Prosecutor Kim Seo-Jin - Chapter 22

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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 Friend (6)
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“Did you fix it?”
The next morning.
Lee So-hee appeared beside me as I walked down the hallway.
When she asked if I’d fixed the hard drive, I shook my head.
“Couldn’t get it working. So I sent it to Central Headquarters.”
“Good grief… nothing’s ever simple, is it?”
Lee So-hee pressed her small hand to her forehead and exhaled a sigh.
I felt a twinge of guilt.
After all, I’d consumed the decisive evidence that could have sent Assemblyman Wi Jun-sang straight to hell.
But a one-way ticket to damnation doesn’t come from just one source.
Assemblyman Wi Jun-sang carried heavy karma, and his sins were drawing closer with each passing moment.
That’s when it happened.
“Shh.”
At my low voice, Lee So-hee blinked.
“What?”
“There.”
Prosecutor Ji Dong-min was approaching from the end of the hallway.
Ji Dong-min stopped in front of us and opened his mouth.
“I was trying to reach you, but this works out perfectly. Have you two been investigating hard? How about tonight? I’d like to brief Chief Prosecutor Kim on what we’ve found.”
Ji Dong-min was smiling.
But that expression—I knew that look in his eyes all too well.
When I was Seo Jun-kyung, I was an orphan and a graduate of Korea National Open University.
Everyone dismissed me.
You can’t do it, they said.
And now Ji Dong-min’s eyes were telling me the exact same thing.
‘A rookie can’t accomplish anything.’
Without erasing that look, Ji Dong-min brushed past Lee So-hee and me, speaking smoothly.
“I’ll share everything we’ve investigated so far, so bring all of it.”
A short while later, at the Coffee Shop.
“Share? He wants to share? Then he’ll just call Park Sang-young and blab everything about what we’re doing? How far we’ve dug?”
The fork in Lee So-hee’s hand plunged deep into the cheesecake slice.
With an expression full of frustration, she cut through the cake and continued.
“What do we do? Do we have to lay bare every detail of our investigation to Ji Dong-min?”
“Eat your cake first.”
“Right.”
Lee So-hee quickly brought the cake to her mouth.
She munched on the cake with a furrowed brow.
She muttered under her breath.
“I don’t like this.”
“The cake?”
“No, the cake’s actually delicious despite everything. I mean Ji Dong-min. He’s insufferable. Two-faced. A total scum—”
I waved my hand to stop her before the curses got worse.
Lee So-hee realized we were near the District Prosecution Office and closed her mouth.
Fortunately, there was no one around, and her voice hadn’t been loud.
Seo Jin let out a soft laugh and spoke.
“When I didn’t know your personality, I thought you were quiet. Turns out you’re a foul-mouthed old lady?”
“Foul-mouthed?”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Fair’s fair. When I didn’t know your personality, I thought you were a thug. I even wondered how someone like that could be a prosecutor.”
“A thug?”
“Sorry.”
I don’t know exactly what Seo Jin was like in the past.
But from the evaluations I’d heard and the books and newspapers he’d been reading, I could roughly infer his character.
I judged the past Seo Jin to be a cautious man.
But a thug? That didn’t add up.
It was an incomprehensible assessment.
“Could it be because you got along with Shin Jong-seung?”
“I wondered what you were thinking, and you went straight to that? I’m sorry if I upset you. I really am.”
“No, it’s fine. But was my guess right? Is the reason you were called a thug because of Shin Jong-seung?”
“Well, yeah. Why did you think we got along?”
That was something I was curious about too.
Why had I gotten along with Shin Jong-seung and Kim Yun-hwan when our temperaments didn’t even match?
There had to be a reason, but there was nothing I could figure out now.
“Anyway. How do we handle the briefing tonight?”
Lee So-hee, who’d finished her cake, wiped her lips with a tissue and asked.
Seo Jin, who’d been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.
“Through Wi Jun-sang’s mouth, Park Sang-young and Ji Dong-min have definitely already heard what we’re doing.”
“Probably.”
“So tonight, let’s just listen quietly to what Ji Dong-min has to say and see what he brings to the table.”
“That’s it?”
“Probably.”
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“We’ve detected circumstances where Chief Prosecutor Park Sang-young handed money to Assemblyman Wi Jun-sang. However, it’s difficult to classify this as a bribe. It was reported through proper channels, and…”
That night, in Chief Prosecutor Kim’s Office.
At Ji Dong-min’s words, Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-yong’s brow furrowed.
“They filed an official report?”
“Yes, it’s legitimate sponsorship.”
That was when Lee So-hee raised her hand.
“Prosecutor Ji Dong-min?”
Lee So-hee had intended to stay silent after hearing what Seo Jin said.
But listening to Prosecutor Ji Dong-min’s words and actions, she couldn’t remain quiet.
Prosecutor Ji Dong-min seemed to be acting as Park Sang-young’s defense attorney.
Do it this way and you’re safe; do it that way and you’re innocent.
If Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-yong was persuaded by those words, Park Sang-young might have time to cover his tracks and flee before anyone could stop him.
Lee So-hee decided she had to prevent that.
Lee So-hee pushed forward the documents and opened her mouth.
“According to my investigation, multiple civil servants received department store gift certificates worth around 500,000 won. They claim they received them from hometown friends, but when you look into it, they’re all people from Hyungje Construction.”
“And?”
“Under the Anti-Corruption Act….”
Prosecutor Ji Dong-min cut off Lee So-hee’s words and let out a heavy sigh with an exasperated expression.
Then he opened his mouth with a sneer plastered across his face.
“Prosecutor Lee So-hee, what is the Anti-Corruption Act?”
-Anti-Corruption Act: Public officials who receive monetary gifts exceeding 1 million won per instance or 3 million won annually, regardless of job relevance or consideration, face criminal punishment.
“Think about it differently. If it has nothing to do with job duties or consideration, you can receive gift certificates worth 500,000 won up to six times. Do I really have to spell this out for you?”
“But still….”
This time too, Prosecutor Ji Dong-min cut off Lee So-hee’s words.
“Did you investigate all the civil servants who received the gift certificates?”
“….”
“I did. Among them, there were people who bought them at a 20% discount from friends who work at Hyungje Construction. Is that the Anti-Corruption Act? Or is it being thrifty? If that’s a crime, then every civil servant who gets a discount on gift certificates would be committing a crime?”
Lee So-hee closed her mouth, and Prosecutor Ji Dong-min’s gaze turned toward Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-yong.
“Chief Prosecutor, we’ve already identified the civil servants who received the gift certificates. But they’re all assigned to positions completely unrelated to the project.”
“This is unrelated and that’s unrelated?”
“Yes, many Hyungje Construction employees settled in Dongnam County because of this project. So Hyungje Construction distributed gift certificates to comfort these employees, and they ended up being passed to friends. Those friends happened to be civil servants.”
“It’s getting complicated.”
Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-yong clicked his tongue.
And Prosecutor Ji Dong-min’s eyes turned toward Seo Jin and Lee So-hee.
‘These bastards….’
The two of them were now newly appointed prosecutors with their trainee labels removed.
Still naive and foolish, so no matter how clever or accomplished they were, there were limits to what they could do.
Push them a little and they’d shut their mouths and bow their heads—they’d need a few more years to build real experience.
That’s what he thought.
“I also have something I investigated.”
But Seo Jin, who had been quietly twirling his pen until now, suddenly spoke up.
Prosecutor Ji Dong-min’s eyes narrowed.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
Ji Dong-min had always written off Seo Jin as nothing more than a lucky bastard, and calling him “Lucky Guy” had been sincere.
Just a few months ago, Seo Jin had hung around with Shin Jong-seung and become a prosecutor through his parents’ connections—a silver-spoon kid through and through.
So the sister murder case and the Yoo A-sung murder case were thought to have been solved by luck rather than skill.
But something felt off.
Seo Jin’s eyes shifted the moment he stopped twirling his pen.
Gone was the naive expression of a rookie prosecutor—replaced by the cold, hardened gaze of someone who’d been ground down by this world.
With those eyes fixed on Ji Dong-min, Seo Jin opened his mouth slowly.
“The civil servants who received gift certificates—they’re in unrelated departments now, but before that, they worked in urban development, urban regeneration, living environment, and tourism development respectively. They came in through the general administrative track and rotated through various positions.”
“But they have no connection to their current work, right?”
“I could say something about that.”
“Something?”
“Just turn a blind eye. This much is fine, right? Let’s be flexible about it. That kind of thing. Does that count as consideration? Or not? But isn’t it absurd to talk about consideration and relevance without even investigating?”
Ji Dong-min’s face began to contort.
‘This bastard….’
He glared at Seo Jin with savage eyes, his fists clenching.
But Seo Jin paid no mind and continued.
“And… you just mentioned donations. Recently, donations of five million won each were made to six members of the National Assembly in the name of Wi Jun-sang. A total of thirty million won in donations. If we trace where that money came from, I think we’ll find our answer, don’t you?”
Ji Dong-min bit his lip.
“Investigating the source of donations? That’s declaring war on the Daehan Party. The case will be closed before we even start. So focus on the target we already have.”
Seo Jin smiled as he spoke.
“Is a political party off-limits for investigation? If there’s suspicion, we investigate. If there’s wrongdoing, we prosecute. Isn’t that how it works?”
“There is no suspicion! All of this happened because the Gangwon Urban Development Corporation abandoned the project!”
Ji Dong-min slammed the documents down on the desk.
The numerous words written on those documents could be condensed into two points.
-The Gangwon Urban Development Corporation prioritized debt reduction and proceeded with liquidation of unprofitable projects.
-Hyungje Construction boldly invested, prioritizing brand value over losses.
“That’s the fact, and that’s the end of it! There’s nothing else!”
“So you’re saying it was all just a happening?”
“That’s right.”
Seo Jin shook his head.
“My father runs a construction company, so I looked into it a bit. He told me the marine park project posed no burden to the company whatsoever. The local government operates the park, and the construction company just gets paid and builds—that’s it. You should know that well enough, but seeing you keep defending it, I have to ask: did you receive money?”
“Hey, Kim Seo-jin!”
Ji Dong-min slammed his palm on the table—bang, bang, bang.
His voice rose like thunder.
“Did I receive money? There are things you can say and things you can’t!”
“So you just wanted to escape?”
“…What?”
“That’s why you buried the case? Just to escape?”
“What are you talking about!”
His voice was rough and angry, but the more he spoke, the colder Seo Jin’s expression became, and the more frigid his tone turned.
Seo Jin pulled out his phone.
“You know what?”
“What?”
Seo Jin found a recording file on his phone and placed it on the table.
The voice of Prosecutor Ji Dong-min came through.
-Gangwon Urban Development Corporation suddenly returned the project. And you all were dramatically selected as the priority negotiation partner. What happened? Who did you bribe?
Prosecutor Ji Dong-min’s body went rigid.
His wide eyes were fixed solely on Seo Jin’s phone.
His lips trembled violently for just a moment.
Then Prosecutor Ji Dong-min’s pupils dilated before slowly turning toward Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-yong.
And a stammering voice leaked from his lips.
“C-Chief Prosecutor….”
Chief Prosecutor Kim Gwan-yong was glaring at Prosecutor Ji Dong-min with a terrifying gaze.

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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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