maintaining appearances, and ample entertainment expenses.
"Is all that truly necessary? Their reputations within the judiciary are not as spotless as you seem to believe, Chairman."
"It is necessary."
Their political leanings and past conduct mattered little. Yoo Jae-won had only one reason for elevating them: to demonstrate that those who upheld the law and principles without fear of the chaebols would be shielded. The message would be unmistakable. Just as he had protected Kim Chang-wan and Jung Byung-woo after the Busan Group case, he would stand behind any judge or prosecutor who refused to bend.
"Have we ever broken the law in our business dealings?"
"No, we have not."
"And when we pay taxes, we do so transparently. We do not steal a single won from what we owe. This year the overall tax burden will be lower because the markets were calmer than last year, yet ID Technology and its subsidiaries continue to grow steadily. Every won of profit will be declared and taxed. That is why I could speak plainly even before President Roh, and why he listened."
"By contrast, what of other companies?"
Choi Kang-wook gave a dry chuckle. "It is too filthy to put into words."
"Exactly. Those are all violations. Every time the prosecution catches such offenses and the courts impose penalties, our own competitiveness increases. Even if we spend hundreds of billions operating the law firm, every major victory we secure becomes our gain. At the same time, our society becomes healthier than before."
A collision between Ilsung Group and the Korean judiciary was already inevitable. Chairman Choi Hyun-hee had not yet fully resolved the succession issue, and his age was advancing. For a third-generation succession, he would need to solve problems far more difficult than those he had faced himself. Legal battles were therefore unavoidable. In his previous life, Ilsung had won every single one. This time would be different.
"I understand."
"That is why we must save those two men who were purged."
"Yes. I will see it done. They will regard you as their savior for extending a hand in their hour of need."
"And I have no intention of letting them sit idle. There are surely many others within the prosecution and the Supreme Court who continue to fight alone with integrity. Through these two, we will support them as well."
In his previous life, money from Ilsung had been considered safe. No demands had accompanied the payments. But once the third-generation succession began, the judiciary had been forced to repay every favor it had received. ID Group and Yoo Jae-won were different. His interests aligned with just rulings rendered according to law and principle. That alignment also satisfied ordinary morality, leaving no room for guilt. It was ID Group's unique advantage, and he intended to wield it more thoroughly than Ilsung ever had.
"By the way, I saw an article recently about the comfort women beginning protest rallies in front of the Japanese embassy."
"Yes, I passed them while driving."
"We already knew the Japanese military was capable of atrocities, but I never imagined they would operate comfort stations as well. Even if those women step forward, will the Japanese government so much as blink? We must file lawsuits against Japanese companies operating in Korea, force them to acknowledge the exploitation, and obtain compensation. That will be the first mission of Kim & Jung Law Firm. There are countless others in our society who have suffered harm because they lacked legal support. We will help them too."
Choi Kang-wook's voice held genuine admiration. "So that is why you placed Kim & Jung Law Firm under the ID Foundation."
ID Group already possessed a formidable in-house legal team. For truly massive cases such as the Microsoft litigation, they could always retain outside counsel. That was why Choi Kang-wook had initially viewed the Kim & Jung Project as a waste of money. Now that he understood the larger design, he could only marvel.
"The most important point is that recruiting lawyers does not end with a single hire. If anyone else is purged for delivering a just ruling, we will bring them into Kim & Jung as well."
"Understood. Then I will begin by meeting Judge Kim Chang-wan."
Having grasped the full intent of the project, Choi Kang-wook's tone had become decisively proactive. After exchanging brief words of encouragement, Yoo Jae-won ended the call, encrypted the Kim & Jung Project file, and moved it into the secure documents directory.
"Now it's Chairman Choi's turn."
Once Kim Chang-wan and Jung Byung-woo began operating Kim & Jung Law Firm under his protection, a reaction from the other side was certain. Watching whatever countermeasures they attempted would be entertaining. He hoped they would be creative and thorough. There was nothing quite as thrilling as dismantling an elaborate scheme someone else had painstakingly prepared.