Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 114

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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A Dog Covered in Filth (2)
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Five of the thirteen attorneys defending Shin Ji-seok, chairman of Buwun Church, submitted their resignations…(omitted)…Legal circles analyzed that as public criticism emerged over Shin Ji-seok’s side assembling a “lavishly expensive defense team,” the attorneys likely felt burdened by the scrutiny.
“…Have you lost your mind?”
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong glared at Attorney Shin Do-yul standing before him, his face contorting with rage.
Attorney Shin Do-yul—the man who had been instructed to investigate Jaejeong Construction’s corruption.
“Have you lost your mind!”
The trial was nearly upon them.
Yet the attorneys were resigning left and right without exception.
And it had started with Attorney Shin Do-yul.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong’s voice thundered like lightning.
“Answer me, you bastard!”
“I apologize.”
Attorney Shin Do-yul lowered his head, and Attorney Kang Seok-ryong pressed his palm against his forehead.
Then, biting his lip, he demanded an answer.
“Tell me—were you threatened? That’s it, isn’t it? That bastard Seo Jin showed up at your house?”
“No. It’s due to personal circumstances beyond my control.”
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong slammed his fist against the table—bang, bang.
“Then what exactly are these personal circumstances!”
Attorney Shin Do-yul closed his eyes instead of answering.
And he recalled the conversation he’d had with Seo Jin days ago.
Seo Jin’s voice had been vicious.
“Attorney Shin Do-yul, resign. If you don’t, the world will be in an uproar over articles about your daughter’s fraudulent admission. Oh, but I can’t just let it slide if you resign. If you cooperate, we’ll conduct the investigation quietly and confidentially. No one will know. I’ve made my proposal—now the choice is yours.”
Seo Jin’s gaze and voice left no room for negotiation.
Only a straight path forward.
Dealing with such a madman meant losing everything.
So I made my decision.
To quietly step back for my daughter’s sake.
There was no time now to be consumed by the affairs of a pseudo-religious cult leader.
My own matters were more pressing.
I needed to gather evidence to explain my daughter’s fraudulent admission.
“I truly apologize.”
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong was left alone.
His eyes were turbulent, and only sighs escaped his lips.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong was thinking of Seo Jin.
‘How could….’
Seo Jin was born with a silver spoon.
Raised as the son of a wealthy family, he had lived a life of comfort and luxury.
I’d never once been conscious of the word “disrespect” in my entire life.
So I’d anticipated his inflated ego. I’d assumed he was the type who said whatever came to mind.
‘But street fighting? Really?’
This was unexpected.
This kind of gutter brawling was difficult unless you’d clawed your way up from the bottom.
It was when Kang Seok-ryong’s teeth ground together with a sharp click.
His phone vibrated, trembling against his palm.
Kang Seok-ryong pressed the phone urgently to his ear.
“You got Jin-tae? He was really in Korea? That bastard… Bring him here right now! Right now!”
They’d found his son.
Just as Seo Jin had said, he really was in Korea.
Apparently he’d been lying naked in a hotel room with a woman.
Kang Seok-ryong received the report that the woman with his son wasn’t a minor, and he felt pathetic for finding relief in that fact.
“Damn it….”
Kang Seok-ryong’s fist clenched with force.
Seo Jin’s oppressive smile kept surfacing in his mind.
“Because of that bastard….”
Lawyers were resigning.
The three-billion-won settlement was wavering.
All of it was because of Seo Jin.
“Three billion, three billion!”
Of course, Kang Seok-ryong couldn’t pocket all that money himself.
He’d give a cut to the firm, split it with the lawyers he’d worked with, and there were countless other expenses.
Still, it was three billion.
“Son of a bitch….”
But then, mid-thought, Kang Seok-ryong suddenly smirked.
“Wait a minute….”
The condition for receiving three billion wasn’t destroying Seo Jin.
It was winning the game.
And the outcome of that game rested in the judge’s hands.
Kang Seok-ryong hurriedly grabbed his phone.
“Hey, the judge has been assigned, right? Who is it? Kang Jun-ho? What’s his family name?”
Kang Seok-ryong rushed toward the detention center.
And he sat across from Shin Ji-seok in the lawyer’s visitation room.
Shin Ji-seok opened his mouth with a peculiar smile.
“Five years maximum, three billion. How are the preparations coming along?”
“Let’s aim for seven years.”
Shin Ji-seok’s face twisted.
“Counselor, how old do you think I am?”
Shin Ji-seok was sixty-eight years old.
Half a century of life, they say, yet at this age, even five years are uncertain.
But seven years?
Kang Seok-ryong shook his head.
“You’ve tangled with a vicious man. Because of Seo Jin, my children are being stripped bare as well.”
“…!”
“And my own safety is hard to guarantee. That bastard is threatening to take me down with him.”
But Shin Ji-seok shook his head with a resolute expression.
“Five years. Nothing more. Tsk… I heard you were a skilled lawyer. Go find someone else.”
“Seven years. But you could be released after three.”
Shin Ji-seok’s movements froze.
Seven years of imprisonment, yet released after three? What did that mean?
Kang Seok-ryong tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers as he continued.
“In three years, you’ll be seventy years old. Then we can petition for a suspension of sentence execution.”
Article 471 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
When a person sentenced to imprisonment, confinement, or detention meets certain conditions, the execution of the sentence may be suspended.
“One of those conditions is being seventy years of age or older. The approval requires permission from the High Prosecutor’s Office or the District Prosecutor’s Office.”
“…!”
“Serve three years, and four remain—plenty of time to persuade the prosecutors. What do you think?”
Shin Ji-seok’s eyes wavered.
Kang Seok-ryong smiled faintly and grasped Shin Ji-seok’s weathered hand.
Then he continued.
“Pray to your god. Ask him to let you live just three more years. And hide three billion won. After three years, I’ll secure your release for that amount.”
“…!”
“Don’t trust me. Trust the money. And don’t think it’s excessive. That’s what’s needed to fill the prosecutors’ pockets. They’re greedy bastards.”
“…!”
“So the total comes to thirteen billion won. Can you manage it?”
He had the money.
The cult’s bank account, destroyed in the fire, contained three hundred billion won.
Of course, since it all burned, preparing the documentation would take time, but that was something he could resolve slowly over three years.
‘Three years….’
Shin Ji-seok made his decision.
And he opened his mouth to address Kang Seok-ryong.
“Seven years is possible?”
“Of course. The prosecution will bring various evidence. But you must insist everything was the ‘will of God,’ not my orders.”
After meeting Shin Ji-seok, Kang Seok-ryong walked to the parking lot and got into his car.
He picked up his phone and exhaled heavily.
‘The strategy is set, and I’ve arranged to meet the judge.’
Now all that remained was the trial itself.
But backing away like this felt incomplete.
He wanted to make Seo Jin pay for his disrespect, one way or another.
Kang Seok-ryong, who had been fidgeting with his phone, scrolled through his contacts.
And then.
“Ah, Prosecutor Seo Jin. It’s me. You said you wanted to join our office, right? Yes, our team specifically, not another one.”
Base salary for joining Kang Seok-ryong’s team started at over 500 million won.
Many prosecutors, judges, and lawyers coveted that position.
“I need someone from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. And frankly, this case might require me to let a few people go. Are you interested?”
The other party naturally agreed.
Blinded by greed, he seemed ready to submit his resignation on the spot.
“Right, we’ll discuss the details over drinks. But I want to ask you for one favor. Nothing major, just something petty. There’s someone named Seo Jin, right?”
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In a residential area of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, not far from the U.S. military base.
A Prosecutor’s Office van came to a halt there.
The door creaked open and investigators stepped out.
Their eyes gleamed with menace.
Dark crowbars were gripped in their hands.
“Let’s go.”
At my command, the investigators nodded.
And with heavy footsteps, they began following me.
I had received intelligence through Shin Do-yul, a lawyer at J&S Law Firm.
Choi Sung-don, a deacon at Buwun Church, was hiding here.
Choi Sung-don—the one who had been holding the leash of that Dosa dog at the entrance of Buwun Church.
And I had come all the way here to catch him.
If I caught him, I could pin a murder charge on Shin Ji-seok as well.
Just then, one of the investigators following me let out a breath.
Concerned by his tense expression, a fellow investigator asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, I’m just nervous.”
“Worried about getting hurt? Don’t be. There are so many of us—how could we get hurt? We’re not even catching gangsters.”
“That’s not it. I’m not nervous about that.”
“Then what?”
The investigator wore a peculiar smile.
“I get to watch Prosecutor Kim swing that hammer in real time.”
“Huh?”
“I was at the Prosecutor’s Office during the Buwun Church search and seizure too. I really wanted to see that ruthless brutality firsthand.”
“You’re insane.”
The investigators chuckled as they followed behind me.
But as we approached the hideout, the investigators’ voices grew quieter.
The target was a serial killer who may have taken several lives, and worse—a madman completely consumed by a pseudo-religious cult.
I had no idea what he might do.
He could spray sulfuric acid, or set a fire with thinner.
“Wait a moment.”
I stopped the investigators in their tracks.
Then I slowly lifted my gaze toward the building directly ahead.
An old house built of red brick—Choi Sung-don was hiding in its basement.
I trudged forward toward the common entrance.
Then I examined the electric meter, checking the power consumption.
It was moving slowly.
Only basic electricity was being used.
Three scenarios came to mind.
He was dead, he wasn’t here, or he was hiding to ambush whoever entered.
I descended the stairs to the basement, turning over these complex possibilities in my mind.
A house opened with a key, not a password.
I grasped the doorknob with my hand.
In that instant, the world drained to black and white.
And I saw Choi Sung-don standing behind the door, a knife in his hand.
I extended my hand toward the investigators with a cold gaze.
“Give me a hammer. I’ll smash it open. And step back—it’s dangerous.”
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“I saw it myself—Prosecutor Seo Jin swinging that hammer. Merciless, I tell you. Just bang, bang! We tried to stop him, but he kept saying the younger guy had to handle the dangerous work and wouldn’t stop.”
The next day, the investigators were swapping stories.
The investigator who started the tale flicked ash from his cigarette and continued.
“And then the door burst open. But that bastard was holding a knife!”
“A knife? So what happened?”
“He swung it at Prosecutor Seo Jin!”
Tension flickered across the investigators’ eyes.
Seo Jin’s face was far removed from combat.
There were widespread rumors he got roughed up and beaten regularly.
“Wait, there’s no rumor that Prosecutor Seo Jin got stabbed, right? How did this end?”
“He got stabbed.”
“What?”
“Prosecutor Seo Jin got stabbed, I’m telling you.”
The investigators’ gazes shifted.
I could be seen heading toward the parking lot in the distance.
“He got stabbed with a knife and moves like that? Nah… it must’ve just grazed him.”
“Keep listening. The guy thrust the knife in hard, and Prosecutor Seo Jin grabbed that bastard’s wrist and—”
“Grabbed it?”
“You’re wearing a protective vest, you bastard.”
“Ha!”
I was heading toward my car.
Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae quickly caught up behind me.
“You got stabbed yesterday, didn’t you?”
“I’m fine. I was wearing a protective vest.”
“Are you a police officer? No, you’re a prosecutor! Please, let’s be safe! Please!”
Every time Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae heard about my exploits, he felt his heart strain.
At this rate, it seemed like my health would deteriorate before the 300 billion won debt became a problem.
Seeing Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae’s furrowed expression, I let out a slight smile.
“Understood. I’ll be safe.”
“Hey, but where are you going now?”
“To catch a tax thief.”
“What?”
I didn’t answer further and got into the car.
Then I drove straight out of the parking lot.
Watching my car disappear into the distance, Chief Prosecutor Jo Woo-jae muttered to himself.
“That lunatic….”
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At that very moment.
A Korean traditional restaurant in Songpa-gu.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong and Judge Kang Jun-ho sat facing each other.
“I’ll be direct with you. One billion won. Just give me exactly seven years, and that one billion becomes yours.”
“Listen here!”
Judge Kang Jun-ho burst out indignantly.
But he didn’t move from his seat.
Because the money tempted him.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong read his mind. He continued with a subtle smile.
“I understand it’s difficult. But I’m also a former judge and I’ve written a few verdicts. I think seven years is a reasonable sentence.”
“….”
“Four years for embezzlement, six years for murder-for-hire and other charges, totaling ten years. But the defendant has a mental illness. He believes everything started as divine revelation. He’ll undergo a psychiatric evaluation before trial.”
“….”
“And regarding the murder-for-hire—the killer was caught, but the defendant never gave direct orders. His subordinates handled everything on their own.”
“….”
“He’s also done good deeds. He even received a presidential commendation for his charitable work. So factoring in all these considerations, a three-year sentence reduction. That brings us to seven years.”
“….”
“The prosecution has presented all their evidence. There’s nothing more coming. I’m asking you, Judge.”
Judge Kang Jun-ho’s expression grew grave.
I rubbed my chin, lost in thought.
I wanted the billion won, but I was reluctant to engage in illegal activities.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong poured more alcohol and continued speaking.
“That’s right. Did you know? I heard we’re from the same Kang clan. We’re even from the same generation.
“The same generation?”
“When I looked into it, Judge Kang Jun-ho turned out to be like my father’s generation, haha.”
Judge Kang Jun-ho laughed as well.
It wasn’t easy to meet someone from the same family.
He tilted the bottle toward Attorney Kang Seok-ryong with curious eyes.
Then Attorney Kang Seok-ryong accepted the glass and continued speaking.
“So I asked around through family elders, and I heard your son is getting married this time? In this day and age, people look down on you if you live in a jeonse or monthly rental. With a one-billion-won apartment, wouldn’t you at least be able to save face with your daughter-in-law?”
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong rambled on and pulled a court decision from his bag.
“I drafted a decision for this trial. Could you review it for me? Ah, there’s no need to feel burdened. As I mentioned, I’m also a former judge, and I just sketched this out after a long time.”
Judge Kang Jun-ho took the court decision in his hands.
And he began reading through it carefully.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong watched the other man’s expression while bringing his glass to his lips.
‘Was a billion won not enough? Should I have offered more?’
Money can even command ghosts.
If there’s anything in this world that money cannot buy, it’s only because there isn’t enough money.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong exhaled a tense breath.
He wondered how much more he would need to offer if Judge Kang Jun-ho refused.
Then Judge Kang Jun-ho set down the court decision and slowly opened his mouth.
“I can still be active in my position.”
His words meant he would rule according to the court decision.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong clenched his fist.
‘Done!’
But then.
“The apartment—if we do it as a gift, there will be quite a bit of tax involved…”
This trash of a man was asking him to handle the taxes too.
But now the one in power was Judge Kang Jun-ho.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong nodded pleasantly.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Since there’s good news in the family of an elder relative, I should handle that much cleanly.”
The two men laughed pleasantly and clinked their glasses together.
The atmosphere was good with the exchange of cash flowing both ways.
They poured and drank in warm camaraderie, glasses passing back and forth.
But then the sliding door creaked open.
Attorney Kang Seok-ryong was lowering his glass, thinking no one was supposed to come.
“Look here.”
Seo Jin’s voice—both men’s gazes snapped toward the door.
But it wasn’t just Seo Jin.
Lee Eun-ha was holding up her camera, clicking the shutter repeatedly.
“I’m taking pictures. Smile, make it look good.”
The two men’s faces crumbled.
They’d been caught red-handed in a trial deal.
Pale and trembling, they could only emit groans.
They didn’t even have the presence of mind to cover their faces.
Seo Jin strode into the room and opened his mouth.
“Detective, I’ve already caught the Prosecutor. Now let’s see if I can catch the lawyer and the Judge too.”

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