Chapter 225
Lee Jeongchan's side still hadn't issued any response. They were probably racking their brains right now, trying to cook up some plausible story.
His thirty-plus years in politics had been anything but smooth sailing, yet he'd never lost an election. A rare seven-term assemblyman in Korea, he'd enjoyed the party leadership's favor even from his first term. He must have harbored some youthful dreams as a politician once upon a time. But when had he veered onto the path of corruption?
Watching his petty attempts to scrape by with lame excuses and lies, it was hard not to wonder if even a guy like him had once shone brightly.
"The prosecutors have solid evidence on the documents you leaked. They found a ticket booked for Germany. Incheon to Munich, then—"
"To Cologne, right?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"There's a spinal cord specialist hospital in Cologne. The head of neurosurgery at Myeongun University Hospital went there on a business trip."
"So they planned to pass it off as surgery there?"
"Probably. I looked into it, and there's a Korean doctor at that Cologne hospital. I suspect they cut a deal with him."
This was confirmed just recently via email to the Cologne spinal hospital. Not a Korean expat, but a Myeongun University Medical School grad who'd studied at Johns Hopkins before getting an offer from Cologne. By the graduation year, he seemed to be the department head's senior or junior. Not a high rank, but faking documents wouldn't be hard. They couldn't disclose individual patient records, so it wasn't ironclad, but I had a hunch that the hospital where Lee Se-hyung had his "surgery" years ago was exactly that one. Korea didn't have the tech back then anyway. With an old surgical history on record, they could've just tweaked the date and lead surgeon on the paperwork. If reporters emailed the hospital to verify, the Korean doctor there would confirm it as fact. Neat and tidy.
"If you need it, I can share what I have. I know the name and background of the doctor the Myeongun neurosurgery head likely dealt with."
"Nah. Central District Prosecutors' Office has jurisdiction now anyway. Not my place as Western District Chief to step in. Why not drop it on your broadcast instead?"
The current plan was to let the investigation unfold until the Myeonghwa Pharma case blew open, then promote Park Younggi—who was leading that probe—from Western Chief to Central Chief, handing him both the Lee Jeongchan and Myeonghwa cases in one go. Meaning, even if he held onto this info now, he could deploy it later after his transfer. And yet here he was, handing it over to me. That brief moment I'd mistaken his ambitions for self-interest? Utterly embarrassing.
"From where I'm standing, leaking your intel to the prosecutors would be less effective than blasting it on your show. The info gap between them and your broadcast is massive. Trust levels too."
Park Younggi showed me the editorial page from today's morning paper—not one of the big three, but a centrist outlet.
I'd read it this morning, so no need to revisit, but one line jumped out again. In a situation where the ruling party leader was under prosecution scrutiny, how could anyone trust the prosecutors not to go easy? Not just the editorial—public skepticism toward the prosecution was already rife. Lee Se-hyung had faked being disabled for so long; impossible that no one around him had noticed. I agreed. Likely, those close to him had known but kept quiet out of fear or greed for scraps from his table. Even if the president himself called for investigating the Lee father-son duo, the ruling party was still the ruling party.
"It's not confirmed—just speculation. All we verified was a Korean Myeongun alum at that hospital. Not our lane to investigate."
"So what's the play?"
"Drop it when you get promoted, Chief."
"Hah, you sure it's okay handing this to me?"
"A small outfit like ours can't touch it anyway. It'll unravel like a sweet potato vine."
"Really? Makes me wonder if I should even accept the handoff."
"You're helping us out—gotta return the favor."
"Music to my ears. But the real priority's Myeonghwa Pharma, right? Time to gear up."
"Not yet."
"Not yet? Then?"
"Lee Jeongchan held the most solid chunk of Protestant votes among religious blocs. Even now, some supporters are calling him pitiful... Minwoo Party base splintered after Kang Jong-myeong's statement, so next up: scatter the Protestants. Myeonghwa hits after we crack the concrete."
"Got a method?"
I crossed my arms. Redirecting Christian votes to another candidate was one way, but the Freedom and Justice Party frontrunner was Buddhist, from what I'd heard. If even I knew that casually, Christians sure did—no dice. Even if the FJP candidate were Christian, Lee Jeongchan's bloc wouldn't all flock there anyway. Not every Christian votes by faith; his share was just a slice of the Protestant pie. But that slice formed the concrete, evangelizing like it was building God's kingdom on earth. Problematic.
"Start digging into the Light and Salt Foundation. High chance it's deeply entangled with Lee Jeongchan."
"Figures. He donates billions yearly, parks his kid there, sycophants pile in to curry favor. No way it's clean."
"Once the collusion scandal erupts, Christians will rage. They built it as Korea's premier disabled welfare foundation—great image—only for these guys to make all of Protestantism look like a den of corruption."
"Who should handle that?"
"Lee Se-hwa and the broadcast team. Ease in: Did the foundation know Lee Se-hyung wasn't disabled? Expand slowly to check if it was Lee Jeongchan's money laundry."
And reclaim my wasted 500 million donation, too.
"Alright, folks. Today the prosecution dropped a bombshell. The Light and Salt Foundation—known as Lee Se-hyung's workplace, Korea's true Jerusalem of disabled welfare! Wait, Protestant foundation, so not Mecca. Anyway—turns out it was Lee Jeongchan's money laundering front. Shocking stuff."
I'd tipped off Park Younggi, who passed it straight to Lee Se-hwa. True to rumors, once she decided, she charged ahead without looking back. She leaked hints to the press to dig into Light and Salt, issued a Freedom and Justice Party statement urging investigation. Convinced Lee Jeongchan was done for, media swarmed the foundation as directed. Clips of reporters chasing staff about Lee Se-hyung aired on every channel.
Pulled along like a tow truck, the prosecution finally raided Light and Salt. They uncovered the ledgers showing how foundation funds flowed into Lee Jeongchan's political coffers.
"The funniest part? Light and Salt was the first to cut ties. Quick peek at an interview with its head, Pastor Lee Kang-jin."
"Utterly shameless. Why? Minwoo Party initially claimed Lee Se-hyung had surgery last month. That means no work records at Light and Salt. But with attendance logs intact, why announce surgery then?"
"Anticipating media checks, they wiped the attendance logs. Who do you need to talk to for that?"
"Yep. Pastor Lee Kang-jin, obviously. So up to that point, he and Lee Kang-jin were in cahoots. 'Ride out the crisis, keep sucking the cash, high five later.' But the moment we dropped the infrared cam footage, Lee Kang-jin panics: 'This is bad. We're sunk. Can't go down with Lee Jeongchan.' Cue the frantic interview. Fucking hilarious, right?"
"Light and Salt? Korea's Jerusalem of disabled welfare. And they turned it into a politician's slush fund laundry. Under the Protestant banner, no less. Christians, aren't you pissed? My mom's a churchgoer—donated to Light and Salt once. She's bedridden with rage now."
(For the record, Choi Jonghyeon's mom goes to Catholic mass. Only "donation" in her life: selling his class ring during the IMF gold drive.)
"I almost became Christian once—kids dragged me to church for candy from a sister. Mom said no after twice. So I'm this close. Even I'm mad. Light and Salt shit on Protestantism's face in Korea. And Lee Jeongchan—er, Elder Lee. Didn't you just vow to spread the Gospel here? This it?"
"In their words: Received Jesus's grace, healed the lame son, then repaid with enmity."
Today's broadcast goal: Shatter Lee Jeongchan's Protestant concrete. Foundation as slush fund hit the airwaves; viewers might not know yet. But with reporters churning articles off this, swaying opinion wouldn't be hard.
A few days later.
"Lawyer, every group's blowing up."
The bite finally came. Major Protestant orgs demanded Pastor Lee Kang-jin's excommunication, statements blasting the Lees for profiting off God's name and deceiving the public. Disability groups rose up too. Donor protests demanded refunds from Light and Salt. The nation condemned the Lee duo.
With no statement yet, hordes demanding answers and reporters clogged the street to his house. Nearby residents complained about the blockade.
In scandals like this, swift response kills controversy. With prosecution summons looming, what would Lee Jeongchan do now?