Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 339

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

339. Let’s leak the article right away.

In the early morning as dawn began to break faintly over the city.
After completing the investigation, Seok-won and his companions walked out of the Police Station building with Lawyer Seok Chang-geun.

“Since it’s clearly self-defense, we have solid witnesses, and most importantly, the jack knife used as the weapon has been confirmed to be something one of the attackers always carried, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Lawyer Seok Chang-geun, holding a briefcase in one hand, glanced at the muscular Bockus before continuing calmly.

“Even though the other party was seriously injured, if self-defense is recognized, there won’t be any criminal punishment. They could file a civil lawsuit, but considering that the perpetrators are children of US military personnel, it won’t be easy.”
“The US Forces Korea command will want to avoid crimes involving US military becoming a social issue.”

At Seok-won’s words, his hands thrust into his pants pockets, Lawyer Seok Chang-geun nodded slightly.

“Exactly. There’s already much talk about needing to revise the unequal SOFA agreement. This incident could potentially fuel such public opinion.”

SOFA is an acronym for Status of Forces Agreement, under which the United States has priority in investigation and trial authority when members of US Forces Korea, military personnel, and their families commit crimes within Korea.

“The US Army Criminal Investigation Division, not the police, must be handling the custody and investigation of the perpetrators.”

CID was the abbreviation for US Army Criminal Investigation Division.

“That’s my understanding.”
“Then the trial could also be conducted by the US military side?”
“We’ll need to observe further on that, but we can’t completely rule out the possibility.”

Seok-won asked, looking at Lawyer Seok Chang-geun.

“If the trial takes place in Korea, how much prison time do you think those bastards will get?”

Lawyer Seok Chang-geun, a former prosecutor, thought for a moment before answering.

“Both are under nineteen, so they fall under the Juvenile Law and receive more lenient sentences than adults for the same criminal acts. Taking that into account, even at most they’d struggle to exceed one year in prison, and there’s a high probability they’d be released on probation.”
“Even if attempted murder charges are applied, that’s all they’d get?”

Seok Chang-geun, receiving the attention, gave a small nod and replied.

“That’s correct. For adults, sentences up to twenty years imprisonment are possible, but for juvenile offenders, it’s customary to significantly reduce sentences unless the victim actually loses their life.”

Seok-won’s frown deepened noticeably.

“So the victim has to die for a severe sentence to be handed down? That’s an absolutely absurd law.”
“Even if there are aspects you find unacceptable, that’s the law.”

Seok Chang-geun, who during his tenure as a chief prosecutor had witnessed a criminal convicted of a juvenile offense released on probation commit robbery and murder not long after, wore a bitter expression.

“If this case becomes a public issue and causes an uproar, the US military will likely send both perpetrators back to their home country, won’t they?”
“That’s possible. As you mentioned earlier, since the case becoming public would offer no benefit to the US military, they’d likely do exactly that.”
“Then I’d like you to leak this case to the media and ensure it gets covered in the news.”

At Seok-won’s question, Seok Chang-geun’s expression turned puzzled.

“There’s nothing impossible about it, but if that happens, under the SOFA agreement, the perpetrators can be sent to the United States to stand trial in their home country. Are you certain that’s acceptable?”

At that, Seok-won broke into a grin, baring his teeth.

“That’s exactly what I want.”

Unable to comprehend this cryptic statement, Seok Chang-geun narrowed his brows in confusion.

“If the trial takes place in the United States rather than Korea where juvenile law applies, wouldn’t they receive much harsher sentences?”
“While the United States certainly imposes strict punishments for criminal acts, since the crime occurred in Korea and involves Korean citizens, lighter sentences might actually be handed down. Moreover, if the trial is held in the United States, the distance is considerable, and more importantly, due to financial constraints, it would be difficult for the victim to attend in person, making it even more likely the case would be buried and forgotten.”

Seok Chang-geun spoke with a skeptical tone.
It was a natural observation—even America couldn’t help but favor its own.
However, Seok-won dismissed it casually.

“If it’s a financial issue, I can handle that. Let’s move past that and just get the victim’s consent to represent them in the lawsuit.”
“…Are you saying you’ll help the victim, sir?”

Seok Chang-geun’s expression showed genuine surprise.

“Yes.”
“…”

Seok Chang-geun stared silently for a moment, then asked with a puzzled expression.

“If we proceed with litigation in the United States, the costs will be substantial. Is there a particular reason you’re insisting on this?”

Ju Geun-sung, standing behind with Bockus, wore the same curious expression.
Without hearing a detailed explanation, he didn’t fully understand the situation, but he thought the task was already complete since we’d saved someone from nearly being stabbed by that knife-wielding bastard.

“It doesn’t sit right with me.”
“What do you mean by that….”

Seok Chang-geun’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“If we hadn’t been at that restaurant yesterday, what do you think would have happened to the victim?”
“…!”

Seok-won spoke in a grave voice about what would have actually transpired.

“Nine times out of ten, the victim would have been brutally beaten to death in the bathroom by those criminals. Without even knowing why they were being stabbed.”

Seok Chang-geun’s face hardened as he exhaled a low breath.

“They took a human life, yet they’ll receive laughably lenient sentences compared to their crimes simply because they’re juveniles.”

Seok-won shrugged and continued with a cynical tone.

“And if they’re not prosecuted domestically and flee to the United States, they’ll live without any punishment whatsoever, shameless as ever.”
“….”
“Meanwhile, the victim will never forget what happened that day and carry the trauma for the rest of their life.”

Having witnessed in the legal profession how victims suffer far greater pain than perpetrators, Seok Chang-geun nodded heavily.

“If someone commits a crime, they should face appropriate punishment for it, shouldn’t they?”
“You’re absolutely right.”

Seok Chang-geun agreed with Seok-won’s words.
Then he felt ashamed of himself—a former prosecutor at that—for having dismissed the criminals’ light sentences so casually.

“I’ve heard that in the United States, even minors face sentences of ten years or more for attempted murder.”
“It varies depending on the case, but that’s generally what I understand.”

Seok-won’s eyes gleamed with cold intensity as he spoke.

“If you avoid trial in Korea and flee to the United States, you’ll mock the Korean police and prosecution for letting you slip away, laughing all the while. But it won’t be long before you realize you’ve walked straight into hell.”

There were numerous obstacles to conducting a trial in the United States, including jurisdictional issues, but I felt confident that Seok-won could overcome them without difficulty.

‘There’s nothing money can’t solve—especially not in America.’

Seok Chang-geun, now understanding the intention, regarded him with fresh eyes and spoke.

“If that’s your thinking, I’ll proceed as you’ve outlined.”

Seok-won nodded with a satisfied expression, then let out a small yawn.

“I’ve been up all night, so I’m rather tired. Let’s discuss the specifics in detail when we meet again.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”

As I descended the stairs first, Seok Chang-geun bowed slightly from behind before straightening up.
Seok-won climbed into the back seat of a Mercedes-Benz sedan parked in one corner of the police station’s outdoor parking lot.
Moments later, Seok Chang-geun watched the Mercedes glide smoothly out through the police station’s main gate, murmuring to himself.

“I’ve met many chaebol heirs, but he’s truly a peculiar one.”

Yet despite saying this, Seok Chang-geun’s expression showed not annoyance but rather enthusiasm and determination.

* * *

The next morning.
Upon arriving at the office, Seok-won habitually unfolded the morning newspaper neatly arranged on one corner of his desk and slowly scanned through the articles.

[Two Teenage Americans Wielding Weapons in Itaewon
Two days ago, two teenage Americans brandished weapons at a college student who had come to dine with his girlfriend in a bathroom of a hamburger restaurant located in Itaewon. The victim had no prior acquaintance with them whatsoever… According to SOFA regulations, investigations into US military personnel, military employees, or their family members who receive half of their living expenses subsidized are to be conducted by the US military.
Consequently, the current investigation is being handled not by the police but….]
Accordingly, the current police are not… [

Seeing the Itaewon incident article featured quite prominently, Seok-won wore a satisfied expression.

“You’re pretty good at handling work.”

Once the media reported on this and it became a major issue, it was certain that US Forces Korea, feeling the pressure, would rush to send the two perpetrators to the United States and bury the case.

“Before my regression, US Forces Korea relinquished investigative jurisdiction and handed the perpetrators over to the police precisely because the victim had been brutally murdered.”

Otherwise, they would never have voluntarily surrendered jurisdiction first, if only to avoid setting a precedent.

“To prevent the Pentagon from casually sweeping this under the rug, I’ll need to retain a law firm powerful enough that they can’t ignore the pressure.”

The Pentagon was both the name of the US Department of Defense building in Washington and a common nickname for the Defense Department itself.

“Since Landon Shore comes from a legal background, he’ll know exactly which law firm would be best. I should call him and put this in his hands.”

Just then, my phone vibrated on the desk, and I picked it up.
As I pressed the answer button, I heard the familiar voice of Porter, the branch manager.

[It’s me, Boss.]
“Calling me means the options profits have all been deposited, I assume?”
[Yes. All 4 billion dollars have come in—10 billion from each of the four securities firms.]

Porter’s voice carried a hint of laughter.

“Wire it to the New York Headquarters account as we discussed last time.”
[Understood. And what about the article regarding the options contract?]
“The stock price that fell so sharply is showing signs of a slight rebound, isn’t it?”
[Yes. The losses across all four securities firms are gradually narrowing, and starting from the end of yesterday’s trading session, we’re seeing buying pressure at lower prices beginning to emerge.]

I set down the newspaper I’d been reading and leaned back in my chair.

“Since we’ve finished establishing the short position, there’s no reason to hesitate. Release the article right away.”
[I’ll do as you say.]

After a brief exchange, I ended the call and moved my mouse to display the stock price charts of Japan’s Big Four Securities Firms side by side on my monitor.
The short selling was working perfectly—the stock prices had plummeted significantly.

“They’re already suffering heavy losses from the options contracts, so they must be in considerable pain. Once the stock price collapses and shareholder protests come flooding in, it’ll be absolutely unbearable for them.”

But what can they do? They’ll have to accept it.
I let out a quiet laugh, curling one corner of my mouth upward.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————