Time Wasting (4)
Trust. It was difficult to resolve that, but just by having the son under his command, it was solved in one go. From now on, the aunt would never betray him.
“Alright, I will do that. Now, tell me the method.”
“The method is simple.”
Noh Hyeong-jin told the brigadier general to establish a company in the aunt’s name and then invested the 3 billion won he inherited into that company. Then, he invested all that money into gold through the company and hid the gold in a secret location. It was hidden so thoroughly that only the brigadier general and his son knew about it. He then had his son join the company.
“Is that it?”
“Yes.”
That was it. There wasn’t anything particularly complicated; that was the end of it.
“I thought it would be very difficult… and this is it?”
“That’s how it is when only tax law applies. But if you apply laws regarding ownership and lost property, it becomes easier.”
“Why does it become easier?”
“Because there are other methods.”
Tax accountants or tax lawyers only apply the tax laws they know. Therefore, they think ‘tax = tax law.’ But loopholes exist.
“Since you’ve registered your son as an employee, you have to pay him a salary. However, you don’t have to actually pay him. Your son has the right to seize as an employee, so after about a year, he can resign and place a lien on the hidden location. Once the lien is completed, you can just dissolve the company.”
“And then?”
“After that, it’s straightforward. According to civil law, once ownership changes, the ownership of items found within it transfers to the current owner. If that location is owned by a corporation and the corporation disappears, there will be no one to contest it. The aunt was merely a nominal owner. As a result, it will be recorded as a loss for the investor.”
“Wow… so?”
“Yes, officially, the 3 billion won has evaporated due to business failure. The brigadier general has simply failed in business.”
“But that’s my son, right? Can’t we just take it later?”
“For that, your son would need to hold bonds in that company, but since your son currently has no money, that becomes a problem. Naturally, he must hold bonds that take precedence over others. That would be the worker’s wages. It’s a priority claim, legally.”
“So… after seizing that… if we take it out?”
“The brigadier general will have lost 3 billion, but since the company has disappeared, he has no authority. Investment is an action that considers losses. The aunt was merely a nominal owner and operator, not the major shareholder, so she naturally has no authority. Since the company, that is, the corporation, has also disappeared, there is no authority.”
“So, it’s as if the son just picked it up.”
“Yes, legally from the seized land.”
“That’s incredible.”
If he just gave the money, there would be problems later. But since the gold bars came from legally seized land, who could say anything?
‘It’s like closing one’s eyes and pretending not to see.’
Of course, they wouldn’t be unaware. They would have their suspicions. But there’s no evidence. South Korea is a civil law country. This means that if it’s not defined by law, even if it’s a bad act, it cannot be punished. And this is a method that the law cannot address.
“Impressive.”
Tax accountants asked for 100 million won to do this. Lawyers asked for 200 million won. But Noh Hyeong-jin solved all of this at once.
“There was a reason why Lawyer Heo praised you.”
“Not at all.”
“No, it’s true. He said to keep a close eye on you.”
Every year, numerous applicants for military lawyers train here. But this is the first time he has seen someone like Noh Hyeong-jin, who has insight into the law and knows how to play with it. Usually, people only think about their specific area of law, but Noh Hyeong-jin connects the loopholes of various laws to create a gap.
“I will support you wholeheartedly.”
“Thank you.”
Noh Hyeong-jin smiled, thinking that his military life had finally taken off.
Concerned soldier? Concerned officer! (1)
Thanks to the brigadier general’s efforts, Noh Hyeong-jin became a prosecutor as planned.
“Is this my first office?”
Although it was a place assigned to him as a soldier, Noh Hyeong-jin felt a sense of deep emotion as he looked at his first office.
“By the way, what kind of case will come in?”
He was finally able to perform his duties as a proper legal professional. Until now, he had to help without revealing his identity. The tax issue, strictly speaking, was tax evasion, so it wasn’t something to be openly discussed.
“Loyalty.”
“Loyalty.”
As he entered, a female sergeant saluted him. The two exchanged strange expressions.
“Ahem.”
It was understandable, as in terms of rank, Noh Hyeong-jin was a lieutenant and above the sergeant, but in terms of age and experience, the female sergeant was senior.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Noh Hyeong-jin.”
“Oh, yes, I’m Yoon Bo-mi.”
Just because one has a higher rank doesn’t mean that officers can speak informally to sergeants. That’s merely an administrative issue; in practice, sergeants and officers are treated as entirely different, dual-ranked entities according to frontline regulations. Simply by rank, a newly commissioned second lieutenant is higher than a warrant officer or sergeant who has served for 30 years, but when war breaks out, it’s clear whom the soldiers will follow.
“Please take care of me.”
“Yes? I should be the one saying that.”
Yoon Bo-mi was taken aback. Usually, the biggest mistake made upon commissioning is speaking informally to someone of lower rank. And in such cases, they typically receive a reprimand from a senior officer. This is because the practical work is done by the sergeants. In fact, there have been many clueless newcomers who, after graduating from the military academy, end up being reprimanded by a warrant officer who has been friends with the battalion commander.
“As you may have heard, you are older than me and have a lot of practical experience, so I would appreciate your guidance. I will also do my best to fulfill my responsibilities.”
“Yes.”
Hearing that, Yoon Bo-mi smiled.
‘Not bad, huh?’
It seemed like a mere greeting, but it was a clever statement. She acknowledged and respected the practical experience but also subtly indicated that she was the decision-maker, which someone who has worked as a legal aide for several years would certainly understand.
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
The last person who left was truly incompetent, and she wanted to beat him up. But this time, she heard he was the youngest. He was practically the same age as her younger brother. Yet, she already felt a sense of anticipation.
“Is there a case assigned to you?”
“Yes.”
“Here.”
“It’s the ○○ Division case.”
As Noh Hyeong-jin received the case file, he frowned.
“What is this?”
“It’s the case file.”
“But why is it like this?”
“Because it’s the military.”
‘Right. It is the military.’
The documents and testimonies showed no sincerity whatsoever.
‘Are they kidding?’
It was a sexual assault case within the military. The victim was a newly enlisted sergeant. The perpetrator was a colonel from the same unit. According to the case file, the sergeant and the colonel met at a karaoke bar outside of working hours, where the sexual assault occurred.
“Why is this kind of case… no, it’s a matter of taming.”
“Do you know about it?”
“I heard from my seniors.”
Taming. It was a kind of military lawyer training. Most military lawyers come in after finishing law school. In other words, they are in a time of overflowing sense of justice. However, in a closed organization like the military, it’s not good for a case to escalate. Naturally, they need to be tamed so that they never escalate a case.
“That’s quick.”
The method used at that time is precisely this. Assigning a case that involves a higher rank. Since they are newly enlisted, they cannot be rude to higher ranks. And they will naturally adapt. There are two benefits to this. First, the case is minimized. Second, there is no punishment. For example, if such a case is given to someone who is about to retire, they might go wild since they have little time left. Then the case will escalate. Therefore, a newcomer who learns the fear of rank will later naturally minimize the case.
“Hah.”
As expected, looking at the content, it was clear that all sorts of tricks had been played to cover up the case.
“Sergeant Yoon.”
“Yes?”
“Receiving something like this must feel unpleasant, right?”
“Yes?”
“It’s the military.”
Yoon Bo-mi understood the meaning of those words. Indeed, she had considerable beauty for a soldier. No, her neat uniform accentuated her beauty even more. So, it was no wonder that all sorts of advances were thrown at her by newly commissioned officers. She understood that.
“It’s not pleasant.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Noh Hyeong-jin threw the file onto his desk as if it were obvious.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
“Where do you think? We need to meet the victim.”
“The victim?”
“Yes.”
“But usually, they are called in…”
At those words, Hyeong-jin chuckled. Even though his position was that of a prosecutor, he still had the spirit of a lawyer.
“This is the military, after all, haha.”
When the prosecutor barged in, the unit was thrown into chaos. And when they looked for the victim, it became even more chaotic.
“Let’s see… I gave you 10 minutes.”
Noh Hyeong-jin looked at his watch. He warned them that if they didn’t bring her within 10 minutes, there would be consequences.
“You’re quite skilled.”
Sergeant Yoon Bo-mi looked at him in amazement. The reason Noh Hyeong-jin was doing this was simple. If he called for someone, that order would be conveyed through the unit. And by that time, all sorts of pressure would have been applied to the victim. In the military, a call is not for investigation but a countdown to silence.
“10 minutes are up. Shall we go make a scene?”
Just as he was about to go wild, the door opened, and a woman rushed in.
“Loyalty.”
“Loyalty.”
The woman’s face was flustered. Well, it was understandable. It was unprecedented for a prosecutor to come to the unit.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Yes.”
Noh Hyeong-jin, who had taken over the company commander’s office, offered her a seat, and she sat down.
“Sergeant Yoon, please.”
At those words, Sergeant Yoon Bo-mi nodded and went outside, chasing away the surrounding officers and soldiers. They were perfectly left alone.
“Then let’s begin.”
Hyeong-jin took out a recorder from his bag and placed it on the table.
“○○ Division sexual assault case. Oh Yoon-mi vs. Jang Gab-soo case. First conversation recording, starting now.”
To do it properly, he prepared the recorder at his own expense. This way, even if evidence is manipulated later, there will be an original recording file, so there’s no problem.
“Ms. Oh Yoon-mi, do you know Colonel Jang Gab-soo?”
“Yes.”
“When did you meet him?”
“……”
She couldn’t speak. After all, they were still working in the same organization with the perpetrator of the sexual assault.
“Do you know what kind of consequences it brings to report within a military organization?”
“…… Yes.”
After a long silence, she bit her lower lip and answered. Whistleblowing. That meant her military career would end before it even started.
“If you’re prepared to report, you don’t have to worry. You’re going to quit anyway.”
“Yes?”
She was surprised when the opposite of what she expected came out.
“You’re going to quit anyway, so let’s go wild.”
“Um… Prosecutor?”
“Yes?”
“Is it okay to say that?”
Looking at the rank, he was a lieutenant. In other words, he was a newly commissioned prosecutor.
“What are they going to do? You said you’re not going to stay long.”
“But…”
There’s also the issue of being ostracized within the unit.
“It’s fine.”
Being ostracized means that he is trying to adapt to the organization, but when it doesn’t work, it makes him feel despair. However, Hyeong-jin had no intention of adapting to this organization.
‘I’m an officer, so what can they do?’
Moreover, he is a prosecutor with prosecutorial authority. If someone touches him, he can just indict them. In the end, all they can do is look at him like livestock.
“Don’t worry. Now, let’s start again. When did you meet Colonel Jang Gab-soo?”
“I met him…”
Thus, the first case began.