Chapter 427 |
Korea University, Department of Computer Science.
It was still too early to drink, so most of the engineering school's pop-up bars were empty. But the Computer Science department's bar was already full.
It wasn't that the bar had a special theme, or that the food was good, or that the prices were cheap.
Despite all that, not only was the place packed with people, but there was also a long line waiting outside. There were many students from other schools who had come to watch, of course, as well as students who had ditched their own department's work to be there.
Whether they were drinking or waiting, everyone's gaze was fixed on one spot. And at the end of their sightline was a Caucasian woman in her early twenties.
Korea University accepts exchange students from many countries. As such, seeing a foreigner on campus wasn't a rare occurrence.
However, Anneke's status was none other than a princess of Norway.
What's more, she had been a promotional ambassador for games in Norway and loved gaming so much that she would cosplay at game shows. When she first enrolled, she had revealed her ambition to work in the game industry after graduation.
Given the nature of the engineering school, which already had few women, Anneke was established as a mascot as soon as she enrolled.
‘The CompSci kids are so lucky.’
‘If I'd known, I would've majored in CompSci too.’
‘I wonder if she'll come to the joint engineering school MT?’
‘I'm definitely going to this MT.’
There were more than a few engineering students whose hearts fluttered at Anneke's every expression, gesture, and word. They were all secretly pining for her, but no one expressed their feelings directly.
This was because of her status, and the fact that she always had bodyguards around her.
Lee Hyunwoong, the Computer Science department representative, approached Anneke and asked kindly.
“Isn't this tough?”
“No, sunbaenim.”
At that single word, 'sunbaenim,' his face turned red and his heart began to race.
He had no intention of trying to make a move on her. He was happy just being friendly with her and being able to talk to her like this.
As the department rep, Hyunwoong considered it his role and duty to help her have an enjoyable school life until she graduated.
He would gladly be the knight who protects the princess!
“If it gets tough, you can tell me anytime.”
“Okay.”
While Anneke was away for a moment carrying something, a man appeared.
He was in his mid-twenties, with a slightly chubby build and black, thick-rimmed glasses. He was the kind of ordinary man you could see anywhere.
“Is this the Computer Science bar?”
“Yes, it is. The line is over there.”
He looked around and asked.
“Where's Anneke?”
Who is he to say the princess's name so casually?
Hyunwoong showed strong suspicion.
“Why are you looking for her?”
“I’m a friend.”
“A friend?”
As he scanned the man up and down with suspicious eyes, Anneke called out happily from behind him.
“Taekgyu oppa!”
Hyunwoong and the other department students were shocked.
Oppa!
It went without saying that there was no one at school Anneke called 'oppa'. So who on earth was this man, to be granted the glorious title of 'oppa'?
“Wow, it’s already a full house.”
“I saved a spot for you, oppa.”
The two of them sat down.
Of all places, it was right in the center. The two laughed cheerfully and clinked their glasses as if they were on a date. When Taekgyu patted Anneke's head with his hand, the engineering students watching saw sparks fly from their eyes.
‘That bastard!’
‘How dare he lay his filthy hands on the princess!’
‘Insolent!’
If he had been a handsome Caucasian man, they could have understood. But who the hell was this guy to be so close to the princess?
The current situation was already hard to believe, but then something even more unbelievable happened.
A woman walked into the bar. She had a small face, snow-white skin, long, straight hair as black as ebony, a silk shirt that exposed her shoulders, and a short, frilly skirt.
She was a beauty stunning enough to sober anyone up.
At her appearance, all the men turned their heads in unison.
‘Who is this woman?’
‘How can she be so pretty?’
‘Is she a celebrity?’
‘Maybe another princess from a different country?’
The man with Anneke raised his hand.
“Over here!”
“Ah, Mr. Taekgyu.”
A drinking party began, with the man in glasses at the center.
Hyunwoong's gaze was still fixed on Anneke. Seeing the princess laughing and joking around, he felt his mouth go dry.
‘I've never seen her with that kind of expression before.’
Anneke was friendly with the women, but she always maintained a certain distance from her male classmates and seniors. This was to avoid any unnecessary scandals.
‘Don't tell me she likes that guy? No. It can't be.’
Hyunwoong kept drinking to soothe his burning throat. As he drank, he gradually became drunk.
At some point, the world began to spin before his eyes.
‘That place where you are. That should have been my place. The title 'oppa' that you hear. That title should have been mine. It all should have been mine!’
***
“...other than the guy who got drunk and started singing that, nothing much happened.”
“So what happened to him?”
“What do you think? His friends just dragged him away.”
It seemed they had a good time without any major incidents.
Taekgyu said, as if remembering something.
“Oh, right. Pure Girls came to the CompSci bar after their performance.”
“Yeah. I told them to go.”
I told Yi-eol, the leader, that it wasn't me but the vice president who decided to invest in them. Then I asked them to stop by the CompSci bar, telling them that the man with the princess was the vice president.
Taekgyu said proudly,
“I shook hands with Yi-eol and even took a picture with her. She saw me and thanked me in a quiet voice.”
“Good job.”
He saved an unknown girl group with his investment, so it was only right that he received their thanks.
“Ah! She also secretly gave me her number.”
I was shocked by his words.
“What? Why would she give you her number?”
“I don't know. She insisted I contact her.”
“…”
Don't tell me another member has been added to the harem, right?
***
Just as life returns to normal after a festival, we also went back to work the next day.
The acquisitions of the companies needed for the data center construction were complete, and Archit was proceeding with the data center's design.
It would be the world's largest single data center. The location was to be decided through a competition among cities that applied to host it.
The United States, Canada, and Ireland showed great interest.
AMZ and MS were strongly keeping OTK Company's data center construction in check.
The investment firms that toured Saemangeum decided to increase the scale of their investment. In truth, erecting a building in the middle of a barren plain is a huge risk.
Real estate doesn't exist in a vacuum. If the surrounding development doesn't follow, you can be stuck with unsold units or vacant properties.
However, with global corporations already building facilities and factories simultaneously in the area, the situation was different.
Money has the power to make even the impossible happen. With this much capital pouring in, it was hard to fail.
While things were proceeding smoothly, an incident erupted in Korea.
Shin Jong-hoon, an investigator from the Blue House's Special Inspection Team, suddenly made a disclosure to the media, claiming he was making a confession of conscience.
[ (Breaking) Investigator Shin Jong-hoon's Whistleblowing! ]
[ Blue House and Prosecution Had Prior Coordination on Chairman Im Jin-yong's Arrest! ]
[ Was President Heo Chang-min Aware of This Fact? ]
[ Who Ordered the Arrest of Chairman Im Jin-yong? ]
The country was thrown into an uproar by this revelation.
-What? The Blue House ordered them to lock up Im Jin-yong?
-This is the left-wing government for you.
-So it was a witch hunt against the chaebol after all.
-What bullshit is this? Im Jin-yong was arrested because he committed a crime. It's not like they fabricated a crime to arrest him.
-Idiot, the problem is that the Blue House ordered it.
-Heo Chang-min ordered it~ 'Kill Im Jin-yong'~
-lol When they were the opposition party, they complained about the prosecution bowing to the administration. Now that they're in power, they're straight-up ordering investigations.
-Isn't this grounds for impeachment?
-Release Chairman Im Jin-yong immediately!
-While you're at it, also release the most incorruptible former president, Park Si-hyeong!
The Liberty Korea Party, which had been quiet for some time after the economic hearings, once again raised its voice.
Party leader Yeon Na-kyeong said at an internal party meeting held at the National Assembly:
“Investigator Shin Jong-hoon's revelation is the greatest declaration of conscience since the 80s democracy movement. This is clearly a witch hunt against chaebol by the left-wing government and an abuse of state power. The prosecution must immediately investigate and punish those involved. Furthermore, Investigator Shin Jong-hoon is a whistleblower who uncovered corruption and must be protected according to the law. Our Liberty Korea Party will protect those who stand against immense power and fight to the end.”
Other Liberty Korea Party members also fiercely condemned the government.
From a legal standpoint, there was no issue with the arrest of Chairman Im Jin-yong itself. But if there had been prior contact with the Blue House, it was a different story.
The Blue House interfering in the judiciary's judgment was an issue that could escalate to soliciting indictment or judicial dealing.
The Blue House moved quickly to contain the situation.
“Investigator Shin Jong-hoon was under investigation for bribery and abuse of power. This is not a public interest report, but merely a one-sided claim to cover up his own misconduct. We state clearly that the prosecution is an independent body and that there were no instructions or coordination from the Blue House regarding the investigation.”
The prosecution also strongly denied the claims.
Prosecutor General Moon Dae-seok did not hide his displeasure before reporters.
“The prosecution investigates solely according to law and principle. It is problematic for the media to report baseless rumors as if they are fact.”
***
I met with Director Kwon Young-cheol of Seosung Group.
He was the successor to the retired Director Kim Myeong-su and was known to be an alumnus of Chairman Im Jin-yong from his university and study abroad days.
I asked him,
“Is Investigator Shin Jong-hoon's revelation true?”
While the political sphere was engaged in a slugfest over the revelation, Seosung Group had not issued a separate statement. With their chairman in jail, they likely didn't want to get on anyone's bad side.
Director Kwon Young-cheol nodded with a dark expression.
“It's highly likely that it's true.”
No matter how great a crime one commits, they are innocent until proven guilty.
This is the so-called principle of presumption of innocence. Therefore, in principle, investigations should be conducted without detention, and detention should only be used when the crime is serious and there is a risk of destroying evidence or fleeing.
However, until now, regardless of the crimes they committed, chairmen had always been tried without detention for various reasons. The Korean tendency to be extremely lenient towards financial and white-collar criminals also played a part in this.
If you kill a person with a knife, you get a life sentence, but if you take their money, drive dozens to suicide, ruin hundreds of families, and plunge thousands into debt, you get a few years in prison at most, and if you're lucky, you can get out on probation.
The crimes that chairmen typically commit are not assault or battery, but embezzlement or breach of trust.
If the evidence was insufficient, they were investigated without detention for that reason; if the evidence was clear, they were investigated without detention on the grounds that there was no risk of destroying evidence or fleeing.
In this case, too, because the evidence was so clear, many were of the opinion that a detained investigation was unnecessary. Furthermore, Seosung Group was on the verge of large-scale investments, including in Saemangeum.
The prevailing prediction was that the investigation would be conducted without detention, as it would be a burden on the administration as well. However, shattering everyone's expectations, Chairman Im Jin-yong was arrested.
“Considering the influence Seosung Group has on this country, I thought the investigation would be conducted without detention.”
“Even so, wasn't a prison sentence unavoidable in the first trial?”
“Even if a prison sentence is handed down in the first trial, it doesn't necessarily mean one is detained.”
Again, one is innocent until the Supreme Court confirms the verdict. Therefore, even after a prison sentence is declared in the first trial, detention is sometimes postponed until the appeal is over.
He continued.
“We had a strategy to avoid detention even after the first trial, citing the defendant's right to defense, and then get a reduced sentence in the second trial and end with probation. But right before that, the prosecution's attitude suddenly changed.”
Was the Blue House the cause of that?
“Isn't Chairman Im Jin-yong's arrest because he is guilty?”
At my words, Director Kwon Young-cheol gave a bitter smile.
“It's not my place to say this, but since when has the prosecution ever applied the rules to a chaebol chairman?”
***
The prosecution continued to issue summonses, but Investigator Shin Jong-hoon did not comply. In response, the prosecution issued an arrest warrant.
Nevertheless, after going into hiding, he appeared on an ‘ATube’ broadcast and shouted:
“The problem isn't Im Jin-yong. This government is afraid of Kang Jin-hoo! They arrested Chairman Im Jin-yong to send a warning to Kang Jin-hoo!”