Episode 29

"No. But, there's no guarantee of accuracy..."

Kim Seung-pil raised a valid point. It was time for me to step in.

"I can guarantee it. The accuracy."

I pulled a thick folder of documents from my bag.

It was a printout of the very thesis that had just been summarized on the screen.

"Over the past few days, I have read and analyzed this thesis. And what you see here is a summary that I personally made."

I pulled out four or five thin sheets of paper from the top of the folder and fluttered them.

Kim Seung-pil took them and began to read. Soon, his eyes widened in surprise.

"...Incredible."

Kim Seung-pil was impressed.

"This summary and the summary that the program 'Easy-Peasy' just produced... the core points are almost identical. Most of the content in the text that Mr. Park Yoo-seung summarized is also in the document on the screen."

In other words.

"It's usable. This program."

Kim Seung-pil was a reporter.

He was more skilled than anyone else at quickly skimming through text and grasping the overview.

If that was the judgment he made after seeing it, it was trustworthy.

Once the cross-check had been done, the other study group members also nodded in agreement, as if they were convinced.

'Yes. Of course, it has to be like that.'

'Easy-Peasy' was an unprecedented masterpiece that Lee Ha-roo and I had spent days and nights working on.

I provided the text that could be used as a reference as data, and Lee Ha-roo was in charge of doing the actual fine-tuning.

I even had to pick a thesis by the Constitutional Court professor in advance and analyze it myself, and write a summary, to prove the performance of 'Easy-Peasy'.

Lee Ha-roo, who was doing the programming, had also worked through the night, but I also had no choice but to stay up all night for several days.

Showmanship was important.

Even if you created something new, it was hard to believe and use it if you didn't prove its effectiveness in front of their eyes.

Especially since it would be used for internal exams that were directly linked to their future careers, it was only natural that they would be even more cautious.

That was why a process of proof, even if it took a little effort, was necessary.

"Click."

Lee Ha-roo pressed the button again and again.

The remaining theses were selected in turn and transformed into thin summaries one by one.

"...This is literally effortless."

Yoo Tae-woon clicked his tongue.

"It lives up to its name."

Lee Ha-roo was proud, and I took the momentum and added.

"Now you know what we have to do, right? From now on, the six of us will each take two of these twelve summaries and study them."

Even though they were summaries, it felt daunting to read all twelve of them from the beginning.

But if we each studied two and then explained what we had understood to each other, it would be a different story.

The speed at which you read text you understand is much faster than when you are dealing with text you're seeing for the first time.

It also becomes easier to read it two or three times repeatedly.

In this way, we could minimize the effort we had to put into Constitutional Law and increase the number of reviews to engrave it into our memories.

"We no longer have to read the hundreds of pages of lecture notes or the thick theses."

"Two summaries per person... yeah, at this level, I can do it without any effort."

Kim Seung-pil and Han Seol also nodded.

"As expected of Mr. Park Yoo-seung! This is perfect people management!"

"What?"

"You gathered people to share the work through Ms. Han Seol, used Ms. Lee Ha-roo to compress the amount of study with her program, and had Mr. Kim Seung-pil verify the results. The ability to place and use people in the right place... as expected, you are."

"Stop it. Please stop it there."

Yoo Ye-seul was once again spouting her own strange delusions.

What was even more ridiculous was that even Kim Seung-pil was nodding as if he understood, with a knowing expression.

"...Alright, alright. Let's distribute the summaries."

Annoyed, I picked the most difficult and annoying topics and threw them at Yoo Ye-seul and Kim Seung-pil.

It was when we had finished distributing the remaining summaries and were about to leave.

'I almost forgot.'

"Ah, and Mr. Kim Seung-pil, please stay behind for a moment. There's a place I'd like you to come with me."

"Yes...?"

* * *

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Oh Ki-tae."

I gave a light bow to Oh Ki-tae, a client from the Legal Clinic.

The Oh Ki-tae I met in person was a middle-aged man with a sturdy build and wearing worn work clothes.

"This is Mr. Kim Seung-pil, who will be helping us today. He's my law school classmate."

"Oh, ah, yes! Please take care of me!"

At Oh Ki-tae's greeting, Kim Seung-pil asked in a small voice.

"Wh, who is this person?"

"Now that I think about it, Mr. Kim Seung-pil didn't participate in the Legal Clinic. I've sent you the summary of the case, so please read it."

Kim Seung-pil checked the case outline I sent him on his smartphone.

It was the case where Oh Ki-tae's father had suffered a fall accident at a nursing home.

Kim Seung-pil's eyes curved into a smile as he skimmed through the screen.

"I see what you're thinking."

I gave a light nod.

"Mr. Oh Ki-tae. How has the situation been progressing since then?"

"Ugh, don't even ask. That black-hearted director, would you believe it!"

Oh Ki-tae burst out in anger, as if he had been waiting for the opportunity.

"He told me to say what I have to say in court!"

As I had confirmed before, the reason Oh Ki-tae's father had fallen was because a caregiver had tampered with the wheels of his walker.

Oh Ki-tae had separately met with the caregiver and obtained a confession.

The problem was that the nursing home was refusing to pay compensation based on employer liability, and was insisting that if he really wanted to get anything, he should fight them in court.

But Oh Ki-tae didn't have the means to carry out a long court battle.

He had no choice but to stomp his feet while feeling resentful.

"Honestly, I want to go to court and fight them. But I have to make a living right now... and I can't afford to hire a lawyer."

"I understand."

I comforted Oh Ki-tae.

"Actually, today, I have an appointment to talk to the nursing home director regarding Mr. Oh Ki-tae's case. That's why I called Mr. Oh Ki-tae here as well."

"Oh, how? When I call him, he just snorts and hangs up on me now...."

It wasn't as if I had any special talent.

• This is the Korea University Law School Legal Clinic. I have something to say regarding the unfortunate accident that occurred at your nursing home.

Well, it was only after mentioning my affiliation that the other party grudgingly agreed to a meeting.

Indeed, it was important for a person to have a plausible title.

Korea University Law School? Legal Clinic? Didn't it feel like something very annoying and troublesome would happen if you ignored them?

"Anyway, let's go."

Upon arriving at the nursing home in question, we were immediately guided to the director's office.

A man with a receding hairline and a protruding belly poked his head out from behind his director's nameplate.

"Well, I don't know anything about that."

When the story about the incident came up, the director played dumb.

"We are complying with all the safety regulations that a nursing facility must comply with. It's ridiculous to say that we are responsible for the personal misconduct of an employee."

"No. You are responsible."

I said firmly.

"Even if an employee commits a personal wrong, if it is broadly considered to be within the scope of their duties, the employer is responsible."

Even more so, the precedents interpret the concept of 'within the scope of their duties' very broadly.

For example, let's say that a superior assaulted or sexually harassed a subordinate at work.

In any sense, it was obvious at a glance that sexual harassment or assault was not included in or related to 'duties.'

However, if employer liability was denied on that basis, it would become practically impossible for the victim to hold the company responsible instead of the perpetrator.

In the end, the employer liability regulations, which were created with the purpose of protecting the victim, would become ineffective.

For this reason, precedents considered the legislative intent and the circumstances surrounding the case, and recognized employer liability even in cases such as the one mentioned earlier.

"Moreover, managing the walker and keeping it in a safe condition can be viewed as part of the usual work that caregivers should perform. As the employer, you are responsible for this incident."

"...Ha, this is really something."

The director sighed heavily, as if he was annoyed.

"If you like to follow the law so much, then go to court and file a formal lawsuit. Why do you keep coming here and bothering me?"

"Because going through the court process takes time and money. It will be a troublesome and wasteful process for both us and you, the director. It would be better to resolve the matter through a settlement...."

"For both of us? No, no."

The director twisted the corners of his mouth with a sneer.

"I don't care. Time and money are what I have plenty of. Go ahead and sue me. Isn't it the ones over there who are struggling because they're burdened by the lawsuit?"

"You, you heartless bastard!"

Oh Ki-tae, enraged, stepped forward, and Kim Seung-pil grabbed him and held him back.

Indeed, the director of the nursing home might have had a rotten conscience, but he wasn't stupid.

He had accurately seen through that we were trying to compromise because of our client's circumstances.

"You despicable man!"

"Despicable? What can you do? Looking at the guardian documents you submitted back then, you're a security guard or something, aren't you? Do you even have time to go to court with your shift work?"

As Oh Ki-tae expressed his anger, the director responded with mockery.

Seeing that, I quietly said.

"I will inform the media."

"...What?"

"Nursing homes must give trust to the families of their residents. No sane person would entrust their precious family members to an institution that couldn't even prevent a single caregiver's misconduct in advance and doesn't even try to take responsibility."

"Are you threatening me now? Don't you know this is defamation?"

"Article 310 of the Criminal Act. An act of stating facts is not punishable when it is true and solely for the public interest."

It was content that I had covered in Professor Jang Yong-hwan's class.

"Publicly informing the truth about a poorly run nursing facility is a beneficial act that promotes the public welfare of countless elderly people and their families."

"Welfare...!"

"But if you, director, are willing to fulfill your duty, then that 'poor management' will not have existed from the start, so I will not have anything to expose."

Saying that if they didn't agree to a settlement, we would expose the truth, could be considered a threat.

However, wanting to inform the public of your wrongdoings for the public good, and giving you one last chance to correct those wrongdoings before that, was a different matter.

It might sound like a play on words, but that was how the law worked.

"Ha, haha."

The director of the nursing home, whose face had turned red, eventually let out a hollow laugh.

"You student. You seem to not know much about the world, since you only study from books."

He spoke in a condescending tone.

"Going to the media or whatever, it's not as easy as you think. It's not like the reporters will just write an article if you go there with your data and beg them to."

"Then?"

"Do you think the reporters are so free that they'll meet with a newbie like you? It's obvious that it will be buried if it's not a very hot issue."

The director of the nursing home wiggled his fingers.

"Or do you have a powerful acquaintance who can move the media as you please?"

The director's thoughts were not without basis.

A caregiver made an elderly person who was admitted to the nursing home injured, and the nursing home tried to cover it up.

It was a topic that could arouse public anger, but it wasn't that sensational.

Didn't dozens of such incidents happen every day?

It was not possible for all of them to receive public attention.

Naturally, from the perspective of a media company, there was no reason for them to necessarily cover it as a news story.

Even if the reporters did start investigating, they might be able to appease them by 'treating' them well and sending them back.

'But.'

"Ah, that's right. I almost forgot to mention it."

I pointed to the side with a nonchalant gesture.

"Mr. Kim Seung-pil. Please introduce yourself."

Kim Seung-pil, who had suddenly been handed the baton, widened his eyes, but quickly understood my intention and nodded.

"Wait. Kim Seung-pil? That name, I've heard it somewhere..."

"Hello. I'm Kim Seung-pil, a reporter from the Social Affairs Department of the Hankook Ilbo. I'm currently on leave and studying law at Korea University Law School."

Kim Seung-pil took out his old business card from his pocket and handed it to the director of the nursing home.

"Hankook Ilbo? No, could it be!"

The director of the nursing home's face turned pale in an instant.

"Th, the one who reported on the drug club incident...?"

"It just so happens that my former colleagues have been contacting me, asking if I have any news stories. After that, it seems like they had some fun with the whole 'media company that is at the forefront of realizing social justice' frame. I heard that the higher-ups have ordered them to scrape up any public interest reports or crime exposés they can find."

But, Kim Seung-pil said with a smile.

"It seems like I've found one. A pretty good news story."