Episode 49

"Article 310 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The rule of corroboration for confessions."

Han Seol's clear voice echoed through the room.

Article 310 (Evidentiary Capacity of Disadvantageous Confessions): A defendant's confession cannot be used as evidence of guilt when it is the only evidence that is disadvantageous to the defendant.

The rule of corroboration for confessions is a regulation that states that in order to use a defendant's confession as evidence, there must be at least one other piece of evidence to support its credibility.

The reason was simple.

For a long time, Korea had experienced the rule of dictatorial regimes, and coercive investigations by investigative authorities wielding excessive power were a common occurrence.

There were frequent cases of obtaining false confessions through methods that were close to torture or threats, violating human rights.

In order to prevent this, it was necessary to eradicate the practice of prosecutors and the police relying solely on the confessions of the accused.

It was similar to the context of illegally obtained evidence.

"All of the other evidence that the prosecution has submitted has lost its evidentiary capacity. In this courtroom, it's as if they never existed in the first place. If that's the case, then even if the defendant's confession is valid, there is no corroborating evidence to support it."

Han Seol concluded.

"Therefore, as a result, even the defendant's confession cannot be used as evidence."

"Ha, haha."

However, Jung Min-shik, on the contrary, burst out laughing.

Rather than someone whose last move had been sealed, he looked as if he was convinced that he had finally seized victory.

"What was all that about?"

Jung Min-shik turned his head towards Jang Yong-hwan.

"Your Honor, I object!"

"Permission to speak is granted," Jang Yong-hwan said, nodding.

Jung Min-shik asked us, "What we're talking about right now, the problem, is the confession that the defendant made during the first trial, right?

"That's right," I replied.

"It's not a confession that was made during the investigation, during the interrogation process of the investigative authorities, the prosecution or the police. It was made during the trial, in front of many people, and especially after being given the opportunity to speak in front of your Honor, the judge. That's correct, right?"

"Of course."

"Your Honor." A triumphant smile appeared on Jung Min-shik's lips.

"If that's the case, then the prosecution asserts that the rule of corroboration for confessions does not apply to the defendant's confession."

"Why is that?" Jang Yong-hwan asked, as if he was intrigued.

"The prosecution is also aware of the rule of corroboration for confessions. The purpose of its legislation is to correct the wrong investigation practice where the investigative authorities rely solely on confessions, and to prevent the acquisition of false confessions through illegal means."

"While that isn't all of it... it's certainly the core of it," Jang Yong-hwan said.

"If that's the case, then the target that the rule of corroboration for confessions regulates should naturally be seen as confessions made 'during the investigation'."

'Ah, he caught on, as expected.'

Jung Min-shik continued his argument with confidence.

"Confessions in court are different from confessions during the investigation. It is done in an environment where so many people are watching and monitoring, where proper procedures are guaranteed, and above all, after being given the opportunity to speak in front of your Honor, the judge, who will make a fair and just judgment."

Naturally, Jung Min-shik cleared his throat.

"An environment where the defendant's autonomous will can be respected to the maximum extent and where the external pressure of the investigative authorities is excluded. Even so, to expand the target of the application of the rule of corroboration for confessions to this point is against the ideal of a criminal trial, which is to reveal the truth, and is no different from distrusting your Honor and the authority of the court."

Then, he added one more thing.

"Or what, does the defense attorney have a precedent to prove their claim?"

I was inwardly impressed.

'He's sharp.'

The rule of corroboration for confessions was a regulation to correct wrong investigation practices.

Therefore, whether it also applied to confessions that were made by the defendant during a trial, not during the investigation process, was actually debatable.

For example, in Anglo-American countries, confessions during a trial were seen as evidence in themselves.

In Korea, at least within the last 20 years, there were no precedents that dealt with confessions in court, and it was a topic that was fiercely debated among scholars.

This was also why I had been agonizing over it until the very end.

Because that guy, Kim Gap-dong, had confessed so freely in front of the judge, it wasn't easy to create a firm logic to break it.

The biggest problem was that I couldn't find any relevant precedents.

If it was a relatively recent precedent, you could search for it online.

But if you had to look for precedents from the distant past, there was a high possibility that they wouldn't even be digitized.

It seemed like Jung Min-shik, who seemed to know this, was speaking triumphantly, as if he had done some research beforehand.

"If the defense attorney really wants to claim that the defendant's confession is ineffective, then they have to bring a valid basis."

But what could you do to bring a precedent that you couldn't find even if you searched with the 'easy' method? It was impossible.

Unless you were a crazy memorization king who carried dozens of precedent books, from the most recent editions to the old first editions that you could only find in old study material stores, in your brain.

'...But, there is one.'

I gave Han Seol a look.

'There's a crazy human like that.'

"66Do634."

"There's no way they can bring it. It's better to just admit it... huh?"

"A 'confession' does not differentiate between a confession in court or a statement to an investigator as a suspect."

"Wh, what...!"

As Han Seol quietly recited the words, Jung Min-shik's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.

"No, that can't be."

He grabbed his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"I clearly searched the precedent search engine, and there was no such precedent! Wh, what are you just making up,"

"No. That's not it."

At that time, Jang Yong-hwan shook his head.

"Supreme Court precedent 66Do634 is an actual full bench decision. It's not often dealt with as a separate issue these days, and its meaning is rarely discussed. It's likely that it's missing from the books as well."

"That's...!"

A precedent from over 50 years ago, a time when no one here had even been born.

There was no way that anyone could know about such an old and antiquated precedent.

'It's a good thing my teammate is Han Seol.'

When I had instructed Han Seol to study all the parts of litigation law, she had immediately gone to the bookstore and swept up all of the precedent books, and then memorized the relevant parts.

Since the scope was limited, it wasn't that hard, she had said.

How she could transfer the letters in a book into her head like a copy machine before even understanding the legal principles was a mystery.

Thanks to that, the match was practically decided.

Jung Min-shik was gaping as if he had lost his voice.

He seemed like he was trying to make a rebuttal, but there was no way to overturn the situation that had already been tilted.

After standing there for a while, Jung Min-shik dropped his head with a thud.

Soon, a dry voice flowed out from between his cracked lips.

"...Did I, did I lose...?"

It was like the moan of a wounded beast caught in a trap.

His empty eyes turned toward us.

"I worked hard. More than anyone. I poured everything that I had into studying."

Money, time, physical strength, even his heart.

"But why... why am I losing?"

Only then did I realize why that guy hated me so much.

"Why... why is it that you guys know things that I don't know!"

'You were scared, huh.'

Even though he had worked so hard that he could have died, Jung Min-shik had failed to take first place.

The perfect superhuman Shin Seo-joon, and the memorization machine Han Seol, were sitting above him.

And now, even I, who had seemed like a person who was just messing around with his life, had eventually overtaken him.

With this, he couldn't understand what he had been working so hard for, and why he couldn't have what they were so easily getting.

The fear that his entire life's work might be denied.

That was the essence of what was driving Jung Min-shik.

'Geez...'

Competition was cruel.

Everyone does their best, but not everyone can become number one.

Most people can't bridge the gap between their eyes that are always looking upwards and the ground that they are standing on.

Actually, Jung Min-shik was one of the people who had managed to jump over that gap quite well.

After all, he was maintaining a grade that was among the top in this country's best law school.

However, the desire to improve was a monster that didn't know satiety.

When it hit the wall of reality and could no longer swallow what it wanted, it bit and devoured its owner's flesh.

It hurt. It was something that you couldn't endure while being sane.

I wasn't a stranger to that pain either.

After failing to go to the judicial exam interview, I, who had lost my grace period, had to face endless failures.

Every year, a new list of successful candidates was released, but my name wasn't there.

I had to pay off my debt, so I was working until my body broke... Those excuses were meaningless.

Of course, if the people of the world heard my circumstances, they would understand, but I couldn't allow myself to accept it.

The fact that the place I was standing wasn't next to the shining successful candidates tormented me.

Maybe that was why I had worked even harder.

Literally to the point where I ended up dying, and being reincarnated like this.

"..."

Jung Min-shik didn't raise his head.

If he were to give up here, then that might actually be an easier path for Jung Min-shik.

If he accepted that he couldn't always win, then he might be able to understand that everyone has their own limits and learn how to be satisfied.

'But... I don't like it.'

Jung Min-shik, this guy, was a very bad guy.

He had envied me, hated me, and thrown harsh words at me, even though I hadn't done anything wrong.

Was I just supposed to let such a bastard find peace of mind and settle down?

'Of course not, I can't stand to see that.'

More than anything, I didn't want to see it.

The sight of the flames that had been burning fiercely with fighting spirit and desire, being snuffed out so easily.

So.

"Why did you lose?"

I had to make you burn even more.

"That's obvious."

I said with a triumphant expression and a sneering tone.

"Because I did it too."

"...What?"

For the first time, Jung Min-shik raised his head.

"Do you think you're the only one who worked hard? I also worked like I was dying. When I was sleepy, I would stab the back of my hand with a mechanical pencil until I bled, and I would use tape to hold my eyelids up. I flipped through so many pages that the skin on my index finger wore out and my fingerprints disappeared."

I held up my right hand.

There were wounds and scabs on the back of my hand that had been made from being poked with something, and my index finger was smooth.

The calluses that were etched between my fingers glistened under the lights.

I had gotten to this point in just a few months of my new life.

If you included my previous life, then the thickness of the calluses that were etched in my soul would be even greater than this.

"Do you want to win?"

I stared straight at Jung Min-shik.

"Then work even harder, you bastard. Put your life on the line."

At the very least.

"Because that's what I'm doing."

It was okay to hate me.

But I didn't want him to be under the illusion that I had gotten to this point without working as hard as him.

No matter how hard you cling to law, you can't compare to the time and passion that I've poured into it.

Acknowledge me.

By doing so, acknowledge yourself.

"...!"

Jung Min-shik's empty eyes trembled greatly.

I could see something flickering beyond them.

A tenacious spark that had been weakened to the point where it seemed like it was about to go out, was rising up again.

"...That's enough," Jang Yong-hwan, who had been silently observing, muttered quietly.

"It's time for the closing statements. Prosecution, make your statement."

"..."

"If you don't speak, I will proceed as written in the submitted document, the indictment. Is that okay?"

"Yes..."

"Then, defense. Make your final statement."

'Ah, that was long.'

The countless pieces of evidence that pointed to the defendant, Kim Gap-dong's, guilt.

I had revealed the illegality of each and every one of them and invalidated them, and had even made it so that they couldn't use Kim Gap-dong's own confession, which was the last piece of evidence.

Dozens of pages of thick case records.

Within that, not a single line of evidence that could be used to prove Kim Gap-dong's guilt remained.

"I will make my final statement," I said, slowly standing up and starting to speak.

"The defendant has been indicted for murder under Article 250 of the Criminal Act and drunk driving under Article 44 of the Road Traffic Act. However, as seen in the evidence verification earlier, there is no evidence left to prove the defendant's guilt in relation to each charge."

If you can't prove guilt, then it's innocent.

When in doubt, in favor of the defendant (in dubio pro reo).

If that was the case, then the conclusion that had to be drawn was obvious.

"Therefore, I ask that the judge give the defendant a not guilty verdict under the latter clause of Article 325 of the Criminal Procedure Act."

Article 325 of the Criminal Procedure Act (Verdict of Not Guilty): When a case is not a crime, or when there is no proof of the facts of the crime, a verdict of not guilty must be declared.

It was what was commonly called a not guilty verdict due to insufficient evidence.

Silence followed, and deep wrinkles formed on Jang Yong-hwan's brow.

"...I will pronounce the verdict," Jang Yong-hwan finally declared.

"Defendant Kim Gap-dong, not guilty. The winners are the team of Park Yoo-seung, Han Seol, and Lee Ha-roo."