Episode 62: Cause and Effect
In front of the Seoul Northern District Court, the sign for the law firm Taehoon catches the eye.
As Lee Changjin parked his vehicle and entered through the main entrance, a waiting female secretary acknowledged him.
“It’s been a while, Mr. Lee.”
“Haha, indeed it has. Secretary Jung, is Attorney Seo inside?”
“Yes, he’s waiting in the small conference room.”
Lee Changjin, guided by Secretary Jung, made his way to the inner chamber. As he entered the small conference room, Attorney Seo Tae-soo, with a broad smile, opened his arms to greet him warmly.
“Wow, who do we have here? Isn’t this last week’s man of the hour? It’s an honor. I never thought I’d see such a famous figure here.”
“Haha, how have you been, Attorney Seo?”
“I’ve just been living my monotonous life, running in circles. But you’ve had a rough time, being talked about left and right.”
“What rough time? It was a game with a predetermined outcome. But those reporters are relentless. I’ve heard more insults in the past few days than in my entire life.”
Seo Tae-soo joked in response.
“That’s good news. The more insults you get, the longer you’ll live.”
“Haha, you think so? By the way, I hear you’re doing exceptionally well these days. I heard you’re the top performer among the partners?”
“That rumor has reached you? Actually, the CEO has been pleading with me not to go independent and to stay longer. This popularity is quite exhausting.”
“You know who you have to thank for that, right?”
“Of course, I do. I saw you on TV, and your acting was superb. The expression at the end of the press conference was like watching a thriller. The faces of those journalists were priceless. I felt so exhilarated.”
“Haha, they got what they deserved. By the way, how’s the lawsuit preparation going?”
“Of course, our team has been working hard on it, so don’t worry. We’ve filed for an injunction to stop the patent infringement, and we’ve also filed for a temporary restraining order and asset seizure. Kim Taebang has a lot of assets under borrowed names. It was quite a task to investigate. Did you send the warning letter?”
“Yes, I followed your instructions.”
“Good job. We’ve also filed for a patent invalidation trial and a rights confirmation trial with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Once the decision is out, we’ll proceed with the criminal complaint. Criminal cases are more direct than civil ones. Even a cursory look at the media articles confirms the patent infringement, so there shouldn’t be any issues with the decision.”
“Is there anything else I can help with?”
“Ah, we need additional materials for the damages claim. When we file the lawsuit, the other party will claim they had a license to use the patent, so we’ll need separate evidence to refute that. Please check if there are any letters or correspondence exchanged with President Hwang.”
“Got it. I’ll instruct Deputy Yeo to organize the materials and send them over.”
“Ah, we’ve reached an agreement with Hanseong Ilbo. Reporter Ha has already been demoted to a regional reporter in Jeju. Thanks to Hanseong Ilbo’s compliance, other media outlets quickly surrendered. We’ve withdrawn the civil lawsuit against Hanseong Ilbo and received a settlement agreement. However, we’ll continue the personal lawsuits. But I think we should set an example with a few tabloid outlets. If we let them off too easily, they might underestimate us. We need to send a warning to prevent future incidents.”
“I’ll leave that entirely to you. You’re the expert, after all. If the lawyer says it, we must follow.”
“Haha, thank you. By the way, how did you get those photos taken at the bar? Did you hire a detective?”
“Of course not. The photos were taken by Kim Taebang’s side. I just received them.”
“How did you know that?”
“I just thought about what I would do if I were Kim Taebang and the answer came to me. I found out through the Central Intelligence Agency that Kim Taebang had a personal detective. I contacted that person and had a few words with him. I told him to tell the truth if he didn’t want to end up in jail, and he confessed immediately.”
“Mr. Lee, you’re amazing. You’re better than our office manager. You should have become a lawyer instead of an engineer. You would have excelled.”
“Haha, hearing that from the youngest ever bar exam passer is an honor. If that were the case, I would have called you senior. That wouldn’t do. Besides, I’m not cut out for being a lawyer.”
“Haha, that’s a shame. Anyway, let’s proceed as you said. I’ll send you the additional documents as needed.”
“Okay, then take care.”
Lee Changjin got into the waiting vehicle outside.
Manager Gu, who was holding the steering wheel, headed for the Yeongcheon factory.
“Did things go well?”
“Well, more or less. My friend there handles things efficiently. It was neat.”
“We’ve crossed a major hurdle. What happened to the journalists who wrote the articles?”
“What do you think happened? It’s over for them. Thanks to this incident, their careers are over, and it will take years for the lawsuits to end, so they won’t be able to function in society for a long time.”
“They got what they deserved.”
Looking at the list of demoted journalists, Lee Changjin chuckled.
“Ha, quite a few got caught.”
In fact, this lawsuit was a kind of bait. Lee Changjin intended to weed out the journalists who had baselessly slandered him in his previous life.
As planned, the journalists who wrote baseless articles against him were either fired from their media companies or demoted.
Kim Taebang tried to hire a prominent lawyer with a huge sum of money, but the public opinion had turned so bad due to the broadcast that he had difficulty hiring a lawyer. Even the lawyers who had initially taken the case withdrew, submitting their resignations.
With a damages claim worth tens of billions of won and a criminal complaint, Taebang Textiles faced a halt in operations and a large-scale tax investigation.
The court ruling blocked the sales route for their main product, the Italy Towel, causing Taebang Textiles’ stock price to plummet.
One month later, at a quiet dock in Incheon.
A car is parked in front of the Incheon Coastal Terminal. Inside the car are two people dressed in black. One of them is Kim Taebang, the president of Taebang Textiles, who is in contact with a smuggling broker.
“Are you sure we can go straight to Hong Kong?”
“Yes, the port doesn’t have strict immigration checks like the airport. Once we go out to international waters, we’ll transfer to a small boat and then board a cruise ship to Hong Kong from an intermediate stop.”
“Is it really safe?”
Seeing Kim Taebang’s doubtful expression, the broker beat his chest as if he was wronged.
“Have you been deceived that much? This isn’t my first time doing this. If you’re still uneasy, you can disguise yourself as a crew member on a fishing boat. We’ll pretend to be fishing near the border and transfer to another boat when the coast guard is not paying attention. To be honest, this method is even safer.”
“Alright. How much does it cost?”
“Including the cost of a fake passport and the bribe for the immigration officers, it will be around 10 million won.”
“Why is it so expensive?”
“You’re a well-known person. We’re taking a risk too, so we need to charge this much. So, will you do it or not?”
“Alright, let’s go with the second method.”
Kim Taebang had no other options. Soon, an arrest warrant would be issued, and once a travel ban was in place, there would be no way to escape.
After reaching an agreement with the broker, Kim Taebang sold all the items he could liquidate from his company and home on the black market and converted them into dollars. A few days later, he arrived at the port, avoiding customs’ eyes, to find an old fishing boat waiting.
“Here, get on board. We’ll take care of you.”
The small fishing boat, with its paint peeling off, could barely accommodate 10 people.
Kim Taebang looked disappointed.
“Isn’t this almost a scrap boat?”
“It may look like this, but it runs well. We’ll transfer to another boat once we reach international waters. Until then, please bear with it. Now, hurry up. You need to change your clothes first.”
Following the nonchalant broker’s instructions, Kim Taebang reluctantly complied.
Dressed in fishing attire, he looked like a fisherman.
Still uneasy, Kim Taebang asked again.
“Are we really going straight to Hong Kong?”
“Of course. Get on board. You might get seasick, so take this motion sickness pill.”
A crew member handed him a pill and a cup of water.
Without suspicion, Kim Taebang took the pill and boarded the boat. The captain guided him below deck, where there was a small room barely big enough for two people.
“Rest here. There’s no separate bathroom. It will take about half a day, so use the bathroom beforehand. Get some rest. We’ll depart shortly.”
Hugging his money bag, Kim Taebang sighed deeply. The musty smell of mold filled the cramped crew’s quarters.
He had brought as much as he could, but most of his assets were seized, leaving him with only 500,000 dollars.
“As long as I don’t mess up, this money will let me live comfortably in my old age.”
Once he arrived in Hong Kong, he planned to look for a boat to Southeast Asia. He had a contact in Sumatra, Indonesia, and planned to live quietly there with a new identity.
He was concerned about the family he left behind in Korea, but it didn’t matter anymore.
After all, they had lived comfortably thanks to him, so now they were on their own.
Shortly after, the sound of departure was heard, and the boat started moving. Feeling relieved, Kim Taebang fell into a deep sleep. The accumulated fatigue from being tense since dawn overwhelmed him.
How much time had passed?
Kim Taebang was awakened by someone shaking him.
“Is it time to transfer already?”
Groggily opening his eyes, he was met with an unexpected sight.
A white man he had never seen before was looking down at him with a smile.
Startled, Kim Taebang jumped up in alarm.
“Who are you? And where am I?”
“I’m George, the captain of this ship. We’re in international waters, near Vladivostok, if that rings a bell.”
Though the man’s Korean was clumsy, his meaning was clear enough for Kim Taebang to understand.
“Vladivostok? What do you mean? I was told we were going to Hong Kong.”
“Whoa, calm down. You’re bound to me for three years. Look, didn’t you sign this contract and stamp it?”
Feeling something was terribly wrong, a chill ran down Kim Taebang’s spine.
It was then that he noticed his briefcase was missing.
“My money! Where’s my money? Bring the person in charge here. This is a mistake.”
“I’m in charge, so talk to me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is a clear breach of contract! I need to get out of here.”
Kim Taebang attempted to flee, but the burly men grabbed his arms and forced him to kneel. Struggling with all his might, he shouted.
“Do you know who I am? This is kidnapping!”
Seeing Kim Taebang’s continued resistance, George shook his head.
“It seems this guy doesn’t understand the situation. Bring Michael here.”
“Are you sure about that? Can he handle it?”
“That depends on him. Bring him.”
Soon, a giant black man, over 2 meters tall, entered.
“Michael, it seems you need to teach this guy some manners.”
“Oh, really? Is that true?”
Smiling broadly, the black man asked, and George nodded.
“Don’t go too far this time. Just make sure he understands.”
“Got it. I’ll be gentle.”
Michael examined him and smiled, revealing a gold tooth.
“You’ve got a nice plump bottom. Just my type.”
“What… what are you doing?”
“Hey, sweetheart, cooperate, and there won’t be any bloodshed.”
His gold tooth glinted dangerously between his white teeth.
Instinctively realizing what was about to happen, Kim Taebang turned pale.
“Help! Somebody help!!”
Despite his desperate struggle, he was dragged away. Soon, the door to the cold storage slammed shut. Inside, the sound of desperate screams, like a pig being slaughtered, echoed.
- To be continued in Episode 63 -
