The Ultimate Inspector, Kang Ji-hyeok - Chapter 89



Only Noblemtl

【Legendary Insurance Murderer Um Ja-hyeon】

I returned to the examination room holding the file that my father-in-law had handed me.

“Did you receive the case file?”

Hyejin, who was looking at the monitor, asked first.

Ji-cheol also looked at me with a curious expression.

“This is a case that the Western District Prosecutors’ Office prosecutors avoid, but it has come over to us?”

Hyuna said worriedly as she placed an iced Americano in front of me.

‘As expected, it’s Secretary Lee Hyeon-ah. She’s so perceptive.’

Still, I tried to bluff.

“Is it because we are the Western District Prosecutor’s Ace Team? The Chief Prosecutor personally assigns us cases. Thank you.”

I took a sip of coffee and opened the file. For a moment, I almost spit out the black coffee on the file.

“What? This is the Um Ja-hyeon case? I can’t believe this case came to me······.”

I muttered in surprise at the sight of the name without even realizing it.

The two investigators looked at me as if asking what I was talking about.

“Don’t you know? Um Ja-hyun? This woman is a total psychopathic fraudster… Ah.”

I stopped talking until I got to that point.

Um Ja-hyeon, the main character in the insurance fraud murder case that shook South Korea in 2020.

It was a case in which 14 billion won in insurance money was collected by killing or injuring 13 people over a period of 15 years from 2004 to 2019.

The last murder insurance fraud was committed by her own husband, a prosecutor, and was eventually caught.

I remembered a story I told while watching the news on TV during my days as a detective.

“I found out that many cases were buried because of the prosecutor husband, and now that she even killed her own husband, she’s suddenly being caught like this.”

“It’s really ironic, Detective Kang.”

“therefore.”

This incident caught the attention of life insurance companies, who began to file lawsuits and accusations against other cases.

The murder and insurance story that seemed like an urban legend was actually true, causing shock and horror in South Korea.

Ji-cheol still asked me with a puzzled look on his face.

“So, who is Ms. Eom Ja-hyeon? Is she a celebrity?”

“No. I guess I was confused.”

I read the document quickly.

The case that just happened was a very simple one.

The actual murder site was Donghae, Gangwon-do.

A villager found 17-year-old Lee Hyeon-su dead on a rock in the sea and reported it to the police.

The mother of the 17-year-old victim Lee Hyeon-su, who was believed to have drowned, was none other than Um Ja-hyeon, and the son of her ex-husband Lee Jeon-cheol, who died in a car accident five years ago.

The insurance company, which found Um Ja-hyeon suspicious because she had already taken out several life insurance policies, filed a complaint with the police.

That was passed on to the Western District Attorney’s Office.

‘I think the 17-year-old son’s case was the sixth insurance fraud… He’ll commit seven more cases over the next 12 years. Now is the perfect time to stop them.’

As I read the case files, I noticed one thing that was odd.

Clearly, when I saw this incident on the news during my time, Um Ja-hyeon said that she had a husband who was a prosecutor and that she got married in 2005.

It was three years ago now.

In that case, Um Ja-hyeon should have a prosecutor husband.

“There is no record of Um Ja-hyeon’s husband, who recently married, other than the already deceased husband. Mr. Lee?”

“There are no records, so how do you know that he recently got married, Inspector?”

“Is that… a gut feeling?”

“Now, let’s find out about Ms. Eom Ja-hyeon’s husband.”

Hyejin stood up and put on her clothes.

I was ready to go out at any moment.

“I will now begin investigating the surroundings of Ms. Eom Ja-hyeon.”

Ji-cheol sat quietly and spoke to me.

“Prosecutor. If there’s anything I need to do during the investigation, please let me know. My hometown is the East Sea, so I know that sea well.”

Sigh.

Just by the way they started their work on their own, we could tell that they were the ace team of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.

* * *

It’s time for the briefing before leaving work.

First, HyunA summarized the current situation.

A photo of Um Ja-hyun was placed in the center of the whiteboard.

The two investigators and I sat down.

“As the inspector pointed out, I got married two years ago. I definitely have a husband, but I don’t know why he’s not on the record.”

“That’s because her husband is a prosecutor.”

Hyuna looked surprised.

“The inspector knew everything.”

“Rather than that······.”

It was difficult to say that I already knew.

So I said it like an inference.

“The missing investigation records mean that my husband is either a prosecutor or a detective. The fact that the chief prosecutor called me in separately and handed me the case file means that the prosecutor from the Western District Prosecutors’ Office knows that my husband is a prosecutor, right?”

The two investigators were impressed.

‘Sometimes it helps teamwork to let them know how good a tester I am.’

I looked at Hyuna with that thought in mind, and she continued speaking naturally.

“Her husband is Prosecutor Park Jin-soo. He is 39 years old and currently a prosecutor at the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

He was a prosecutor who would pick on me whenever he got the chance.

I thought of Prosecutor Choi Kang-han, who told me to be careful because Prosecutor Park Jin-soo personally disliked me.

Hyuna continued her story.

“Five years ago, at around 2 a.m., my husband, Jeon-cheol Lee, was driving at 120 km/h on National Highway 3 when he crashed into a utility pole.”

“If it’s National Route 3, it’s the national route that goes from Chuncheon to Seoul, right?”

“That’s right, Detective Kim. My husband broke the windshield and flew forward, dying instantly. Fortunately, Ms. Um Ja-hyeon, who was wearing her seatbelt, suffered injuries that required 18 weeks of treatment.”

‘I know. I saw the incident on the news and various special broadcasts afterwards. I didn’t know the exact details of the incident, but I knew it was disguised as a traffic accident.’

Hyejin asked, squinting her eyes.

“It’s strange. Usually, there are accidents where the driver dies because the passenger doesn’t wear a seatbelt, but… this is the first time I’ve seen the opposite case.”

Even Hyejin, who was good at dealing with accidents and incidents as expected from a former detective, thought it was strange, so the police at the time thought the same.

“But the husband ate too much raw fish that day and took off his seatbelt while driving, and his statement that he put his seatbelt on while she was sleeping was accepted.”

“But how do you know that in detail, sir?”

Hyejin asked me with her eyes wide open.

I answered indifferently.

“Our district prosecutor’s office has the statement from that time. My current husband, Prosecutor Park Jin-soo, was the prosecutor in charge of the case at the time.”

“Wow, you’re going to turn around? This is a complete abuse of power as a prosecutor.”

“Yeah. That’s too much, really.”

“It must be unfortunate for the two investigators, but the prosecutor didn’t even indict this case on the grounds that there was no suspicion. At the time, Ms. Um Ja-hyeon’s husband died in an accident, and her life insurance policy amounted to a whopping 1.6 billion won. They had a son together, but he was a minor.”

The two investigators had their arms crossed and looked angry.

‘Damn it. Why of all people······.’

This is how bad relationships end.

But, it was true that it was quite uncomfortable.

In particular, if the opponent is a 39-year-old prosecutor, it will be an even more difficult opponent.

“Kang Ji-hyuk. Don’t make such an arrogant face. Don’t act like you’re so great. You’ll slip up too someday!”

“I’m sorry if I seemed presumptuous, sir.”

“Be careful. I’m watching you.”

He said that to me in the hallway a while ago too.

Thinking back to that time, I asked Hyuna.

“What assets does your husband own?”

“Um. Rather than that, please look at this.”

Hyun-ah personally handed out the two-page printouts and continued talking while everyone looked at the printed personal data of Prosecutor Park Jin-soo.

“Prosecutor Park Jin-soo is a famous person in our district prosecutor’s office. That’s because his salary was seized twice due to gambling debts. There was also the sexual harassment incident involving Choi Young-joo, a female employee.”

Ji-cheol said while looking at the documents.

“That’s vicious. A 23-year-old female employee was charged with drug use, and during the interrogation, she sexually harassed the suspect.”

“Wow. That’s creepy.”

Hyejin wrapped her shoulders with both hands and gritted her teeth.

Prosecutor Park Jin-soo used his position to sexually harass suspect Choi Young-joo.

Choi Young-joo sued Prosecutor Park Jin-soo for sexual harassment, but was released without charges due to her mental state being impaired by alcohol consumption at the time.

The prosecutor’s office only ended up with a three-month salary cut for interrogating a suspect while intoxicated.

All of this was obviously done by YouTube, who obviously abused their position as a prosecutor to the fullest extent.

“Even this is considered a test.”

Ji-cheol frowned and muttered.

“That’s why. There are prosecutors who are so inhuman that when we reach our level, we are the aces of the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

Hyuna listened to what I said and continued the conversation naturally.

“As for Prosecutor Park Jin-soo’s assets as an officer of the Ace Team, after marrying Um Ja-hyeon, he currently lives in a 40-pyeong luxury apartment in Jamsil and drives an expensive foreign car.”

My memory is extremely accurate.

Several years later, Um Ja-hyeon is bound to murder prosecutor Park Jin-su.

‘No matter what, I have to save the garbage inspector with my own hands… Damn it.’

For a moment, I also became a devil.

But soon my power of insight flashed through my mind and prevented me from turning dark.

‘Yeah. I was thinking of punishing all crimes by law. Let’s think about it calmly.’

That was when.

Ji-cheol said with a serious face.

“Then, you’re saying that Eom Ja-hyeon’s weak link is Prosecutor Park Jin-soo. Prosecutor?”

When I was a military prosecutor, I once told him about the need to break down the weakest link in the case of the murder of Private Park Chung-deuk.

Ji-cheol learned the so-called ‘weak link theory’ from that incident.

But unfortunately, my insight reached the opposite conclusion.

“Unfortunately, Um Ja-hyeon’s weak link is not Prosecutor Park Jin-soo. He may be the strongest link. However, it is very good that you judged him to be the weak link. Detective Kim.”

Ji-cheol was embarrassed, but his ears turned red at the compliment.

“Okay, I understand. Regarding Prosecutor Park Jin-soo, have Secretary Lee Hyeon-ah keep an eye on him within the Western District Prosecutors’ Office.”

“Understood, Inspector.”

“Watch closely, but be careful. This is a top secret investigation.”

“But doesn’t Prosecutor Park Jin-soo already know that the case has been brought to your attention?”

“That could be possible.”

The test is like a neural network, with information flowing rapidly.

From the moment the chief prosecutor handed me the case file this morning, the Western District Attorney’s Office would have known that we were in charge of this case.

“Since it has come to this, mark it properly. I will take responsibility. Don’t worry.”

Hyuna nodded.

She was trustworthy because she had a wider network of contacts in the Western District Prosecutors’ Office than anyone else.

“Then, next batter······.”

I turned my head and looked at Hyejin.

She stood up from her seat and stood in front of the whiteboard as she began her investigative investigation.

“I will report the results of today’s investigation. As Hyun-ah said earlier, Um Ja-hyun was living in an apartment in Jamsil.”

Hyejin started with a serious face.

“Contrary to what has been said so far, Ms. Eom Ja-hyeon is known to be beautiful and well-mannered.”

Beep.

Hyejin played the recorded testimony.

– Oh my. She’s a total celebrity. One time, she gave me a perm and it came out so pretty that she bought all the coffee for the customers at the salon.

– The lady who lives in that apartment? Oh my. She’s an angel. She’s pretty, kind-hearted, and when I told her I was collecting waste paper, she raked up all the waste paper I had at home and gave it to me. She even gave me 20,000 won because she reminded me of my father. She asked me to have a glass of soju, and I can’t believe how pretty she was.

– You were so good to your son. Tsk tsk. Even though your son was young and was talking nonsense, you always took care of him······. Oh my. You cried so much when your son died. But the police already recorded it all. Where did you come from, Miss? An insurance investigator?

“···This is really creepy.”

Ji-cheol muttered with a bewildered face.

Hyejin continued her report seriously.

“I’ve met about 20 people, and most of them have this opinion of her. And according to their stories, her high school son seems to be mentally ill.”

I asked while looking at the incident report.

“Are you mentally ill?”

“I heard that the neighbors told the police everything. But, inspector, why do you look so unhappy?”

It wasn’t that I found the townspeople’s stories strange.

‘It’s strange that everyone knows so much about her. How can they know so much about a woman who lives in their own neighborhood, in Jamsil, in such a remote mountain village?’