“It’s really pathetic and humiliating. Comrade Judge, this incident doesn’t just affect Seok Chun, but think about all the other factory workers and technicians who helped him with the machine parts and assisted him from the sidelines for so many years. Imagine how they all felt? The chairman said that the judges evaluated all the contestants from other factories the same way, so you can imagine how much it affected all the workers involved.”
The equipment manager smoked a cigarette.
“I know that an inventor does not invent solely for the cash prize, but still. I’ve been here for many years, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. We have to respect the technicians and skilled laborers, the ones who produce materials for this country. We have to evaluate their labor and research, along with their character. Otherwise, there will be leeches that suck the life out of the ones who have labored earnestly. They’re parasitic slackers, that’s what they are, slackers who do not have the skills to invent new ideas for this country. They’re lazy workers who care only about filling their stomachs, who will do anything to avoid working by coming up with all kinds of excuses not to work. Times have changed, and so have these slackers, who have found clever ways to avoid doing their jobs. We have to be wary of these slackers and differentiate them from the ones who are genuinely committed to their work. As you know, just because we’re part of a collective does not mean that we’re all the same. We have to weigh the work ethics of these workers on a scale.”
The equipment manager’s face was red with anger, and his face turned redder when he coughed harshly, making the veins on his temples bulge out. After rubbing his chest for a while, he calmed down.
“Comrade Judge, I think I’ve said some irrelevant things. I’m not good at getting to the point. I just speak according to how I feel. I don’t think I was of much use to you.”
“Not at all, sir. Your words moved me.”
Judge Jeong Jin Wu looked respectfully at the equipment manager, who appeared to be self-conscious of his position before a judge. He considered the manager’s wrinkles to be not simply vestiges of old age but rather evidence of backbreaking labor and undying loyalty to the country. The old man strove unremittingly to expose societal problems. This was the noble spirit of the people and the sentiment of the Party. It was this kind of person who maintained the moral principles of society and washed corrupt individuals out to sea. Parasites in disguise, chameleons, viral scum, slackers who have caused more harm than brought good to the nation and the collective would stand no longer. These corrupted seeds must be identified and exposed in order to prevent further impairment to society. In fact, these seeds might have already become tall trees with large branches that cast ominous shadows. Judge Jeong Jin Wu was reminded of this today and was determined to take action.
The state would never assess the inventors the way the judges from the Provincial Industrial Technology Commission Board did. Someone on the commission board was in the middle of this. Someone must have laundered the cash prize and used it elsewhere. This was indeed a felony. Jeong Jin Wu was prepared to charge and sentence the culprit for fraud and embezzlement of national funds. He knew that such people impeded the nation’s progress.
Jeong Jin Wu stopped conjecturing because he did not have enough concrete evidence to prosecute anyone yet. He could not draw any conclusions based on the manager’s words. He would have to talk with Seok Chun about this matter, meet with the Provincial Industrial Technology Commission Board members, and investigate the quality of the inventions, the production costs, and the net worth of these machines.
“Comrade Judge, you said that you have met with Seok Chun, right?” asked the equipment manager.
“Yes. But I need to see him again.”
“Then let’s go to the casting sector. Seok Chun is probably there working on a remote control.”
They exited the building and walked around the premises on a thickly wooded path. From the opposite side of the narrow path, a young worker with his hat tilted and his hands deep in his pockets sauntered toward the manager and Jeong Jin Wu.
The equipment manager approached the young man and scolded him harshly, “Why are you always like this? Straighten your hat. Your face is caked with soot again! You act like you’re the only one working hard around here!”
The young worker quickly straightened up without saying a word.
“Is Seok Chun over at the casting department?” asked the equipment manager.
“He was working with me in the morning, but then he went to another factory to get some casting sand.”
“Did he say that the molding material was the source of the problem?”
“There were a couple of problems with the stork remote-control connection rod, and it started bubbling,” replied the young worker respectfully.
The equipment manager looked at Jeong Jin Wu as a sign that he should ask the young worker something. Jeong Jin Wu told the young worker to tell Seok Chun to come by his office when he returned. Jeong Jin Wu thanked the equipment manager for his time and went back in the direction of the factory.
Judge Jeong Jin Wu was very busy that day. He came across a new lead on someone or some group embezzling national funds at the science fair. He had not expected illegal activities to be connected to the divorce case. He decided to look into it further, but he needed to be discreet and approach the members of the Provincial Industrial Technology Commission Board cautiously to find out about the distribution of the cash prize. He would then have to have the entire board audited for records from previous years as well. He could not probe around this issue like any other case; he had to be careful.
8
Judge Jeong Jin Wu went to the Provincial Industrial Technology Commission Board the next day and talked with the secretary and bookkeeper. He inquired about Chae Rim. The secretary told Jeong Jin Wu that Chae Rim was gone on a business trip and therefore could not meet with him. She also told him to come back when Chae Rim returned or she could have Chae Rim go to the court. Jeong Jin Wu had to wait to see any part of this investigation develop. He returned to his office later that afternoon.
He could begin the prosecution with the little evidence he had on the Provincial Industrial Technology Commission Board’s mishandling of the evaluation process at the science fair. However, he needed to meet with Chae Rim, who had allegedly organized this fraudulent evaluation process, to get a clearer idea of the case.
Did Chae Rim do it intentionally? Could it have been an innocent mistake? The equipment manager could have misunderstood the whole thing. Couldn’t Chae Rim defend himself by saying that it wasn’t embezzlement but a different fund that was meant to be distributed to the commission board, the local government, and the people? Then what happened to the cash prize? How should I proceed?
Jeong Jin Wu recalled Chae Rim’s visit a few days ago. He remembered that he had assessed Chae Rim’s sensibility, rationality, and political discernment rather highly. Chae Rim had also graduated from a polytechnic university, so it was likely that he knew something about the quality of Seok Chun’s machine. Jeong Jin Wu figured Chae Rim had known that the cash prize was intended for the inventors but went ahead and organized a fraudulent evaluation process. No excuses could exonerate him. Jeong Jin Wu was determined to prosecute Chae Rim.
Jeong Jin Wu rested his elbows on the desk and buried his face in his hands. His face was burning with indignation, a feeling of unrelenting anger toward the investigation. He was not able to meet Chae Rim and interrogate him on this matter, but Jeong Jin Wu believed—no, he was certain—that Chae Rim was responsible for the crime. Jeong Jin Wu had come to this conclusion based on the evidence and his intuition and legal experience. Punishing a corrupt official like Chae Rim would be gratifying to Jeong Jin Wu—he intended to summon Chae Rim to the court, make him confess his crime before the magistrates, and force him to resign from his official position.