Chapter 152
"The inevitable has come? So, you're saying that when you heard the news that the defendant had assaulted victim Go Yunseong, you thought, 'I knew it would happen'? Is that how I've interpreted your words correctly?"
"Yes."
"Then, could you explain in a bit more detail why you thought that?"
At Yang Hansuk's prompting, Shin Kyung-ho answered without a moment's hesitation.
"He said he wanted to kill Go Yunseong all the time. At first, I brushed it off—after all, no one in Korea works without badmouthing their boss. But as time went on, he kept saying it so often that I started thinking, 'Does he hate him that much?'"
"Could you give us an example of that resentment?"
"Well, once the defendant told me he had a site inspection scheduled with Go Yunseong next month on such-and-such date, and asked if I couldn't accidentally drop something heavy from the upper floors of the apartment when Go Yunseong walked by. And that was said on the very day the incident happened."
"I see. What was your feeling when you heard the defendant say that?"
"I was a bit worried something might actually go down that day."
"Any other instances where the defendant talked about harming Go Yunseong?"
"Hmm... When the defendant came to the site with Executive Director Go, he kept saying similar things. During a break, he even said it wasn't too late to go ask the lunch truck lady to spike Go Yunseong's food with bleach."
Oh Sanghyeon listened to Shin Kyung-ho's nonstop testimony, his face already flushing red with fury. If Kang Minjae hadn't kept shooting him glances to stay calm, it looked like he might've lunged at Shin Kyung-ho and grabbed him by the collar right then and there.
I focused on the text hovering above Shin Kyung-ho's head.
So it was true that Oh Sanghyeon had said those things. Of course, he probably never imagined they'd come back to bite him like this.
"So, witness, you're saying the defendant harbored significant resentment toward victim Go Yunseong—and even intent to harm him."
"Yes. And there's more. He once seriously asked me what I thought would happen if he punched Executive Director Go. When I said, 'What if he presses charges?', he seemed to have some detailed plan. He bragged that Go wouldn't sue an ordinary employee like him over something embarrassing like that, since it would tarnish the chaebol image. He'd thought it all through."
"So, witness, do you believe the assault at the construction site on the day of the incident was also carried out under the defendant's thorough planning?"
"Yes."
"Witness, you clearly wouldn't agree with the notion that an ordinary employee could assault an executive director."
"Yes. This incident proved it to me. I thought everyone in society worries about their future, but apparently some people just swing without thinking. Oh, and I had this thought too."
It seemed Shin Kyung-ho had never liked Oh Sanghyeon much to begin with. Even if he was paid to testify, his enthusiasm in tearing into Oh Sanghyeon felt too genuine to be mere acting.
It was a shame Oh Sanghyeon hadn't been more careful. He'd badmouthed too freely to someone who could easily turn the knife on him, boss or not.
"Before Executive Director Go could take legal action, the defendant approached the union saying he'd been assaulted and wanted to make an issue of it. I suspect he calculated that, with union backing, he could flip the whole thing onto Executive Director Go, whose public image isn't great. Of course, that's just my personal opinion."
"Respected jurors. As you see, the defendant is trying to evade his crime by exploiting his status as an ordinary employee and the victim's poor public image—turning the blame back on the victim."
Yang Hansuk glanced at the fury-filled Oh Sanghyeon, a faint smile playing at his lips. He looked like he was hoping Oh Sanghyeon would cause a scene in court. His expression seemed designed to provoke the already agitated defendant.
The pre-trial warning to Oh Sanghyeon not to act out had been effective so far. He was holding it together.
"Defense, any cross-examination?"
"Yes."
I stood, taking the mic Kang Minjae handed me.
"Witness, from what you've said, it sounds like the defendant basically confessed his crime plans to you. What do you think about that?"
"Crime plans? You could call it that. Of course, nothing he told me about actually happened..."
"He didn't commit the crimes exactly as he described to you, but it's as good as forewarning that he would commit crimes, right?"
"Yes."
Leading questions are allowed in cross-examination. Yang Hansuk looked uneasy at how readily Shin Kyung-ho agreed, his face hardening as he watched us.
"To forewarn someone of a crime like that implies a pretty close relationship. You couldn't confide in a stranger that you'd commit a crime—they might report you and put you at risk. What do you think, witness?"
"I agree. That's why I think he confided in me."
"According to you, you even suggested he call you 'hyung' first, showing fondness for the defendant. Yet you never once visited him in the hospital during his seven-week stay. Weren't you worried about him if you were that close?"
At that point, Yang Hansuk switched on his mic.
"Your Honor, objection. Counsel is asking irrelevant questions."
"It's to verify the witness's credibility."
"Overruled. Witness, answer the question."
Shin Kyung-ho glanced at the jurors. In situations where he wasn't sure how to respond, he'd probably been coached to check their reactions. But the eight jurors were pros at keeping neutral faces—neither nodding in agreement nor showing disagreement, just calmly observing.
His gaze flicked briefly to Yang Hansuk, then back to me.
"That was because I lost all fondness for the defendant after this incident. If it had been a real accident, I would've been the first to visit."
"So, because the defendant was clearly in the wrong, your feelings soured despite the over-the-top language?"
"Yes."
It was a pretty plausible excuse.
"Then, about a month before the assault, you were still close to the defendant without any falling out, right?"
"Yes."
"Yet why didn't you attend the defendant's mother's funeral?"
From the moment Shin Kyung-ho's name appeared in the witness list, we'd reviewed tons of material proving the relationship between Oh Sanghyeon and him. Especially Oh Sanghyeon's mother's funeral a month before the incident—the perfect evidence.
"Your name wasn't in the guestbook, and you didn't even send condolence money. Any special circumstances?"
Shin Kyung-ho rolled his eyes, scrambling for an excuse. He responded quickly enough, so his improv wasn't terrible.
"...I was having financial difficulties, so unfortunately I couldn't send condolence money."
"Then why didn't you go to the funeral home?"
"Th-that... I had something urgent going on."
"On August 5th, when the defendant's mother was laid to rest, you were drinking at a street food stall with coworker Kim Cheol-yong from the same site, from right after work until 2 a.m."
"......"
"And on August 6th, your day off, you didn't come to the site."
"I planned to go to the funeral on the 6th, but something urgent came up."
"I see. On August 7th, first thing at work, you showed Kim Cheol-yong photos of catching a massive sea bream while fishing with hometown buddies the day before. So that 'urgent matter' was fishing."
It wasn't perjury, but the 'liar' frame was now firmly on him. The jurors wouldn't take his testimony at face value.
"It raises doubts whether you and the defendant were really that close."
"......"
"If it was one-sided on your part, that's fine... but it seems the defendant didn't feel intimate enough to confide crime plans to you. That's all."
As cross-examination ended, Shin Kyung-ho slunk out like a defeated soldier. But we still hadn't solidly refuted the claim that Oh Sanghyeon had planned the crime.
I gestured to Kang Minjae to pull up the PPT on the beam projector.
"Jurors, please look at the screen. This is the result of a survey on office workers. 85% of respondents said they've harbored murderous intent toward their bosses at some point."
We'd preemptively challenged jurors who owned businesses. That meant over half were office workers.
I advanced the slide.
"32-year-old Kim: 'Every time I walk the sidewalk with my boss, I seriously consider shoving him into traffic.' 25-year-old Choi: 'Every morning when I clean the flowerpots by the window, I think about dropping one on my boss's head as he arrives.' 28-year-old Park: 'I've even looked up how much a hitman costs because I wanted to kill my boss.'"
Laughter rippled from the gallery as I read the examples.
"These are almost identical to what the defendant said to witness Shin Kyung-ho. Terrifying stuff, right? But luckily, none of the survey respondents actually acted on it. And none considered it a 'crime plan'."
I turned to the jurors.
"If the defendant's words were real crime plans, 85% of Korean office workers would be on trial for assault or murder. But we all know better. It's just talk—to vent the stress."
I wanted to ask Yang Hansuk if he'd ever vented to friends about wanting to punch Hwang Youngchan. He'd deny it, of course—but [False] would glow above his head.
"The defendant is the same. He didn't really mean to act on it. And his anger toward Go Yunseong is no different from what any office worker feels toward a boss. That's all."
Only after reviewing all the prosecution's evidence did it become the defense's turn.
"We call as witness Han Young-seon, who was a nurse in the VIP ward at former Seoul Wooshin Hospital, where victim Go Yunseong stayed for eight weeks."
The courtroom doors opened, and a tense-faced Han Young-seon stepped in. Seo Hyejin in the gallery watched her every move with worried eyes.
"Witness, you were the nurse on duty when victim Go Yunseong was admitted, correct?"
"Yes."
"He was diagnosed with an eight-week injury and hospitalized. The prosecution's photos of Go Yunseong looked horrific. Could you describe how he looked as you remember?"
At my question, Han Young-seon tilted her head oddly.
"You said the prosecution's photos of Go Yunseong were horrific?"
"Yes. Fractures everywhere, not a spot on his body without wounds—he must've struggled to even move."
"...Was his face even in those photos?"
"Witness, it's your turn to answer."
"I know. But what the lawyer's saying is just too absurd."
"Why do you think that?"
"Go Yunseong was perfectly fine from the first day of admission."