A TAUNT TOO
FAR
BONG SANG PIL
HUSTLING IN PRISON
  
Bong Sang Pil was one heck of a lawyer who got under everyone’s skin. He made himself a plain nuisance in prison.
Bong, with Ha Jae Yi in tow, was at the prison, not really to pay the former detective Wu Hyeong Man a visit but to hustle him into becoming his client. Wu Hyeong Man had been accused of murdering Lee Young Soo, the Mayor of Ki Seong City.
                    
After a protracted conversation, Bong made an offer that Wu Hyeong Man shouldn’t refuse but he did. Bong Sang Pil assured him that he would get out of jail with his great lawyering skills. He held himself out as an expert in the law.
Wu Hyeong Man asked haughtily whether Bong knew his lawyer.
        
Undeterred, Bong Sang Pil agreed that Go In Doo was the best lawyer in Ki Seong. He had been a judge for 25 years but he had retired to be a lawyer for Ahn Oh Ju’s Ohju Group.
Bong Sang Pil emphasized that Go In Doo was the perfect example of someone who had benefited from the ‘Revolving Door’ policy. The policy refers to the movement of public servants to the private sector.
Go In Doo had switched jobs to work in the private sector as a lobbyist for the Ohju Group. Go In Doo must have received substantial financial rewards working for Ahn Oh Ju's conglomerate. He was in contact with and could influence government officials. The conglomerate could gain personal access or get inside information on what was going on in the government.
    
Wu Hyeong Man was impressed by Bong’s indepth knowledge of Go In Doo. But, he was more impressed by his own lawyer who had guaranteed him 100% success in his case.
Bong Sang Pil clapped his hands heartily implying that the claim was a lie. He told the accused straight in the face that the best lawyer may not defend his clients to the best of his ability. In law cases, if a lawyer guaranteed his client a 100% success rate, the lawyer was most certainly a liar and would definitely lose the case. That was the secret of the law profession. Go In Doo was economical with the truth; he was, in fact, a storehouse of lies and misinformation.
Bong Sang Pil was amused by the naivety of the accused who was unaware of the machinations of the evil forces in Ki Seong. Go In Doo was working hand in glove with Ahn Oh Ju in criminal activities. And, he was also a lackey of Judge Cha Moon Sook.
Bong warned him not to give the unethical lawyer the carte blanche to keep him forever in the prison. Nobody liked to be screwed.
           She stood up to leave but Bong detained her. He explained to the surprised Wu that she was his Office Manager. Ha Jae Yi admonished him for his lack of pride as a lawyer. Was he so desperate?       
Bong advised Wu to ruminate on his offer to replace the unethical lawyer who was only serving the interests of Ahn Oh Ju.
Bong Sang Pil’s eyes suddenly lit up. He smiled mischievously. With eyebrows raised, he emphasized that he was more than a lawyer, he was a trouble-shooter with a law licence.
Bong Sang Pil made her blood boil. He seemed more and more like a dishonest salesman peddling his services. She sneezed at his dishonest and disreputable conduct which was a violation of the lawyer’s code of professional conduct.
        
She stormed off.
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THE OHJU CHAIRMAN
AND
HIS
HATCHETMAN
Everything you have heard about ‘Birds of a feather flock together’ is true. The Seoul gangster, Seok Gwan Dong, who had newly arrived in town, handed Bong Sang Pil’s business card to Ahn Oh Ju, the gangster boss of the Ohju Group.
Bong Sang Pil had understood the importance of selling oneself; he was not going to sell himself short. The eye-catching boast, ‘I’ll turn your tears into money’, soon won him a new admirer.
Ahn Oh Ju was suitably impressed. Bong seemed to be an effective lawyer as he had guaranteed his clients financial compensation.     
‘Having transgressed laws, why are you now interested in lawyers?’ Ahn Oh Ju was curious.
Seok Gwan Dong’s life had been made miserable by Bong Sang Pil; his business had fallen apart.
Speaking in a conspiratorial tone, the Seoul gangster divulged that Bong Sang Pil, a well-known lawyer from Seoul, had moved to Ki Seong. Wasn't that a highly suspicious move?
      
Go In Doo, Ahn Oh Ju’s lawyer, laughed at his groundless suspicions.
One could smell the money in Ki Seong, the Silk City, the perfect place to earn and churn out big money. Silk symbolises wealth and luxury. Bong Sang Pil probably thought of Ki Seong as the place for making big bucks.         
The crux of Seok Gwan Dong's visit was to ingratiate himself into the favour of the Chairman of the Ohju Group. They were old friends and rivals who had gone separate ways. Seok Gwan Dong regretted moving to Seoul to seek his fortunes.
He requested to be part of Ahn Oh Ju’s business again but the other gangster laughed at his appalling naivety. Seok Gwan Dong was reminded that he was not Ahn Oh Ju’s equal; they were not in the same league.      
Go In Doo, the Ohju Group lawyer, emphasized that Ahn Oh Ju was no longer a small-time gangster like him. He was in a legitimate business now.
One laughs. Ahn Oh Ju might not be a small-time gangster but he was certainly a big-time gangster now, hiding behind his business group.
 
Not one to give up easily, Seok Gwan Dong made an offer that Ahn Oh Ju couldn’t refuse. Ahn could call him if he needed a hatchet man, a man who could use violence to intimidate his victims or rivals.
Ahn Oh Ju raised his hand to wave him away like an irritating fly. But soon, the Ohju Chairman would be needing his services. The unfortunate Seok Gwan Dong would find himself sucked into the vortex of murder, corruption and deceit.
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BONG SANG PIL A TAUNT TOO FAR
It seemed that Bong Sang Pil and Ha Jae Yi couldn’t live without some verbal sparring every day.
When they left the prison, their discussion on the Ki Seong Mayor’s murder continued unabated. They learnt of the by-election for the Mayor’s seat on the radio.
Ha Jae Yi was insistent that the former detective, Wu Hyeong Man, was the murderer. The murder case got more interesting as they swapped opinions. Ha Jae Yi argued that it was a sure-to-lose case.
But, was she secretly trying to pick his brains? Or, was she trying to antagonise him?    
Bong Sang Pil and Ha Jae Yi were two different animals. One was seemingly cool, calm and deliberate; the other was unpredictable, a fuse who was ready to explode.
Ha Jae Yi was curious about the real reason behind Bong Sang Pil’s persistent desire to defend Wu Hyeong Man. The Sherlock Holmes in her wanted to turn every rock she could find. Most good lawyers would have put a great distance between themselves and the case.
   
She wondered whether there could be a character that was different and intriguing deep beneath the façade that Bong had constructed for himself.
To dig further, she used some pretty choice language. 'Was he really exploiting the accused for profit?' 'Did ulterior motives drive him to pursue the case with such shocking tenacity?'   
Bong Sang Pil must have weighed how much he should reveal to her.
In the end, he tried to evade the probing questions by feigning hunger. The man got them delicious sandwiches and they took bites.     
As usual, Bong Sang Pil was playful and cocky. He decided that he wasn’t ready to reveal his motives and motivation just yet. He had in mind to try and provoke his sensitive and volatile Office Manager yet again for his pleasure. It would soon prove to be a wrong move.
Bong pretended to play the shady lawyer for her benefit. He summed up his situation in a few choice phrases to further inflame her.
He declared that Wu Hyeong Man was ‘The Perfect Client’, a very valuable client. If he won the case, it would be sensational! Imagine a murder suspect who turned out to be innocent! He, the lucky Criminal Defense Lawyer, would be a celebrity. Fame and money would be rolling in.    
With a flourish, he claimed that the city’s avaricious people who were involved in illegal activities would come a-knocking on his door, with bags of cash. They would literally be begging to be his clients.
She seemed disgusted with such frivolous talk.
 
But, it lit a spark of debate. Ha Jae Yi’s mind was quick and her mouth was sharp. She seemed to have whipped out her dissection tools; she was ready to dissect him.
Was publicity on his mind? Was he taking on the high-profile Mayor’s murder case to advertise his services since he was new in town?  
Bong was ready with his reply. He declared that if he won the case, it was like winning a lottery. Even if he failed, he would still be paid.
Money. Money. Money.
 
The satirical portrait of himself as a materialistic and unethical lawyer who treated money as his god didn’t go down well with Ha Jae Yi. She hadn’t an ounce of humour in her. She took everything at face value. To her, the unscrupulous lawyer was already counting the profits before the trial started.
It sparked a protest from her. Ha Jae Yi was one loose cannon; her temperature had ratcheted up a few notches. He was trashier than what she had originally thought.
She slammed her sandwich onto his chest. He was aghast to see tomato ketchup smeared on his expensive tailored suit jacket!
     She lambasted him for treating the court case as his lottery ticket to fame and wealth. ‘Who was worse: A bad cop who murdered the Mayor? Or, an unethical lawyer who made a fortune by successfully defending him?'       
His wicked sense of humour may have been lost on her. But Bong Sang Pil didn’t like the idea of being defeated by a woman. He was spoiling for a fight; he wanted to have the last word.
Without a beat, he told her smugly that she was a prejudiced lawyer who had already decided that their client, Wu Hyeong Man, was guilty even before the trial began.
   
She walked off in a huff, leaving an exasperated Bong Sang Pil to deal with the stains on his precious suit jacket.
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GUILTY BY ASSOCIATION JUDGE AND GANGSTER
It was strange that Judge Cha Moon Suk had decided to pay a visit to Ahn Oh Ju’s company, Ohju Group, a business conglomerate at night.
It was an important private meeting shrouded in secrecy. She immediately got down to business. They discussed the issue of the candidacy for Mayor of Ki Seong. She divulged that she felt under siege because the vacancy was not filled. Ambitious people were probably conspiring to grab the position.
It was apparent that she had power and influence to choose any candidate she wanted. She was ‘The Mayor Maker’.
        
She teased Ahn Oh Ju and urged him to guess her intended choice of candidate.
Ahn Oh Ju offered a few names: Jang Sung II, the Chief Prosecutor; Han Tae Kyung, the owner of Ki Seong’s newspaper. ‘Is it someone from outside Ki Seong?’ he finally asked with curiosity. He received a ‘No’ for all his guesses.
      
The shrewd judge eyed him strangely. Then, it dawned on him that Judge Cha wanted him. There was a sort of incomprehension at first and he laughed rather nervously.
Judge Cha Moon Suk had it all figured out; she certainly approved of him. A man like him would be valuable in her inner circle.       
Strange bedfellows: A high-powered Judge and a wealthy gangster businessman. Was
he surprised when she leaned over and asked rather seductively whether he could do it properly?
If he accepted, he would be a party to all her schemes. The gangster boss couldn’t believe his luck. Never in a thousand years did he even dream of such a position. It was a far cry from his status as a gangster head of a fish market. Greed and ambition drove Ahn Oh Ju quickly to his knees and he humbly prostrated before her. Men in her presence quaked when she was grim and determined. Ahn Oh Ju was shaken; he kowtowed to her. It conjured up the image of an empress and her obsequious slave.
Did she expect appropriate gestures of subservience? Was she the queen that she was able to demand such subservience?
   
He was almost crawling on the floor. He wouldn’t mind being her stooge. It displayed over-eagerness on his part to be of service to her; he deemed it an honour. His prostration, an uncharacteristic move on his part, was in effect, a display of obsequious loyalty.
If she was frazzled by the crawling man, she didn’t show it. His devotion would come in handy and he would be her strong ally.
Ahn Oh Ju’s hyprocrisy appealed to Judge Cha Moon Suk. She applauded him for putting on a facade. She waxed lyrical about his double dealings. For the last 15 years he had pretended to be a legitimate businessman but he was still a thug at heart. One can take a man out of the gutter but cannot take the gutter out of him. Politics suited him. To her, politics was a dirty business.
    Ahn Oh Ju was in seventh heaven; he begged her to surrender the job to him; he understood his role and promised to do his best. The judge had jumped into bed with the gangster boss.   
The nefarious goings-on that night in Ki Seong was just the tip
of the corruption iceberg in the city. Imagine a gangster vying for the post
of Mayor!
Soon, it would be revealed that a gang of crafty, cunning and avaricious people would be scheming to carve out Ki Seong all for themselves.
But, if there was a rise, there would also be a fall in the
future. Would Ahn Oh Ju be Judge Cha’s Achilles Heel? Or, would there be a
mole in their group who would tell all?
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THE DEFENSE LAWYER GO IN DOO
The criminal defendant, Wu Hyeong Man, was discussing his case with his Defense Lawyer, Go In Doo. He trusted his lawyer implicitly that he would try his best to free him.
Was the lawyer really optimistic about his release from prison? He asked Go In Doo if Ahn Oh Ju knew the identity of the Mayor’s real murderer. The whole of Ki Seong was under the power and influence of Ahn Oh Ju. If the chaebol Chairman knew, Go In Doo reassured the accused that the boss would have caught the culprit.      
Wu Hyeong Man and Ahn Oh Ju were old friends and partners-in-crime. The former expected that his friend would go all out to help him.
Go In Doo asked Wu if he had any requests or information to divulge to Ahn Oh Ju about the case. He had none.
   
Go In Doo’s ethics were questionable as he
was working for Ahn Oh Ju. He was an immoral lawyer who was deceiving his client. And, Wu Hyeong Man was easily duped.
His client knew too much about Ahn Oh Ju’s unscrupulous activities. Ahn Oh Ju was making him the fall guy, the scrapegoat for the murder. |