You Are Defended - Chapter 629



Only Noblemtl

Episode 629

The interview that Lee Se-hwa conducted in front of the orphanage created a huge buzz.

Some people praised it as a statement that was truly possible when considering the people, while others said it ignored the traditions of the legal profession.

But whichever it was, most of the media interpreted it to mean that Lee Se-hwa strongly supported me.

This led some to label me a code name, and speculation grew that I would join the ruling party once my duties as a special prosecutor were over.

Anyway, there’s no point in saying no right now.

This is because there were so many people who said that and then later changed their words and entered politics.

There is no choice but to show it through future actions.

When Lee Se-hwa’s interview was over, I went to a restaurant for a dinner appointment I had made in advance with Park Young-ki and Chairman Byun Hyeop.

“Hmm, a candidate for special prosecutor.”

Park Young-gi and Chairman Byun Hyeop were lost in thought, not even touching the food that was piled high on the table.

Even without that, Byun Hyeop was already very busy recommending candidates for the special prosecutor position, so when I asked him if there was anyone he could recommend as a special prosecutor candidate, he seemed embarrassed.

“I don’t mean to ask for recommendations from all of your peers or juniors. If you find someone from your seniors who will agree, it will give the impression that the special investigation team is preparing smoothly. If you find someone from a slightly higher class, not someone a few classes above, the middle-aged and older generations will feel at ease.”

“The president has provided such support, but if the senior members here reject the special prosecutor nomination, then he will become someone who values ​​rank more than protecting justice.”

Park Young-ki responded to Chairman Byun Hyeop’s worried words.

“Even so, there will be many people who will refuse for various reasons. They can make excuses such as the current work being difficult or their own lack of ability.”

Park Young-gi nodded at my words.

“Still, it’s fortunate that the range of personnel we can consider is wide.”

In order to create suitable conditions for me to be nominated as a special prosecutor, many of the conditions in this special prosecutor’s law were somewhat more lenient than those in the previous special prosecutor’s law.

“I want to hear from our special prosecutors. There must be at least one or two people in mind.”

I answered Chairman Byun Hyeop’s question without hesitation.

“The first person that came to mind was Attorney Ko Il-guk.”

“Attorney Ko Il-guk? Oh, he’s a good person. But he’s a great senior to Special Prosecutor Cha. He’s almost like a father. Do you have a personal connection with him?”

“There is no such thing as a great connection. Since I met him several times in court when I was a prosecutor, Attorney Ko Il-gook knows me well. Our personal conversations were limited to a few words. As soon as I opened my law practice, the first trial I had was in Attorney Ko Il-gook’s court.”

In 2008, when I opened my law firm, the first case I took on was the murder case of Yeo Hee-sook and Kim Cheol-hwan. The judge in charge of the first trial was Go Il-gook.

He even secretly snickered when I denied all the facts of the indictment against Kim Yeon-jun, in which I admitted to murder.

At the time, he was two years away from retirement, and after that, he served as the chief judge of the High Court and then as the director of the court library in 2010, retiring that year.

The position of Chief Justice of the Courts is equivalent to that of a Chief Justice of the High Court, and Supreme Court Justices often hold this position immediately prior to their appointment.

Although Ko Il-gook did not become a Supreme Court Justice, if he had entered a large law firm, he would have received the best treatment wherever he went.

However, Go Il-gook opened a small law firm with lawyers he was acquainted with.

Although he could easily make a lot of money, he now stands on the side of the socially disadvantaged.

I think he is the right person for the job because the way I have seen him in his previous life and the way he behaves in this life are all consistent.

“If Attorney Ko Il-gook takes on the role of Special Prosecutor, it would be great. And when I met Attorney Ko Il-gook before, he mentioned in passing that Special Prosecutor Cha was a junior who stood out. However, Attorney Ko Il-gook is not an authoritarian person, but he is offering me the position of Special Prosecutor’s Assistant. He might be offended. After all, he has been in this field for a long time. So I’m not sure if he will accept.”

Chairman Byun Hyeop spoke in an uncertain tone.

“But isn’t it okay to ask for opinions? I don’t think he would be that upset. If someone like Attorney Ko Il-guk joins, it won’t be a problem to recruit the remaining five candidates. He is such a respected person. If he accepts, what excuse would the others have for refusing?”

Park Young-gi began to persuade Chairman Byun Hyeop.

“If you could just confirm with the doctor, I’ll come see you in person and tell you.”

At that moment, silence fell in the room.

“Are you going to take me to the river?”

After a while, Park Young-gi asked cautiously.

This was the reason for the silence.

* * *

The next morning, I received a call from Chairman Byun Hyeop.

The content was that Go Il-guk wanted to meet me.

He said he didn’t seem upset, but he still couldn’t tell whether the position of special prosecutor was positive or negative.

Since I was scheduled to receive the special prosecutor appointment letter at the Blue House this afternoon, I decided to meet in the morning, even though it felt a bit urgent.

“Ugh, I’m shaking.”

The closer Kang Min-jae got to Go Il-gook’s law firm, the more nervous he became.

This is because immediately after Chairman Byun Hyeop finished talking to me, he called Kang Minjae and strongly urged him, “You have to come with me!”

Chairman Byun Hyeop didn’t know that I was staying with Kang Minjae, and Kang Minjae answered the phone in front of me without thinking.

I used to think that although I had poor social skills, I had improved a lot, but I wondered if that was true.

“You wait in the car.”

When we arrived at the law firm building parking lot, I got out of the car and spoke to Taesik.

And together with Kang Min-jae, I went up to the 6th floor where his office was.

As we entered, a lawyer who happened to be nearby turned his head toward us.

It was Do Ji-hwan, one of the lawyers who started a law firm with Go Il-gook.

“Special Prosecutor Cha, nice to meet you. Congratulations on your appointment.”

Then he held out his hand and laughed sheepishly.

“Professor, it’s been a while.”

I haven’t seen him since I started this life, but in my previous life, he was my professor when I was at the Judicial Research and Training Institute.

After that, he became the chief prosecutor of the Special Investigation Division of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and I became a military judge advocate right after graduating from the training center, so there is no other contact.

However, his lectures at the Judicial Research and Training Institute were an opportunity for me to broaden my horizons.

He had followed an elite course, and if he had remained in the prosecution, he would have become a chief prosecutor by now.

However, he must have had a future planned out with Ko Il-guk. After he retired, he left the prosecution and started a three-person law firm with attorney Chae Geun-soo.

It was a well-matched meeting.

“What about the professor? He’s just a lawyer now. Haha.”

“Hello, my name is Kang Min-jae from the 36th training center.”

“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, please speak more comfortably.”

“Even if you’re my junior, can you just keep talking like that? Haha. I heard you had an appointment with Attorney Ko. You were on the phone earlier, so maybe that’s why you can’t hear the outside noise?”

Do Ji-hwan approached Go Il-gook’s room and knocked.

Then he opened the door slightly and peeked his head inside.

“Attorney Ko, Special Prosecutor Cha is here.”

I thought I heard some conversation, and then Do Ji-hwan came out again and spoke.

“I think the call with the client went on for a while. Would you like to have a cup of tea while you wait? We have coffee, or just tea.”

Do Ji-hwan asked as he approached the steam room.

* * *

“Did I make you wait too long?”

As the smell of coffee began to waft, Go Il-guk came out of the room and smiled sheepishly.

After exchanging greetings and shaking hands, Go Il-guk looked at his watch, opened the door to his room, and said.

“I thought you wanted to talk quickly before you went to the Blue House to receive your letter of appointment. I’m really sorry about this. Let’s talk in my room.”

As he sat down in his room, Go Il-guk opened his mouth.

“I heard that Special Prosecutor Cha wants to recommend me as a candidate for Special Prosecutor.”

“Yes.”

Maybe because I answered concisely, Kang Min-jae came in and interrupted.

“I apologize if I seemed rude to you. Attorney Cha Joo-han has always respected you as his junior, and because he wants to do well, he wanted to talk to you even if it might be rude… … .”

“Oh, I was wondering why you brought Attorney Kang, and it was for Geumchil?”

Go Il-guk laughed heartily.

Even Kang Min-jae, who was good at getting away with it, blushed bright red this time.

“I’m not criticizing you. I know the nature of the special prosecutor. Our attorney Do told me a lot about his days at the training center. I often see him in court, so I’ve seen and felt things. He seems very nervous, but let’s talk comfortably.”

“Ah… … . Yes, I was in a hurry. I’m sorry, Attorney.”

Kang Min-jae spoke in a small voice, perhaps out of embarrassment.

“No. It’s understandable that you would be impatient. This is the first time since the introduction of the special prosecutor system that such a young special prosecutor has been appointed. It will be a difficult journey from the very beginning. I understand that you want to put in the effort because if I become the special prosecutor, things will be a little easier in the future.”

“As the lawyer said, it would be a lie if I said there was no such purpose. But that is not the only reason.”

“Is there any other reason?”

“In this case, the people are now feeling great resentment towards the so-called powerful people. This is because the people in power, who are perceived as the greatest contributors to the national wealth, and the politicians, are using the power they received from the people to exploit the people. I think the people want to confirm that there are people among the so-called powerful people who are not like that. And that it is not too late. They also hope that our society will improve a little through this special investigation. As a citizen, I feel the same way.”

Go Il-guk delayed answering as if he wanted to continue listening to my story.

“The Special Prosecutor Act only uses past actions as a criterion for special prosecutors or special prosecutor assistants, and does not specify what the future should be like. Of course, no matter how much the law is, it cannot restrict an individual’s right to decide the future. That is why it is impossible to prevent special prosecutors or their associates from joining the suspect’s company after the case is closed, or from dealing with cases where the suspect’s company is pushing in huge legal fees.”

Go Il-guk nodded slowly.

“This special investigation began with the people’s order. I believe there was a reason why they entrusted me with this task despite my limited legal experience and concerns. The special investigation team must think about the fundamental reason why the relevant laws were created, consider what the people want, find the intersection between the two, conduct the investigation, and maintain the prosecution.”

“Then, Special Prosecutor Cha, are you sure that I am not someone who would receive bribes in arrears?”

“I’m not sure. People always change, don’t they?”

Kang Minjae looked at me with a puzzled expression.

It seemed like he wanted to stop me because I had made a rude remark.

However, when Go Il-guk heard those words, his expression did not change at all.

“I think that people inevitably have limitations. Even if I have certain beliefs now, if I don’t try to keep those beliefs, I don’t know when or how I will end up going down a different path.”

“Honestly. Then why does Special Prosecutor Cha think I’m the right person for the job?”

“Because I judged that the lawyer is someone who tries to maintain his beliefs. Up until now, he has been someone who has been more concerned about those who are not protected by the law than material things and power, and I thought he would continue to do so. I think the lawyer has thought and worked harder than I did when I was young. That is why I think he is respected by the legal profession. Someone like lawyer Ko Il-gook is desperately needed for this special investigation.”

“I’m curious as to what basis you have for judging me to be that kind of person.”

“I read all the decisions you made when you were a judge. That’s where I first got that impression. After that, I got that same impression when I looked at the main areas of the law firm you founded with Attorney Do Ji-hwan and Attorney Chae Geun-soo. Finally, I felt it again today when I saw you talking directly to a client.”

“Is that so strange?”

“In a typical law firm, the office manager handles phone calls with clients, and usually, the lawyers only talk to each other during in-person consultations. Ordinary lawyers have never experienced what clients go through, so even if they understand, they cannot empathize. Therefore, the things they can say to clients who have come to in-person consultations are limited to speculative.”

That’s why I also tend to call directly, unless it’s just a simple matter of confirming receipt of documents.

Among the clients who came to me, those who had been consulting at other law firms said, “This is the first time I’ve been able to talk to a lawyer so directly and so frequently.”

“I think that the fact that the lawyer speaks directly with the client is part of an effort to truly defend the client, breaking away from such limitations. I also read it as meaning that the lawyer puts more weight on the emotional pain the client experiences than on his own convenience. Also, most of the cases he takes on are cases where he stands on the side of the socially disadvantaged.”

“That’s too much praise. But do you really think I’d accept the offer of special prosecutor Cha just because of that?”