Chapter 157: Entertainment, Inheritance Battles, and a Prosecutor’s Proposition
by xennovel“Whether you know it or not, I’m launching an entertainment channel in August. We’ll show movies and dramas, but also entertainment news programs like ‘Entertainment Weekly.’ My first big scoop is going to be a ‘spoiled chaebol heir’ series. Young-joon and Kyung-joon. If those two brothers appear together, the viewership will be…”
Jin Yun-ki paused, tapping his fingers for a moment.
“…I guarantee it’ll be higher than ‘Sandglass,’ don’t you think?”
“Ky… Kyung-joon? Why is he involved?”
Jin Young-gi couldn’t hide his dismay as his youngest son, who was studying abroad, was mentioned. He’d been considering what position to offer him when he finished his studies…
“Didn’t you know? He’s living with someone in LA. A Hong Kong actress named Jong Ju-in. She’s… well, older than him.”
The LA branch hadn’t reported anything unusual. They only sent updates saying his grades were decent and he was doing well without any major incidents.
Living together? And with a Hong Kong woman?
Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi felt a throbbing in the back of his neck.
“I hired thirty reporters just to run this entertainment channel. They’re all veteran paparazzi-level. They gathered this much information in just one month. If they start in-depth coverage, there will be even more shocking articles… Can you handle that, Hyung-nim?”
His deliberate, forceful way of speaking was even more threatening.
“Are you threatening me right now?”
Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi glared, gritting his teeth, but Jin Yun-ki didn’t flinch.
“Inheritance battle? Fine. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have one. In the old days, it was like swallowing a country, so how could we not fight? But you shouldn’t involve the children. And it shouldn’t leak outside the family. Father, in good health, is still watching.”
With those words, Jin Yun-ki stood up.
“We’ll have the whole nation watching the family feud live when Father passes away. I’m warning you again, if our Do-jun has to eat seolleongtang at the Prosecutor’s Office again, all thirty reporters will be following only you, Hyung-nim.”
Watching his youngest brother slam the door as he left, Jin Young-gi suddenly remembered something he had completely forgotten.
That the same blood as his flowed within that seemingly docile youngest son.
And he remembered another thing.
“You! Is what that bastard said true?”
He didn’t need an answer. His son’s ashen face was the reply.
“You foolish son!”
Slap—!
Unable to hold back any longer, his hand flew out.
Leaving his awkwardly standing son to nurse his stinging cheek, Jin Young-gi angrily picked up the receiver.
“Get me the secretarial staff, the strategy planning department, the audit office… Ah! And the head of the management support division. Now!”
Jin Young-jun could only stare fearfully at his father, who had slammed down the receiver, not daring to beg for forgiveness.
The fury erupting from his father was that intense.
Less than five minutes later, the door opened and people flooded in.
They instantly understood the situation in the vice-chairman’s office.
Seeing the wayward son with his head bowed, their expressions said, ‘That bastard’s done it again.’
“Strategy!”
“Yes, Vice-chairman.”
“Listen carefully. From this moment on, assign two people to him. A driver and a guard. Someone who can handle themselves! Monitor him 24/7 and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere except home and the office. If that bastard even tries to go somewhere else, break his legs to stop him. If he even stops at some insignificant café, everyone in the strategy department is fired. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get out.”
The head of the strategy planning department scurried out the moment Vice-chairman Jin finished speaking.
“Audit office!”
“Yes.”
“Find everything that bastard’s spent money on since last year… no, the year before. Don’t leave out anything, not even a pack of gum. Especially if he spent large sums of cash, make sure to uncover it. Got it?”
“Yes.”
The head of the audit office practically fled before being dismissed.
“Executive Director Kang.”
The head of the management support division stood rigidly at attention upon hearing his name.
“Freeze all of Young-joon’s credit cards. Freeze all bank accounts under his name, and find all the slush funds he’s stashed away and bring them to me. If even ten won comes out of that son of a bitch’s pocket, you’re fired. Bring me his salary bankbook. And what was it? Block all those online transactions or whatever. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Are you saying to prevent him from spending money?”
“Yes. He can eat at home and in the company cafeteria. Even the rice grains that go into his mouth are a waste. Damn it.”
The remaining chief of staff felt a sense of anticipation for what severe order would be issued next. This level of harsh punishment was unprecedented.
“Go to Electronics and relay my words exactly. Jin Young-jun is not my son. He’s just an ordinary entry-level employee. If he doesn’t do his job properly or show any ability, you can send him packing to the Suwon factory that very day. Understood?”
“Yes, Vice-chairman.”
Jin Young-gi shouted at his son.
“You old man! What’s that bitch’s name?”
“Huh? Ah… K, Kyung-hee. It’s Lee Kyung-hee.”
He barely managed to utter her name before lowering his head again.
“Did you hear that? She’s some actress. Dig up everything on her and her management company.”
“Are you ordering an investigation? Or… something else?”
The chief of staff asked cautiously, and Jin Young-gi raised his voice again.
“Dig it up and bury it! That bitch is a drug addict and her agency president is a gangster, so anything will come out if you dig. Throw them in jail and let them rot for a few years. Got it?”
“Yes, Vice-chairman.”
“Take that bastard and throw him over to Electronics.”
In the empty room, after everyone had left, Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi could only keep sighing.
As his sighs subsided, Vice-chairman Jin picked up the receiver.
“Get the LA branch manager on the line. Transfer him to some place like Africa right now. What? You son of a bitch! How am I supposed to know the names of the countries in Africa? Just send him to some backwater village!”
He was overwhelmed with frustration again and couldn’t stand it. But there was still one more thing to take care of.
“Grab Kyung-joon by the scruff of his neck and bring him here right now. Get him on a plane today, no matter what. Post guards at the airport to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere else!”
Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi was ready to cut his two sons off at the root.
* * *
“Jin Young-gi? That Jin Young-gi from Soonyang?”
“Yes.”
Senior Prosecutor Bae Jae-hwan couldn’t bring himself to drink the soju that Prosecutor Lee Kang-shik was pouring, because of the name that had just been spoken.
“You’re out of your mind. Why? Did getting transferred to the provinces make you want to stir things up as your last hurrah? Who are you trying to mess with?”
“I’ve already received the ingredients for the dish. Take a look at this.”
“What’s this?”
Bae Jae-hwan opened the file that Lee Kang-shik handed him.
“What is this company?”
“It’s Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi’s slush fund. They use internal trading to inflate profits and it’s a channel for their slush funds. The overseas branches are perfect offshore companies.”
“Off… what?”
“Offshore companies. Common companies established in tax havens.”
“You little bastard! Are you showing off because you were in the financial crimes unit? Just say it’s a shell company!”
“Anyway, this is a list of those companies. With a clear target, the investigation will be easy.”
“So? You couldn’t do it before because it was difficult? You didn’t investigate because the evidence was weak? It’s because there were too many people covering for them! There are people you can touch and people you can’t. Don’t you know that?”
“We just need to investigate. They’ll be the ones getting touched. What do you say?”
“Don’t go around using ‘we’ so casually.”
Chief Prosecutor Bae threw the file aside.
“Tell me the real reason you’re trying to pull this off. What’s going on?”
“I was just about to tell you.”
Prosecutor Lee Kang-shik recounted his conversation with Jin Do-jun in as much detail as possible, making sure to embellish it to instill the belief that his future was guaranteed.
“He promised at least five billion won. It’s like earning insurance money after just one year as a lawyer.”
“That kid’s got his head in the clouds. Are you crazy? What lunatic would give you that much money and guarantee your future just for doing a little investigation?”
“That’s because you don’t know the chaebols, Chief. Honestly, I just realized it. The way they prioritize family lineage and pull each other up… it’s all to keep these money sources within their own circle.”
Prosecutors who cover up cases involving chaebols, destroy evidence, and even use extreme measures like suspension of indictment to protect them.
If they make a mistake, they risk not only losing their prosecutor’s badge but also having their lawyer’s license revoked. But they don’t hesitate because they believe they’ll be offered an annual salary of billions of won to join the legal teams of major chaebols.
“Chief, let’s be honest. Being a chief prosecutor is the end of the line for us, isn’t it? Even with good luck, it’s just deputy chief prosecutor. Has a non-mainstreamer ever climbed higher than chief prosecutor? Isn’t opening a law firm in our hometown our inevitable end?”
“So? You’re going to use a college senior as a sponsor to secure your retirement plan? This kid’s gone mad.”
“Why don’t you meet him yourself? Your mind will change once you meet him. He’s young, but he’s not ordinary. And if you say no, Chief, I’ll just go down to Cheongju and live a quiet life without any regrets.”
Chief Prosecutor Bae Jae-hwan looked at Lee Kang-shik’s earnest eyes and silently drank his soju.
* * *
“How many are there?”
“There are about six in the Southern District Prosecutors’ Office. You’d need to broaden it to Gyeonggi Province to get a decent number.”
“Three hundred, fifty, and the rest. Is that right?”
Hearing the accurate proportions, Chief Prosecutor Bae was slightly surprised but seemed to remember that he was on their side.
“That’s right. The senior positions in the prosecution and judiciary are filled with 300 graduates from Seoul National University, 50 from Korea University, and a few others. You know your stuff.”
“The seniors proudly boasted about it when I was a freshman. Shamelessly.”
“What’s shameful about it? They’re alumni…”
“Usually, it’s the insignificant ones who sell their family name, their seniors’ names, and their alma mater. Someone who believes in themselves wouldn’t talk about such things.”
Chief Prosecutor Bae’s expression shifted slightly. A chaebol’s grandson like me, who was quite rare, must have seemed a bit novel.
“If you want to build connections in the prosecution, wouldn’t it be better to target the mainstream? Is there a stronger bond in Korea than university alumni? If Jin Do-jun is determined, he could easily build those relationships.”
“When you talk about the prosecution’s mainstream, you’re referring to the so-called political prosecutors, right? The reason they take care of their alumni is ultimately for money. It’s something you can just buy with money when you need it… There’s no need to do it right now.”
“Is it because there are wealthier people backing their side than Jin Do-jun? Like Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi?”
“You’re sharp. If they know I’m on a similar level to the Vice-chairman, they’ll naturally flock to my side.”
“So, you’re starting with the non-mainstream for now?”
Look at this guy?
He still doesn’t know his place or who’s above and below him. I’ll taste it first to see if it’s good, and I’ll be the one to judge.
“Chief Prosecutor Bae.”
“Yes.”
“My grandfather, the chairman of Soonyang, doesn’t promise a future to a prosecutor just for conducting an investigation. He offers a bright future to those who use their power as prosecutors to protect him. I… as Prosecutor Lee Kang-shik told you, promised a future just for finding some evidence I need.”
…
When I pointed out each detail, Chief Prosecutor Bae pretended to be a mute who had eaten honey.
“With these conditions, isn’t this a freebie? Entering this studio apartment means you’re willing to sell, and I’ve said I’ll pay a generous price, so let’s finalize the deal. They call prosecutors professionals, right? Then let’s make a professional deal.”
I don’t need someone who pretends to be a prosecutor. I need someone who’s a thorough businessman. Businessmen never turn their backs on profitable clients.