Volume 4: Counterattack: Bright Star Road Chapter 250 Song Eun-hee reports Prosecutor Hong Jung-soo
In the office of the director of the Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, Han Qiangzhi sat behind his desk, reviewing the case while looking up at the slightly nervous intern Song Eun-hee standing in front of his desk and said:
"Why do you need an interview?"
After looking at Han Qiangzhi, Song Enxi took a deep breath, mustered up the courage and said directly:
"My supervisor, prosecutor Hong Jung-soo, took me to a hotel for a drink and asked me if I wanted to sleep with him. I want to apply for a new supervisor!"
"Are you done?"
"That's it, Minister, please approve it!"
"And then, any other requests?"
Hearing Han Qiangzhi say this, Song Enxi hesitated for a moment and said:
"Supervising prosecutor Hong Jung-soo used his position to sexually harass his female subordinate. I demand that this be reported to the Disciplinary Committee and severe legal measures be taken!"
After listening to Song Enxi's words, Han Qiangzhi said without even raising his head:
"Did you two sleep?"
"What?"
"I asked you, did you two sleep?"
Han Qiangzhi asked again, his tone slightly impatient.
“No…no!”
"What's the problem?"
Hearing the obvious impatience in Han Qiangzhi's tone, Song Eun-hee lowered her head, clasped her hands together, and retorted in a low voice:
"I want to say that the case I just mentioned itself has problems. Supervising prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu..."
Before Song Enxi could finish, Han Qiangzhi interrupted her and said:
"Why is that a problem? It's obviously a compliment. He wants to sleep with you because you are beautiful, smart and attractive. If it were me or any other man, they would all want to sleep with you. It's just a compliment. Do you understand?"
"Minister, I... I think the focus of this matter is the sexual harassment of subordinates by superiors, not whether I slept with the supervising prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu. And what you just said is also illegal. I..."
"Hey, are you crazy?"
Hearing that Song Eun-hee dared to accuse him of breaking the law in person, Han Qiangzhi slammed the case materials in his hand onto the desk, looked up at Song Eun-hee who seemed to be a little ignorant of the world, and shouted:
"You are just an intern, and you dare to talk about law in front of the Minister Prosecutor. What's your name? The president of the Judicial Research Institute is my direct predecessor. You little bastard, with your attitude, are you qualified to be a prosecutor?"
Hearing Han Qiangzhi's roar, Song Enxi, who was already afraid of being wronged, trembled even more, lowered her head and dared not say a word. Seeing her cowardly look, Han Qiangzhi was inexplicably angry and shouted outside the office:
"Secretary Kim, get Hong Jung-soo over here right now!"
"Yes, Minister!"
After a while, Hong Zhengzhu, who looked a little nervous, walked into Han Qiangzhi's office. He first glanced at Song Eunxi, who was trembling like a quail in front of the minister's desk, and then looked at Han Qiangzhi who was standing in front of him and saluted respectfully:
"Minister, you're looking for me?"
"Hong Jung-soo, what good thing have you done?"
Without asking, it was clear that what Song Eun-hee said was true. On the one hand, as an intern with no power, she did not have the guts to casually frame her supervisor. On the other hand, Han Qiangzhi knew Hong Zhengzhu's character. He had done this more than once or twice, and he just didn't bother to care. However, in front of Song Eun-hee, he still kicked Hong Zhengzhu hard and said:
"How dare a judicial trainee give a law lesson to a ministerial prosecutor like me? Have I fallen to the point where I have to listen to the advice of an intern?"
"I'm sorry, Minister, it's all my fault. I will correct my mistake. Please forgive me!"
After being kicked by Han Qiangzhi, Hong Zhengzhu immediately bent down and apologized.
"Have you told the intern that you wanted to sleep with her?"
"Never said that, Minister!"
After looking at Hong Zhengzhu, Han Qiangzhi turned his head and looked at Song Eunxi standing beside him and shouted:
"Didn't you say he wanted to sleep with you? What's going on?"
Hearing Han Qiangzhi's roar, Song Eun-hee looked at Hong Zhengzhu, who had no expression on his face, and said with red eyes:
"You clearly said, how come you..."
Before Song Eun-hee could finish, Hong Jung-soo interrupted her and said:
"I saw that you worked very hard, so I bought you a drink to encourage you. It seems that you drank too much and had hallucinations. You took my compliments as sexual harassment. Didn't you record what I said with your phone that night?"
Hearing Hong Zhengzhu say this, without waiting for Song Eunxi to speak, Han Qiangzhi looked directly at her and said:
"Do you have a recording?"
After hearing Han Qiangzhi talk about the recording, and thinking that the recording did not contain the excessive words that Hong Zhengzhu said, Song Eunxi couldn't help but hesitate:
“That…that…”
"Did you record it?"
Seeing Han Qiangzhi interrogating Song Eun-hee, Hong Zhengzhu added expressionlessly:
"I saw that she was drunk, so I asked her to go home and sleep early. It seems that she heard this as sleep together. This sentence should have been recorded in the recording!"
"Yeah?"
After looking at Hong Zhengzhu, Han Qiangzhi looked at Song Eunxi and said directly:
"Play the recording, let me see what's going on!"
"Minister, there is no... no recording!"
"No recording?"
Glancing at Song Enxi, Han Qiangzhi stretched out his right hand and said:
“Give me the phone!”
After taking a look at the pitiful and helpless Song Eun-hee, Hong Zhengzhu looked at Han Qiangzhi and added fuel to the fire:
"Minister, even if we are a family, we cannot just look through someone's phone without a warrant!"
"You apply for a confiscation order and seize her phone as evidence. If the recordings are deleted, restore the records, and thoroughly investigate the facts, you can either take off your official uniform and become a lawyer, or sue her for false accusation. If a prosecutor loses face, can she still be called a prosecutor?"
Hearing Han Qiangzhi's words, Hong Zhengzhu remained expressionless and said:
"I am her supervisory prosecutor. I will persuade her well. Please forgive me, Minister!"
"Are you kidding me?"
With a roar, Han Qiangzhi looked at Song Eunxi and cursed at her:
"You little stinky girl, what else do you have to say now? Where did this piece of rubbish come from? Either show me the evidence or get out of here. Do you hear me?"
"I'm sorry, Minister!"
After bowing and apologizing to Han Qiangzhi, Hong Zhengzhu led Song Eunxi out and returned to his office. Hong Zhengzhu looked at Song Eunxi with red eyes and smiled:
"Xiao Song, I didn't expect you to be so cute!"
After taking a look at the complacent Hong Jung-soo, Song Eun-hee didn't say much. She just sat quietly behind her desk, lost in thought, with an expression of despair on her face.
Seeing that Song Eun-hee was unwilling to pay attention to him, Hong Zhengzhu picked up a stack of case materials and threw them on her desk, saying with a hint of sarcasm:
"You know what to do, right?"
"Know!"
After taking a look at the case materials in front of him, Song Enxi said weakly:
"Check police investigation records, prepare victim interrogation forms, and..."
“Wrong!”
Glancing at the weak Song Eun-hee, Hong Jung-soo straightened his cuffs and said:
"That's what the prosecutor should do. As for you..."
After a brief pause, Hong Zhengzhu found a wedge from his desk and threw it to Song Eun-hee, saying with a smile:
"Categorize and organize the records. Given your level, this is enough!"
After that, without waiting for Song Eun-hee to say anything, Hong Jung-soo pinched her ear hard and said:
"Xiao Song, don't worry, I will take good care of you. When the internship is over, I will definitely give you a good review!"
"you……"
Song Eun-hee stood up from her seat, trying to avoid Hong Jung-soo's harassment. Hong Jung-soo didn't care. He smiled and walked out. The internship period for a prospective prosecutor is about one year. He has plenty of time to play cat and mouse with Song Eun-hee. If it is too easy to succeed, it will not arouse his interest. It is just right to keep it like this. In his opinion, this process is like hunting. The result is important, but the process is also enjoyable.
After Hong Jung-soo left, Song Eun-hee rubbed her ears hard a few times, then held back her tears, closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. After she calmed down, she sorted out the case materials on the table and walked out. She could no longer bear this disgusting place and the disgusting prosecutor Hong Jung-soo. She only had one last way left. If it still didn't work, she could only choose to leave.
After walking out of Hong Zhengzhu's office and wandering around the Criminal Division II, Song Eunxi found Yuan Xudong's office. She hesitated at the door for a while, and finally knocked on the door. Inside the office, Yuan Xudong's secretary Park Eunhui looked up from behind her desk and saw a strange woman knocking on the door and walking in. She immediately stood up and said with a smile:
"Hello, what can I do for you?"
"Hello!"
Nodding slightly, Song Eun-hee walked to Park Eun-hye's desk and smiled:
"I'm Song Eun-hee, a student at the Judicial Research Institute. Is Prosecutor Yuan Xudong here? I have something to ask him. Could you please let him know?"
"Okay, please wait!"
"Thank you, thank you for your trouble!"
Let Song Eun-hee stay in the outer office, Park Eun-hye walked to Yuan Xudong's independent office and knocked on the door to inform him. Knowing that Song Eun-hee came to see him, Yuan Xudong quickly invited her into his office, and then asked Park Eun-hye to bring two cups of bitter coffee. He and Song Eun-hee sat in the rest area and chatted while drinking coffee. Seeing that Song Eun-hee seemed a little absent-minded, Yuan Xudong smiled and said while drinking the bitter coffee:
"What's wrong? Is there something on your mind? Tell me about it."
“No…no!”
After looking at Yuan Xudong, Song Enxi said with an evasive look.
"No?"
Yuan Xudong looked at Song Enxi who was avoiding his gaze and joked:
"Lying is not a good habit. I'll give you another chance. Tell me. Are you looking for someone to talk to because you've broken up with someone, or are you looking for a loan because your credit card has maxed out? I'll make it clear in advance that except for borrowing money, everything else is fine!"
"Who's heartbroken?"
After rolling his eyes at Yuan Xudong, Song Enxi relaxed a little and said jokingly:
"I just came to borrow money from you. Tell me, how much can you lend me?"
"How much do you want to borrow?"
"The more the better. Do you have 100 million?"
"If it's one hundred million won, my answer is no problem!"
Yuan Xudong looked at Song Enxi and said with a smile:
"Calculating the interest based on the bank's loan rate, how long do you plan to borrow it for?"
"I'm just kidding you, I don't really want to borrow money!"
After rolling his eyes at Yuan Xudong, Song Enxi smiled and said:
"Didn't you say that everything else is negotiable except borrowing money?"
"Did I say that?"
After some joking, before Song Enxi could get angry, Yuan Xudong smiled and said:
"Okay, enough joking. I'm not going to visit you for no reason. Tell me, is there anything I can help you with?"
“Hmm~~”
Nodding slightly, and hesitating for a moment, Song Enxi organized her words in her mind and said:
"This morning, I talked to Minister Han Qiangzhu about the guidance of Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu. It was that night, in the private room of Brothers Hotel, that Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu said..."
Song Eun-hee explained the whole story, including how Prosecutor Hong Jung-soo refused to admit his guilt and made things difficult for her afterwards, how Minister Han Qiangzhu also intended to protect Prosecutor Hong Jung-soo, and how her recordings did not contain any evidence against Prosecutor Hong Jung-soo. There were some things Yuan Xudong knew, and some things Yuan Xudong did not know, such as Minister Han Qiangzhu's attitude towards the matter. After she finished speaking, Song Eun-hee looked at Yuan Xudong who was thinking seriously, and said with some nervousness and expectation:
"Prosecutor Yuan, can you testify for me?"
"sure!"
"Thank you, Prosecutor Yuan, thank you!"
"You're welcome. That's what I'm supposed to do, isn't it?"
Looking at Song Enxi who was looking happy, Yuan Xudong thought for a moment and said:
"Excuse me, are you planning to sue Prosecutor Hong Jung-soo?"
"No!"
Shaking his head slightly, Song Enxi thought for a moment and said:
"I was planning to reapply to mentor prosecutors and come to you for internship, and then report to the Disciplinary Committee that Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu used his position to sexually harass female subordinates. Do you have any suggestions?"
"You may not like my advice, but as your senior, I should still tell you that after you listen to me, no matter what decision you make, I will support you!"
"Okay, thank you Prosecutor Yuan!"
“You don’t have to be so polite!”
Yuan Xudong organized his words in his mind and said in a deep voice:
"You may not know what the Disciplinary Committee is. Literally, it is an internal disciplinary body composed of a group of high-level prosecutors who vote on whether to punish a prosecutor who has made a mistake and what kind of punishment to give him. There are three points worth noting here.
First, the members of the Disciplinary Committee are some high-level prosecutors, including Minister Han Qiangzhu. These people know each other and have been colleagues or even good friends for decades. If there is no major conflict of interest, they will generally maintain consistent opinions. Through Minister Han Qiangzhu's attitude, you can imagine the attitude of the Disciplinary Committee.
Second, the punishment of prosecutors who make mistakes is particularly interesting. The Disciplinary Committee is the internal disciplinary body of prosecutors. If prosecutors really violate the law or commit crimes, can't they just sue them in court? There is a sense of "family disgrace should not be made public" or "private court". After all, it is an internal punishment, and people outside don't know. Moreover, it is difficult to say whether the mistakes are made. It all depends on the opinions of those committee members. If they don't like you, they can punish you for any reason, such as passive slacking or untidy clothes. The same is true in reverse. Big things can be reduced to small things.
Third, everything requires evidence, and the same applies to the Disciplinary Committee. Even if they say that you are not properly dressed, you must have been filmed or photographed in an indecent manner on some occasion. It is impossible to frame you with nothing out of thin air. After all, according to the laws of the Republic of Korea, if the plaintiff loses the case, it would be a false accusation, and false accusation is a serious crime.
Based on the above three points, you are a powerless intern with no crucial evidence, and Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu is the chief prosecutor of the Criminal Division II, who has always been following Minister Han Qiangzhu and is very loyal. If you report Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu for sexual harassment, even if I testify for you, I will lose in nine out of ten cases. Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu will sue the two of us for false accusations, and I estimate that I will be transferred to a local position, and you will definitely be directly disqualified from internship. If we analyze it this way, the risk we have to take is too great, and the gains are very small, or even no gains. Are you sure you want to report Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu?"
Hearing Yuan Xudong say this, thinking about Minister Han Qiangzhu actually asking her directly whether she had slept with Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu, and saying that he also wanted to sleep with her, etc., Song Eunxi felt cold in her heart. They were all birds of a feather. It was simply a pipe dream to expect such a group of high-level prosecutors to punish Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu. Thinking of this, she looked at Yuan Xudong and said:
"Prosecutor Yuan, what should I do?"
"Just think of it as a bad choice. Don't worry about Prosecutor Hong Jung-soo. Just apply to replace the supervising prosecutor!"
After that, Yuan Xudong looked at Song Enxi and told the truth:
"In the Republic of Korea, let's talk about prosecutors. There are more men than women, and female prosecutors are in an absolutely disadvantaged position. If there is no substantive relationship, most men don't think it's a big deal, and it's even more impossible to punish a chief prosecutor who has been in office for decades just because of a few words or a little advantage. Even if I make the decision for you, at most I will criticize Prosecutor Hong Zhengzhu and punish him with a few months' salary. Other punishments such as demotion and imprisonment are impossible. I think it 's not worth it to sacrifice your future for such an insignificant punishment. As the saying goes, it's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. What do you think?"
"I understand. Thank you, Prosecutor Yuan!"
