The Price of Treason

"Oh my god!" Professor Lee Ki-chang’s wife jumped up from the master bedroom, startled. She turned her head toward her husband in a panic. "Honey, what on earth is that noise? Why are the police here?"

"I, I don't know! No, wait..." Lee Ki-chang’s face turned deathly pale. "Could it be... because of what I wrote?"

His suspicion was correct. No, it wasn't just that. If he had simply written those articles based on his own genuine thoughts, there wouldn't have been a problem. However, Lee Ki-chang had accepted 'bribes'—'massive bribes'—to write anti-Korean columns. Furthermore, he had even provided consulting for anti-Korean articles. He had peddled everything from the claim that Korea was modernized through colonization, to the idea that the Joseon Dynasty’s factional strife was a waste of time incomparable to Japan’s, and even the absurd theory that Hangul was created by looking at paper window screens. He had even coordinated with others who, like him, had received bribes from Himura to write columns and quickly publish academic papers. After all, if other professors wrote papers on the same topics, they could gain 'objective credibility.'

Simultaneous with that shout, there was a loud 'BANG!', and the front door buckled and fell inward. Police officers swarmed inside. "Professor Lee Ki-chang, you are under arrest for bribery and sedition. You have the right to remain silent..."

At the officer's words, Lee Ki-chang wore a look of utter shock. "Se, sedition? And bri, bribery? I have never done such a thing..."

"Never done such a thing?! Then what is that?!" The officer shouted, veins bulging in his neck. He pointed a finger at the gold orb held in the hands of Lee Ki-chang’s wife.

"Confiscate it and arrest him!"

"No, no! I bought that myself..."

"Save the details for the police station!"

While the police and Lee Ki-chang were arguing, an ANSP agent was recording the entire scene with a video camera. Legally, there was plenty of room for controversy if the ANSP did the work of the police. But helping out was a different story. Therefore, the agent was quickly recording everything that could be useful in the subsequent public opinion war. In the Republic of Korea, no one could match the ANSP when it came to propaganda. The moment the agent saw the gold orb, he could barely contain his joy.

Nearly ten headlines popped into the agent's head immediately. "That won't be the end of it. Search the whole house."

Since a search and seizure warrant had been issued, the police began tearing the house apart. Then, bundles of 10,000-yen notes poured out of the wardrobe. "Wow, you really became a faithful slave to money, didn't you?"

It was clearly a sum well over several million yen. In 2010s terms, Lee Ki-chang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had accepted hundreds of millions of won in bribes in a short period. Plus, the gold orb. If this was just the beginning, Lee Ki-chang could have embezzled an astronomical amount in the long run. However, Lee Ki-chang’s dream of becoming immensely wealthy through anti-Korean sentiment was shattered into pieces. Choi Deok-bae watched Lee Ki-chang being dragged away like a dog with a seething expression. There were so many traitors who had sold out their country that Choi Deok-bae had to visit many places today.

"Those ill-mannered bastards. Spreading dirty money in Korea?"

In the Blue House office, YS was fuming, slamming his fist onto the table. "Can we take this as them going completely off the rails?"

At N's question, YS nodded. "Isn't that obvious? How many people in this world dislike money? If Japan, which has overwhelmingly more money than us, sprays dirty money like this, there is no way for us to stop it."

"No, we stopped it."

At N's words, YS thought for a brief moment and nodded. "Ah, that's right. We did stop it. Truly, I have no choice but to be amazed by Chairman Choi Yoon-gi’s intelligence-gathering capabilities. Did he receive help from the U.S. military?"

"That is unknown. To be honest, that bottomless intelligence-gathering ability is truly terrifying. Looking at the reports coming in now, there hasn't been a single miss."

The filming conducted by the ANSP agent. This was something that should never be done without certainty that the target was a criminal. Because it had a high potential to lead to massive human rights violations. However, not a single traitor pointed out by Yoon-gi had been wrongly accused. Gold orbs and various jewels found in their homes, along with bundles of yen. Thanks to this, newspapers and TV stations under the influence of MEV were broadcasting scoops day after day. However, the newspapers had slightly different headlines than the broadcasters.

Since Himura ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't yet made contact with the broadcasting side, the broadcasters wrote headlines that felt like watching a fire from across the river, while the newspapers attacked the bribed newspapers head-on. If the newspapers involved in bribery collapsed this time, the remaining newspapers would take their share of the pie. That was why they were trying to root them out entirely. And in reality, they deserved to go bankrupt. They didn't justifiably criticize Korea's faults; they took bribes and spread false information as if it were the truth, disrupting the order of the Republic of Korea.

"To be honest, there are quite a few people in politics who have close ties to Japan. But that was limited to politicians, and specifically those with power."

With N currently serving as president, there were almost no former pro-Japanese traitors left in the executive branch. Because as N's new government launched, they naturally lost their positions. However, there were still quite a few pro-Japanese traitors left in the National Assembly. Because the new general election hadn't taken place yet. In original history, the 13th National Assembly election was held on April 26, 1988, but in N's government, because the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goal was to purge the past regime, the general election was scheduled for the first half of 1989, as originally planned.

"Now that we, who have the power, are not engaging in pro-Japanese treasonous acts, shouldn't it be fine? The general election is next year, so by next year, there will be almost no pro-Japanese traitors left in the political world."

At N's words, YS nodded. "Yes, that's why those Japanese bastards seem to have shaken the education sector instead of the political side. Ill-mannered bastards, we must fix their habits firmly this time."

"I think the same. Then, how should we fix their habits?"

At N's question, YS said with a look that asked if he was asking the obvious. "Yoon-gi must have an idea."

Before he knew it, YS had also become a fan of Yoon-gi, just like N.

"Ah, that's very simple."

At Yoon-gi's words, both N and YS asked, brightening up. "Okay, what is the method?"

"You'll tell us that simple method, right?"

Yoon-gi nodded. "We just need to change our country's punishment system."

"Change the punishment system?"

"Yes, our country uses the 'Aggravation Principle', right?"

The Republic of Korea's criminal law adopts the 'Aggravation Principle'. For example, if one commits multiple crimes, including a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, the court can sentence up to 15 years. That is why people say that when a criminal commits multiple crimes such as murder, rape, theft, and robbery, the Korean court only punishes the murder charge.

"Ah, that's right."

At YS's response, Yoon-gi spoke again. "Let's change that to the 'Cumulative Principle'."

"Ho-ho..."

In the United States, it is very common for a murderer who has committed 10 murders to be sentenced to hundreds of years in prison. This is because the 'Cumulative Principle' is adopted. However, because Korea uses the Aggravation Principle, there are many cases where even if someone commits 10 murders, they receive a sentence only slightly larger than if they had committed one.

"If we adopt the Cumulative Principle, we can give massive sentences to those who took bribes and acted like dogs this time. So, we just need to change it to the Cumulative Principle quickly before their formal trials are adopted."

"But if we adopt the Cumulative Principle, won't we run out of prison space?"

"I'll solve that soon. So, please change it to the Cumulative Principle."

Yoon-gi was a person who had lived his life hearing the term 'Hell Joseon' during his days as a laborer. Therefore, if possible, he wanted to change the Aggravation Principle to the Cumulative Principle. Of course, the Cumulative Principle is not without its disadvantages. But he couldn't let criminals run wild because he was afraid of those disadvantages. Therefore, Yoon-gi pushed strongly to change the Aggravation Principle to the Cumulative Principle.

"Your Excellency, what will you do?"

At YS's question, N nodded. "Yoon-gi once told me something before. He said he would ask for five bills."

Yoon-gi nodded. "That's right."

"But, I don't think I need to worry about just five. Somehow, the code for changing the bills seems to match mine."

As N also agreed, the revision of the criminal law began to take place at near-light speed.

National Assembly members following N, those following YS, and those following DJ. If you add them all up, it's over 90 percent of the National Assembly. Therefore, the revision of the criminal law was proceeding smoothly, too smoothly. In fact, considering the timing, such a revision of the law would usually require watching the citizens' reactions. But the citizens supported this revision of the criminal law more than anyone else.

Starting with the destruction of the Japanese Government-General building, the will to correct history was already burning brightly, and then the manipulation by Japan was revealed. Furthermore, the bribes received by professors and newspapers were clearly recorded by ANSP agents. Thanks to that, the public actively supported this revision of the criminal law. Because of that, things like colonial modernization theory disappeared from the newspapers entirely. It was truly a pleasant newspaper environment. However, there were still many things left to remove in the Republic of Korea. Two names could be counted on two fingers immediately. Those were Himura and Tanaka.

As the situation turned ominous, Himura and Tanaka tried to cross back into Japan through Yakuza routes.

"Damn it! As expected, those incompetent Joseon people. Can't they even do what they're told?"

At Himura’s outburst, Tanaka was just trembling beside him. "This is not the end. I will definitely plunge Korea into chaos. We didn't even get to use the money we had properly this time."

Himura planned to mobilize the Yakuza to distribute white powder in Korea on a large scale at a super-low price, and stared at the sea in the direction of Japan. However.

Screeeech- Screech-!

Suddenly, a siren-like sound rang out on the sea, and a searchlight shone brightly on the ship Himura was on.

Clearly audible Korean. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Korean Coast Guard had found Himura’s smuggling ship. "Turn the ship around!" the captain of the smuggling ship shouted. However, the smuggling ship suddenly lost power and stopped in its tracks.

Choi Deok-bae was petting his pet, 'Kkeobeongi'. At the same time, Choi Deok-bae was glaring at Himura with a truly murderous expression. It was a complete roundup. However, there were two challenges to punishing the traitors, including Himura. Not only had the bill related to the Cumulative Principle not yet been passed, but even if it were passed, the 'Great Debate' that would break out among legal scholars remained. Yoon-gi knew well that unless this great debate was resolved, Himura and the traitors could not be properly punished.