Grabbing the Congressman by the Collar (1)
Before the trial began, quite a crowd had filed into the courtroom. Though it was an open trial and anyone could attend, the unusually large turnout left Jin Yong-hwa looking puzzled. The nearly ten spectators were people I had summoned. Among them, Jin Yong-hwa would recognize only Prosecutor Park Geun-beom, but the rest were my secret weapons, poised to inflict critical damage on him. They were reporters who would meticulously document how I stripped Jin Yong-hwa down to the bone today, exposing just how incompetent a prosecutor he truly was. That critical damage would naturally rebound as a cushion straight into the lap of Assemblyman Jin Myeong-deok, who was already fretting over the upcoming general election.
While I exchanged a nod with the familiar face of Reporter Yu Ju-yeon among the journalists I had invited, Jin Yong-hwa—who knew nothing of the others’ identities—locked eyes with Prosecutor Park Geun-beom in a silent standoff. To him, only the junior prosecutor daring to challenge him seemed worth noticing; he paid no attention whatsoever to the reporters who had slipped in under false pretenses.
On my way to court today, a fleeting worry had crossed my mind. What if Jin Yong-hwa, intimidated by the sudden influx of spectators, declared the charges dropped the moment the trial started and fled? But that shortsighted fool was fixated solely on Prosecutor Park Geun-beom and blind to everything else. My plan would proceed without a hitch.
Shortly afterward, the judge entered, and the trial commenced. Jin Yong-hwa stated the facts of the indictment and moved for sentencing.
“I request that the defendant be sentenced to four years in prison.”
Seok Dong-hoon, seated beside me in the defendant’s box, looked startled by the unexpectedly heavy sentence, but there was no cause for concern. The minimum sentence a prosecutor could seek when charging someone with criminal organization formation was four years. In other words, Jin Yong-hwa himself was so rattled that he had requested the absolute minimum. Besides, a prosecutor’s sentencing recommendation carried no real weight; the judge alone determined the punishment, and the recommendation was merely an opinion. In Seok Dong-hoon’s case, the recommendation was utterly meaningless anyway, since an acquittal was certain regardless of what the prosecutor asked for.
Once Jin Yong-hwa returned to his seat, the judge’s gaze turned to me.
“Defense counsel, your rebuttal.”
Now it was my turn. Time to carve him up properly.
* * *
Rising from the defense table, I strode over to the prosecution’s table and thrust the indictment Jin Yong-hwa had drafted right in front of him.
“The indictment alone fails to establish the charge of criminal organization formation. Let us examine the conversation between Ko Jung-gu and the defendant that the prosecution has presented as key evidence. Ko Jung-gu: ‘I’ve got an interesting job. Pretty big scale.’ Seok Dong-hoon: ‘What is it?’ Ko Jung-gu: ‘JB Group wants someone kidnapped. Not killed—just brought to them and made to kneel. Interested?’ Seok Dong-hoon: ‘Doesn’t sound difficult. What’s the pay?’ Ko Jung-gu: ‘Details once you agree to work together.’ Seok Dong-hoon: ‘I’ll think about it. I’ll ask the others too.’ The prosecution claims this conversation proves that Ko Jung-gu, the defendant Seok Dong-hoon present here, and several unidentified individuals formed a criminal organization. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“According to Supreme Court precedent, for criminal organization formation to be established, the group must be maintained over a long period with a clear internal chain of command. Yet the context of this conversation shows that the criminal discussion between Ko Jung-gu and the defendant was merely temporary, and there is clearly no chain of command with the unidentified individuals referred to as ‘the others.’”
Jin Yong-hwa slammed both palms on the prosecution table and shot to his feet. “Objection! It is clear the defendant conspired to commit a crime. Though the structure may be loose, it is not difficult to infer that similar conspiracies were repeatedly formed. Existing precedent states—”
Before he could launch into a tedious legal explanation, I cut him off.
“Just because the defendant discussed a crime does not mean the purpose of that discussion was to conspire to commit one, does it?”
“Wh-what are you—?”
“As noted in the indictment, the defendant once operated in the underworld. After serving his sentence and being released from prison, he has used the connections he formed at the time to obtain information and assist potential crime victims. I submit video evidence of this on this USB.”
The judge accepted the USB with evident interest. “This evidence was not pre-filed. Still, if it shows how the defendant uses crime-related information, let us view it together. I will decide on its admissibility afterward.”
The screen set up in the courtroom soon played footage of the incident I had experienced several weeks earlier inside the abandoned building where redevelopment had stalled.
“As you can see, the mosaic-blurred assailants threatening this person are none other than threatening me. Because my client, Seok Dong-hoon, tipped me off about this criminal plot in advance, I was able to take preemptive action and escape the crisis.”
The video ended with me safely exiting the building. Jin Yong-hwa, who had been watching with trembling hands, now slammed the table so hard it echoed and leapt up again.
“Objection! This material is unrelated to the present case.”
Before I could respond, the judge spoke first. “No. This material demonstrates that the defendant’s purpose in discussing crime may not have been to conspire. It is admitted as evidence.”
A quiet chuckle escaped me. That was essentially an acquittal. Even Seok Dong-hoon, who had some experience with criminal trials, seemed to grasp the situation and wore a faint smile from the defendant’s box. Still, stopping here would be a waste. I returned briefly to the defense table, retrieved another document, and stepped forward again.
“Prosecutor Jin Yong-hwa has previously subjected an innocent company to undue hardship through overzealous investigation. Do you recall the false accusation case involving QS Display’s alleged illegal wastewater discharge?”
Jin Yong-hwa’s face flushed crimson with rage. “That incident is completely unrelated to this case and occurred decades ago!”
I held up the non-indictment notice that the former president of QS Display had received and that had been kept at the Central District Prosecutors’ Office. This time, instead of approaching the judge, I turned toward the spectators.
“This is the non-indictment notice QS Display ultimately received after suffering under Prosecutor Jin Yong-hwa’s coercive investigation. Considering this, it is reasonable to suspect that in the present case as well, Prosecutor Jin Yong-hwa pursued an overzealous indictment blinded by the desire for results.”
The judge called out in a low voice. “Defense counsel, this courtroom exists to determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence, not to discuss the prosecutor’s character. Return to your seat.”
Despite the judge’s words, I took another step toward the spectators and held the notice up so the reporters could clearly see it. They immediately pulled out notebooks and pens, furiously jotting down material for articles that would skewer Jin Yong-hwa. Seeing this, Jin Yong-hwa cried out desperately to the judge.
“Your Honor!”
“Defense counsel!”
Once the reporters appeared to have gathered enough, I turned back and bowed my head to the judge. “My apologies. I will be more careful.”
“Very well. Take your seat.”
My earlier remarks had been intended for the reporters, not the judge, and a warning issued to defense counsel in court had no bearing on the outcome. Instead of sitting down as requested, I produced the final card that would deliver the finishing blow to Jin Yong-hwa.
“I call a witness who will clarify just how unreasonable this indictment was. Prosecutor Park Geun-beom?”
Park Geun-beom, seated among the spectators, sprang to his feet. “Yes. I am Prosecutor Park Geun-beom of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, who was in charge of investigating this case.”
“Since this witness was pre-notified, I assume the prosecution has no objection.”
Cornered by my remark, Jin Yong-hwa could only mutter incoherently under his breath. After taking the witness stand and completing the oath, Prosecutor Park Geun-beom gave a concise explanation of why criminal organization formation could not be established in this case.
“Therefore, as the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, I suggested we continue the investigation until we obtained solid evidence before indicting. I am not siding with the defendant. I am merely revealing how unreasonably Chief Prosecutor Jin Yong-hwa pushed this indictment forward.”
Jin Yong-hwa finally spat out the words he had been muttering. “The witness, as a junior prosecutor, appears to harbor personal resentment after receiving a severe reprimand from me recently. His testimony therefore lacks credibility, and I request that it be rejected.”
In that instant, a rare smile spread across Prosecutor Park Geun-beom’s face. “A reprimand? Oh, I received one all right. From a prosecutor who never even passed the bar exam and has no judicial training institute class year. Is it a crime to graduate from law school with honors and pass the bar exam to become a prosecutor? You need to have passed the bar exam in the first place before you can talk about passing or failing it. And seeing how someone who supposedly passed the bar exam and holds a high training institute class year failed to even understand the elements of criminal organization formation and caused this mess, I’d say I’m the better prosecutor.”
Laughter was contagious. At Prosecutor Park Geun-beom’s cathartic retort, not only Seok Dong-hoon in the defendant’s box but also the reporters in the gallery began to chuckle. A quick glance showed even the judge struggling to suppress a smile, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Flash! Flash! Camera flashes erupted from the spectators’ seats. It was Reporter Yu Ju-yeon of Geoseong Ilbo, as we had arranged. The lens of her cannon-like camera was aimed squarely at Jin Yong-hwa’s face twisted in disgust. Though she was forcibly removed from the courtroom at Jin Yong-hwa’s request, the remaining reporters continued scribbling furiously.
* * *
After that, Jin Yong-hwa fell completely silent, and the hearing concluded with the setting of a sentencing date. When I stepped out of the courtroom, not only the spectators but also additional reporters who had rushed over after receiving the news swarmed around me. One journalist thrust a microphone so close it nearly touched my lips.
“The verdict has not yet been delivered. What is your assessment of the trial so far?”
“It will be an acquittal. The judge simply needs time to draft the written judgment, which is why there is a short interval between the final hearing and the sentencing date.”
“Then the prosecution’s indictment was indeed excessive?”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Then came the exact question I had been waiting for.
“A prosecutor should know the law. Why would he do something like this? Do you believe there is any connection to the upcoming general election? I heard Assemblyman Jin Myeong-deok may have a difficult time getting re-elected this time.”
Jin Yong-hwa had already been reduced to a rag and discarded. The target had now shifted to his father, Jin Myeong-deok.