The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 64



Only Noblemtl

He opened the door to the courtroom, passing through the reporters.

The courtroom door opened with a rather plausible sound, as heavy as the air.

* * *

The judge was a woman in her fifties with sharp, shining eyes behind black-rimmed glasses.

He looked much more mature than he did in his profile picture.

‘Judge Kim In-sook. Rumors are going around that she is a candidate for Supreme Court Justice because of her calm and strong judgment in conducting trials.’

She checked this and that in a calm voice. Then she asked me about my opinion on the indictment.

His expression did not change as he looked at the list of evidence and the enormous pile of documents.

“Prosecutor Kang Ji-hyeok. I will begin the trial by presenting the indictment opinion for this case.”

I greeted them politely and expressed my opinion on the prosecution of the case.

“This case is a murder case in which the defendant Choi Jin-cheol deliberately pushed the victim Ha Su-yeon down the stairs of Gunja Station, causing her death. In addition, we plan to proceed with the trial of In Ja-geon, the CEO of Gunja Human Resources Office, and Heo Jun-seo, the director of Sae Saeng Myung Hospital, as accomplices for forming a criminal organization and premeditated murder.”

Judge Kim In-sook nodded calmly.

“All right.”

She confirmed the defendants’ names, dates of birth, and addresses.

“Okay, then let’s begin the trial.”

At the time of the incident, it was considered an attempted murder rather than a fatality, but the victim’s death last night garnered a great deal of public attention.

The gallery was filled with reporters and members of the public.

There were quite a few people who had to turn back because there wasn’t even enough space to stand.

“There are three defendants in this case. There are two defense attorneys, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

There were two lawyers on the opposing side.

Both were from Kim & Joe Law Firm, one was the familiar attorney Kim Ji-ho, and the other was attorney Choi Ha-jin, who had previously worked at Younggwang Construction’s legal team.

When Yeonggwang Construction completely collapsed, I left the legal team and joined Kim & Joe Law Firm, where I worked in corporate affairs.

‘It would be hard for a dog to stop eating shit, right? Once he gets a taste of shit, it’s the best······.’

I looked at Kim Ji-ho and Choi Ha-jin with pitiful eyes.

Choi Ha-jin cut her hair short, perhaps because she had a change of heart.

During the Yeonggwang Construction days, he was able to win trials easily thanks to preferential treatment as a former senior prosecutor, but the brakes were put on because of me.

‘I guess I’ll have to fight two people who are personally very emotional? Okay. I’d rather be on that side.’

I squinted my eyes slightly as I looked at Choi Ha-jin.

As if he didn’t even want to look at it.

Although Choi Ha-jin is older, the lead attorney for this case was Kim Ji-ho.

“Your Honor. We, the defendant, admit that this was an accidental accident caused by Choi Jin-cheol, who was unable to control his grief after breaking up with his girlfriend.”

Kim Ji-ho appeared not as a trial to determine guilt or innocence, but as a tactic to reduce the sentence.

As expected, everyone in the courtroom sat there with their mouths slightly open in concentration.

This is because admitting one’s own guilt is not common in criminal trials.

“So, does the defendant admit to murder?”

The judge calmly asked Kim Ji-ho.

Kim Ji-ho looked at Choi Jin-cheol for a moment, then looked straight ahead again and spoke.

“However, Mr. Choi Jin-cheol met her by chance while she was mentally weak, confronted her in anger, and took proactive measures such as administering artificial respiration. This is clearly shown in the CCTV footage presented by the prosecutor as evidence.”

From the beginning, Kim Ji-ho started to pick a fight and turned the evidence I provided to his advantage.

‘As expected from a large law firm, they must have put their heads together and prepared well for the trial. So you’re going to use the CCTV like this?’

The judge nodded as he looked at the submitted evidence.

It was a photograph, not a video.

“I see. According to the evidence photo, the defendant is putting his hand on the victim’s chest and giving artificial respiration diligently.”

“Yes, Your Honor. The defendant Choi Jin-cheol had no intention of killing the victim. He simply committed an accidental act due to the loss he felt after their breakup. That unfortunately led to his death. At the time of the incident, he was clearly not dead but seriously injured.”

“That’s true. The time of death was around 11 o’clock last night.”

“Yes. According to the information provided by the hospital, the direct cause of death was pulmonary infarction. I hope your honor will consider that this is unrelated to the situation that occurred at Gunja Station. That is all.”

After the lawyers finished telling their stories and sat down, there was a brief stir in the audience.

“Well, that can happen when a young man and woman date and then break up.”

“Oh. That guy was unlucky. Tsk tsk.”

“But you said you didn’t run away and tried to save me.”

“He said he asked people around him to report it while giving artificial respiration?”

The spectators’ whispers about how poorly unlucky Choi Jin-cheol was could be heard throughout the quiet courtroom.

He even created a story out of nothing and took control of the atmosphere.

‘Really? Are those guys the players picked by Kim & Joe?’

After 2020, it will be possible to punish such dating violence or stalking according to the law, but in 2008, that is, at this point in time, there was a prevailing atmosphere in society that it was acceptable for a man who had just broken up to get drunk and act violently.

All of this was as expected.

The strategy of Kim & Joe Law Firm was to admit guilt and show remorse, thereby receiving the lightest sentence from the judge and ending the case.

“What is the prosecution’s opinion?”

Judge Kim In-sook looked at me and asked.

I stood up from my seat.

“When I first saw the defendant, Mr. Choi Jin-cheol, I thought the same thing. He falsely testified that he was a complete stranger, thereby preventing the direction of the initial investigation. If you look at the transcript of Witness No. 1, you can see the testimony from that day in its entirety.”

I started the attack by presenting evidence in my own way.

The judge rested his chin on his right hand as he looked over the transcript.

“Prosecutors, please continue.”

After that, he explained one by one what happened during the investigation of the case.

It was revealed that the two were dating, but Ha Soo-yeon was the first to say that she avoided Choi Jin-cheol.

“I object. The affair between the man and the woman has nothing to do with this case.”

The lawyer stood up and spoke.

Beep.

I said firmly while showing the evidence photo on the screen.

“No. It has to do with the case.”

It was a list of calls recorded on Ha Su-yeon’s cell phone.

“The defendant called more than ten times a day, but Ha Soo-yeon did not answer the calls. Why did she not answer them? No, why did Ha Soo-yeon suddenly avoid contacting the defendant?”

I turned my head and glared at Choi Jin-cheol and said.

“Isn’t it that Ha Su-yeon found out what kind of person Jin-cheol Choi is?”

Beep.

Choi Jin-cheol’s entry and exit records appeared on the evidence screen.

“These are the defendant’s entry and exit records. He has been leaving Laos almost every two weeks for the past three years.”

Everyone was focused on the screen.

Entry and exit records were one of the unavoidable pieces of evidence.

“Oddly enough, his entry and exit records are consistent with the reports of missing Koreans in Thailand over the past three years.”

“Could it be a coincidence? It’s a coincidence that happens so often that it seems to fit together.”

Kim Ji-ho stood up and began to defend himself.

“A coincidence? Well, I guess it could be.”

“What does that have to do with this case?”

This time the judge asked quietly.

It was a good sign that she was interested in this evidence.

“The core of this case is the defendant’s intention to kill Ms. Ha Soo-yeon. We believe that it is related to what he has been doing so far.”

Kim Ji-ho stood up from his seat and waved the documents, saying:

“The defendant worked at Sae-Saeng-Myeong Hospital as a high-level worker at the Gunja Human Resources Office for three years, receiving a salary of 2,000 won per month. The evidence for this is in the part-time job expense payment form submitted by the Gunja Human Resources Office.”

“I see. You must have been paid quite a lot of money for that job.”

The judge also nodded while checking the data.

Kim Ji-ho defended himself confidently.

“So, the prosecution’s logic is far-fetched, as if it were a big problem for a young man with money and time to travel abroad frequently.”

At the same time, I looked at the judge and said.

“Okay. I’ll call the president of the military manpower office where the defendant worked as a witness. Since he’s in court, there’s no problem calling him as a witness, right, defense counsel?”

“That’s true, but······.”

Kim Ji-ho looked at In-ja-geon, his voice trailing off.

The judge nodded in agreement.

“Okay. I will accept the request to call Mr. Injagun from the defendant’s side as a witness.”

He sat in the defendant’s seat and then took the witness stand. After taking the witness oath, he folded his hands and carefully raised his head.

“Witness. The main job of the Gunja Human Resources Office is to supply the necessary personnel for the Sae-Saeng-Myeong Hospital. According to my investigation, 70% of the sales come from there.”

“Yes, the biggest source of revenue for our office is Saengmyeong Hospital.”

“What do the personnel dispatched to Saengmyeong Hospital mainly do?”

“I take on tasks necessary for the hospital, such as building cleaning and management.”

“Then, what kind of work did the defendant do that earned him a monthly salary of 20 million won? He was paid at a similar level to the doctors there.”

Injagun thought for a moment and then opened his mouth.

“I was assigned to speak on behalf of doctors about the procedures and costs of organ transplants. I think my salary was high because I received a portion of the patient’s expenses as a bonus.”

“Are you saying that you were a broker for organ transplants within the hospital?”

“Not a broker, but a consultant.”

“Isn’t that a broker? Someone who isn’t even a doctor who negotiates organ transplants and then closes the deal.”

“Recently, for expensive treatments that are not covered by health insurance, such as dental or plastic surgery, medical treatment appropriate to the price is performed after agreeing on the cost through a professional consultant rather than a doctor. I don’t think it’s right to criticize them all at once.”

Injagun made that excuse and then kept his mouth shut.

Beep.

I displayed the evidence in English on the screen.

“This is a report from an international organization that reports on the trafficking of organs from missing people in Southeast Asia. Korea is no exception.”

The atmosphere in the courtroom grew cold.

I raised my voice, glaring at the witness on the stand.

“Witness. Isn’t the Gunja Human Resources Office a laundromat that launders organs smuggled from overseas?”

“Absolutely not. We are legally prohibited from dispatching personnel······.”

“The information obtained by raiding the Gunja Human Resources Office was not like that.”

Beep.

CCTV footage was shown on the screen.

It was a screen played at ten times the speed.

Everyone looks at the video.

“Usually, there are a lot of people coming and going to the human resources office. There are a lot of day laborers who go out after confirming their dispatch area. But as you can see from this screen, there are hardly any people coming and going.”

“Unlike other typical human resources agencies, we work smartly. We notify the dispatch company separately by mobile phone······.”

“Stop. Witness. Stop saying such things.”

I cut him off.

Tiit.

The video paused at a scene where two men and women entered the office and spoke to the CEO.

Buzz buzz.

Zoomed in on two faces.

“The two people in the video are a married couple, and the husband has severe cirrhosis. In other words, he is a patient who needs a liver transplant.”

Beep.

The patient’s medical records appeared on the screen.

Important information had been taped off and erased.

“Mr. Lee Je-myung, a patient with terminal liver cirrhosis, was admitted to Gangnam Heo Hospital with the sole hope of receiving stem cell treatment, but was eventually transferred to Sae-saengmyeong Hospital for an organ transplant. If you look closely at Mr. Lee Jae-myung’s photo, you will realize that he is the man in the CCTV of the human resources office.”

A commotion.

The previously cold courtroom began to stir.

“Isn’t that strange? Why would a patient with cirrhosis come to the human resources office with his wife?”

I looked at the witness with a puzzled face and asked.

“What smart jobs have you provided to patients with terminal liver cirrhosis, witness!”