You Are Defended - Chapter 628



Only Noblemtl

Episode 628

After confirming that reporters had barged in, Chief Oh remained silent for a moment.

It seemed like he was thinking about how to respond.

Meanwhile, the cell phone started to catch fire.

Of course, the cell phones that were known to the public were excluded, but there was also chaos over other cell phones prepared for smooth communication with team members such as Choi Jong-hyun and Jo Bong-jun.

“A bite of tea… … .”

─Hey! Change the car!

─Ah, what kind of car is this? It should be called a car special investigation. Hey, car special investigation!

As soon as they received it, the excited voices of Jo Bong-jun and Choi Jong-hyun poured out.

My ears were so sore that I felt like I had momentarily lost my hearing.

─Congratulations, Special Prosecutor Cha.

─Congratulations!

“Why are you saying this again when you already knew this?”

─Still! I didn’t know the people would support me this strongly! Wow, the title of youngest special prosecutor is really cool. Don’t you think so?

─That’s cool. Don’t forget us, Special Prosecutor Cha! Huh? You have to appear on our broadcast later?

“Why would I forget you two?”

─Don’t forget to treat them too.

“Do you like beef this time too?”

─What? Why are you saying you’ll buy it right away?

─I see. Is he acting a little weird because he’s so happy?

“… … I became a special prosecutor with the help of many people, including you two, so I should buy it.”

─Brother, I’m a little upset.

─That’s right. My throat is a little choked up too. Bong Joon-ah, are those tears?

I couldn’t help but sigh at their fuss.

At that moment, Manager Oh put his hand on my neck, indicating that I should hang up the phone.

At the same time, seeing that it points outside, I think it means that I should go out quickly.

“I’m going to hang up now because the reporters are waiting.”

─Okay, okay. We’ll hug each other and cry for a bit. Just tell me where we’re going to eat beef.

As soon as I hung up the phone, Manager Oh shoved the phone in front of my face.

When I looked at him with a puzzled look, Manager Oh spoke urgently.

“I’m going to be filmed, so I’m checking my appearance like this… … .”

“People don’t really care about the special prosecutor’s appearance.”

Kang Min-jae clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry for my answer.

“Well, that’s probably because there was no special prosecutor like you. But, well, there’s nothing to check separately. The suit is nice, the tie color is good, and the hair is perfect. Try this. Hehe.”

Kang Min-jae opened his mouth and showed his teeth as he spoke.

“Why that?”

“What if I get something stuck?”

“I didn’t wear it.”

“How would a lawyer know that?”

“I brushed my teeth after lunch and haven’t eaten anything since.”

“If you’re embarrassed, I’ll turn around and take a look.”

If the people around me were always noisy, I wouldn’t have given up, but it seems to be getting worse.

I ignored Kang Min-jae’s words and got up.

If reporters showed their presence like that as soon as the Blue House spokesperson called my name, there is one reason.

Whether the information leaked from somewhere or it was determined that I would be the one doing it, it means that it was here from the beginning.

Since I had lunch delivered, I didn’t have to look outside the building except when I came to work today.

I didn’t know there were so many people gathered.

“Let me open the door for you. You must have been waiting for a long time.”

At my words, Chief Oh suddenly got up and walked towards the door.

And then, as if he was saying something to the reporters, he winked at me.

I stepped out of the office and was immediately greeted by a barrage of flashes of light.

“You have been appointed as a special prosecutor for this special investigation. Please tell us about your determination to take on this task!”

The reporters asked me questions while holding a machine with several microphones attached to it close to me.

Although Lee Se-hwa asked me to prepare for the interview, no matter how much I think about it, isn’t it true that there is already something I will say in this situation?

“We will conduct a strict investigation and make an objective judgment according to the law. We will root out those who absurdly wield the power given to them by the people and those who use them to satisfy their own selfish desires, and we will do our utmost to ensure that they receive the appropriate punishment.”

“You have become the youngest special prosecutor with full support from the public. What do you think about this?”

“I am aware of the public’s concerns about a young lawyer being appointed as a special prosecutor. I will listen to the public’s voice and the advice of my seniors and juniors and work to uncover the truth in accordance with the law and principles.”

After that, interviews with pointless content continued.

There were both positive and negative questions, but in these cases it is best not to give long answers.

After the interview, I didn’t stay at the company any longer.

According to the Special Prosecutor’s Act, the preparation period given to put up the signboard is 20 days.

The most urgent matter now is the appointment of three special prosecutors.

I have to narrow down the list of six candidates and ask the President to appoint three of them.

Considering the 10 additional inspectors and 50 other special investigators, the decision must be made quickly.

A special prosecution team that is creaky from the start will lose trust.

* * *

As soon as the Blue House spokesperson announced that I was being appointed as a special prosecutor, the media started churning out articles.

[Lee Se-hwa government’s special prosecutor appointment ‘is a degree of unconventionality’

Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han (hereafter referred to as Special Prosecutor Cha) is a member of the 29th class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and his fellow members are currently serving as prosecutorial research officers and deputy chief prosecutors at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. Although Special Prosecutor Cha has shown remarkable ability since his first term as a prosecutor, he is an absurdly junior class compared to most of the previously appointed special prosecutors who have served as chief prosecutors and court presidents.

It is expected that there will be great difficulties in appointing a special prosecutor (hereinafter referred to as the special prosecutor). In reality, the prosecution is still strongly influenced by the old Prosecutor’s Office Act, which states that prosecutors are the same. There is also a practice of senior prosecutors stepping down when a junior prosecutor is promoted to the position of Prosecutor General.

This time, it is not the Prosecutor General but the appointment of a special prosecutor, so there will be no resignation from senior prosecutors. However, in a prosecution organization that values ​​the training institute class to this extent, it is predicted by the legal community that senior prosecutors will be reluctant to be dispatched to the special prosecution team. Not only the dispatched prosecutors, but even the appointment of assistant special prosecutors is facing difficulties.

As the assistant to the special prosecutor, the special prosecutor must manage and supervise the dispatched prosecutors and special investigators according to the special prosecutor’s instructions. Even if a senior lawyer accepts the position of assistant special prosecutor, there is a high possibility that the special prosecutor himself will feel burdened by giving instructions. If he is not careful, he could end up as a ‘puppet special prosecutor.’

That is why the Korean Bar Association (hereinafter referred to as the Bar Association), which has been granted the authority to recommend candidates for special prosecutors several times, has listed ‘leadership capable of commanding the special prosecutor team’ as one of the key virtues in each recommendation letter for candidates for special prosecutors. And in our country’s sentiment, this leadership is ultimately linked to the number of students in the training institute.

There is also a view in some quarters that the Bar Association is also taking notice of the Lee Se-hwa government’s unconventional personnel changes for young people.

We will have to watch how Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han organizes the special investigation team during the next 20 days of preparation. The operation of the special investigation team will have a significant impact on the results of the investigation.

Countless articles with this kind of content have been produced.

The content is largely the same, only the format is different.

Among the lawmakers who abstained when the special prosecutor’s bill was submitted to the plenary session, there was even an interview where they openly said, “The appointment of Cha Joo-han as special prosecutor is ridiculous.”

Of course, even if he had told the truth, he would have been criticized by public opinion because of his actions.

The ones who mainly formed this public opinion were the media outlets that secretly defended Woo Shin, or published columns criticizing Kim Mi-ja’s exposure method as violent or tiring for the readers.

Of course, even outside of those media outlets, there have been frequent articles expressing concerns about whether the special prosecution team will be able to operate normally.

So, the protest is, ‘It’s good that a special prosecution is being conducted, but why is it necessarily about Cha Joo-han?’

Although public opinion was largely supportive, voices of concern could not be ignored.

Ultimately, this was the task given to me.

* * *

The Blue House had already held a public address urging strong punishment for the human trafficking and sexual bribery committed by Woo Shin and other political figures using the children of Angel’s House.

As president, Lee Se-hwa needed to demonstrate through his actions how much he cared about this issue.

So she scheduled a visit to the cleanest and most exemplary facility among the orphanages to which the children had been transferred from Angel Home.

“There are issues with portrait rights, and these are children whose wounds have not yet healed. Please use the photos for press releases to be distributed later.”

After Lee Se-hwa entered the orphanage, the head of public relations spoke to reporters gathered in front of the orphanage.

Although the reporters came with the intention of filming the president’s outside activities, their real purpose was to question the appointment of Cha Joo-han as special prosecutor, announced this afternoon.

They waited outside the daycare center for about four hours while Lee Se-hwa shared chicken with the Angel House children, cleaned, did laundry, and played board games.

“You’re still here.”

As Lee Se-hwa came out of the orphanage, looking a bit more disheveled than when she first entered, reporters swarmed her like a swarm of bees.

The head of public relations came close to Lee Se-hwa and whispered in a low voice.

“I think I want to ask a question about the appointment of Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han, but no matter how much I urge him, he won’t listen. Since this is such a hot topic, there is considerable public opinion that is curious about the president’s intentions. How about briefly stating your opinion… …”

“I guess so. It’s okay. It would be heartless to just ignore this situation.”

Lee Se-hwa stood facing the reporters with a smile.

As soon as the chief public relations officer announced that he would have a brief Q&A session with reporters, questions poured in.

“The President scheduled a visit to one of the orphanages where the Angel House children were transferred immediately after the announcement of the appointment of the special prosecutor. Can this be interpreted as giving strength to the special prosecutor Cha Joo-han?”

“I thought you would be curious about whether the children’s wounds are healing well and how they are treated here, but the nature of your questions is a bit different.”

Lee Se-hwa answered with a smiling face.

“But what you are most curious about is probably the appointment of a special prosecutor. In fact, the secretary’s office has prepared a model answer for this kind of Q&A. But I will not read it. I think it would be better if my thoughts were conveyed as they are.”

Lee Se-hwa handed the paper she was holding in her hand over to her secretary.

“What I want to make clear is that even if it weren’t for the special prosecutor Cha Joo-han, I would have made the same schedule as I did. I was curious about how the children of Angel House were doing, and I wanted to instill in them the idea that the country would protect them. I also needed to apologize for the time I couldn’t do that. I don’t want to give strength to the special prosecutor Cha Joo-han, but to the special prosecutor itself.”

“I think you are well aware that there are concerns about Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han. You must have anticipated public opinion, but may I ask why you chose Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han?”

When a reporter asked a question, Lee Se-hwa answered without hesitation.

“There is one thing that I consider most important when selecting a special prosecutor. Someone who will do well. Someone who can conduct a strict investigation and maintain prosecution without wavering when the subject of the investigation attempts to persuade or threaten.”

“Do you think that the person who meets those criteria is the special prosecutor?”

“All of the special prosecutor candidates recommended by the Bar Association were excellent lawyers. However, the targets of the investigation are people who are deeply rooted in our country’s political, government, and business circles. Just as Woo Shin made politicians and government officials his accomplices in an extraordinary way, we cannot know what kind of threats there might be. I judged that the right person would be someone who would not be shaken by these threats. Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han has proven this most clearly through his actions on numerous occasions. I think it was a reasonable decision.”

“There are many concerns about whether Special Prosecutor Cha, who is from the 29th class of the training institute, can run the special prosecution team smoothly. After all, the legal profession has a strong seniority culture. What do you think about this?”

“I was also a lawyer, and I know the culture that dominates the legal profession. In particular, the prosecution has a strong seniority culture, and there was even an article about the prosecution’s practice of resignation due to the selection of 10 dispatched prosecutors.”

Lee Se-hwa soon continued speaking.

“The special prosecutor’s office is very independent. It is not an organization under the prosecution. Above all, the special prosecutor’s office is disbanded when the case is concluded. I think the practice of resignation is a wrong metaphor. I fully understand the concern that juniors will feel burdened by exercising command authority, but I would like to tell you that there are values ​​in the special prosecutor’s office that take precedence over such personal feelings.”

Actually, there was more I wanted to say.

If he had been a member of the National Assembly rather than the President, he would have spoken more openly.

But Lee Se-hwa barely held on.

“I have a fundamental question. Is the seniority culture of a certain profession that is not designated by statute important, or is the constitution that guarantees the human rights of the people important? Is the seniority culture of the legal profession above the constitution?”

“… … .”

“Our top priority is to investigate fairly, objectively, and independently and punish criminals. Is there any reason to worry?”

The reporters seemed to be speechless for a moment at Lee Se-hwa’s refreshing answer.

But that was only for a moment, as a reporter asked a question.

“Then, if there is a problem with the personnel of the special prosecution team of Special Prosecutor Cha Joo-han, how would you interpret this?”

“This is a special investigation that was launched to set justice straight in our society by the people’s order. The legal professionals I saw in the field had a stronger desire for justice than anyone else. I don’t think it has changed even now.”