Chapter 53 – Thread – 1
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Photos, confessions, recordings, cams, blackmail, pregnancy, and… The diary she couldn’t hide.
Except for the extreme situation, this article is composed largely based on a true story.
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“What are we going to do to come to a place like this? It must be a place that people who live a cultural life come to.”
“This person… “
“Haha. Sorry. Captain.”
Inspector Nam looked into Seung-ah’s eyes and smiled. It was a smile he hadn’t seen in a long time, so Seung-ah’s heart became brighter.
“Go up there.”
Inspector Nam led her up the stairs.
“Since you said it was Room 307… It is over there.”
Inspector Nam pushed through the door and entered first, leaving Seung-ah and Captain Kim behind. It was a look that reminded me of something.
“What the. He’s not usually like that… Why are you in such a hurry… “
Detective Kim smiled dejectedly as he saw Seung-ah walking beside him.
“When I asked to come, I was worried. You must have some kind of income.”
Seung-ah and Captain Kim pushed through the door that Captain Nam had entered before entering.
“Ah! This is Inspector Kim Han-seok of our investigation department. This is Cha Seung-ah. Say hello.”
Inspector Nam got up from his chair and introduced the two of them.
“Ah! You see. My name is Cho Kyung-hwan of the Cultural Industry Policy Division. In fact, the budget and fund allocation matters that Director Nam asked about are cultural city policies and issues, but he is busy with work right now, so I will guide you on what you need instead.”
“You’re busy, but thank you for taking the time.”
Inspector Kim Han-seok sat down on the chair next to him and bowed his head.
“Seung-ah, please sit here too.”
Inspector Nam pulled back the chair next to him and offered a seat.
As Seung-ah sat down on the chair, the hem of his purple skirt was pushed up to his knees, and the gray stockings wrapped around his thighs came into the field of view of Captain Nam.
‘How nice would it be if that chair were my thighs?’
In that brief moment, Police Officer Nam had a wild imagination while spying on Seung-ah’s thighs and buttocks.
“So, you asked about the annual budget for the Kwanwoo Museum of Art, such as operating subsidies and maintenance fees, right?”
Inspector Nam, who came to his senses at the person in charge’s question, nodded his head.
“The Kwanwoo Art Museum is so large that it cannot be compared to other local government art museums. First of all, it cost tens of billions of won just to build it. Of course, it includes all the general artist exhibition halls and annex buildings. Therefore, if you look at the support for management for one year, you can see that it goes into an average of about 8 billion. In years with many local government events, nearly 10 billion won is supported.”
“Yes? 8 billion a year on average? That’s a huge amount.”
Captain Nam and Captain Kim’s mouths opened almost simultaneously.
“Ah… Can I ask one more question?”
Seung-a, who had been listening to the explanation with a serious expression, interrupted with a clear voice, taking advantage of the momentary silence.
“For example… Are all the works on display at the Guan Yu Art Museum authentic? Aren’t you deliberately displaying replicas for security?”
Seung-ah’s face was full of doubts.
“Ha ha, that seems to be the most frequently asked question. Since the collection and display of a particular artist’s original work has the greatest impact on the status of that museum, it can be said that there are very few art galleries that exhibit replicas. Also, if replicas are exhibited, the government will not allow the museum to open in the first place, and moreover, there will be no support.”
“I also want to know about taxes.”
In response to Seung-a’s continued questioning, Inspector Nam and Detective Kim nodded as if they were curious about the questions and took notes of the person in charge.
“Once works that meet the exhibition requirements are later exempted from various taxes. It is true that tax benefits are also given to operators of licensed art galleries. If there was no such support, who would exhibit valuable works to the public? Everyone will be desperate to sell it. In that case, the cultural heritage that can be appreciated by the general public will dry up.”
“That’s true, but wouldn’t that be a problem if these systems were abused?”
Captain Kim asked the first question.
“That’s why there is an oversight body like us, and we live on our own. Haha~”
“Then how many supervisors do you have on duty?”
“Well, there are about 15 people in Seoul and the Gyeonggi area, maybe… “
“Yes? Only 15 people? How many of these art galleries and museums are there, and only 15 people supervise them?”
Captain Kim put on a puzzled expression.
“What… There are about 30 places if you only have roughly large ones.”
“Then, does one supervisor have to manage at least two or three such large-scale art galleries or museums?”
“You should see that. In fact, we know that we are a little understaffed. But because the budget is so tight.”
Seung-ah and the investigators left the office with bitter smiles.
“Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee or something in the lobby over there?”
Captain Kim came out of the elevator first and gestured toward the vending machine in the corner of the lobby.
“Great. Even so, I was going to do some coin processing, but it went well.”
Inspector Nam started walking in the lead with his hands in his trouser pockets. The surprised gazes of the men passing by followed Seung-ah’s movements.
“As expected, Seung-ah’s guess is generally correct.”
Inspector Nam picked up a coffee cup from the vending machine and handed it to Captain Kim for luck.
“I will say so.”
“So you’re saying that the reason for making counterfeits is all about money?”
Inspector Nam cast his gaze toward Seung-ah.
“I think yes. As long as you make counterfeits and display them, you can continue to receive government subsidies. Moreover, it was judged that no one who comes to the exhibition hall has a professional eye to judge whether it is true or false. As long as you can secretly sell authentic items, you can make money and get a subsidy, killing two birds with one stone. As the person in charge said earlier, there is a great tax benefit. As long as a certain number of works are exhibited, transfer tax and inheritance tax can be reduced or exempted for other works or antiques.”
“If it weren’t for Seung-ah, I would have been utterly unaware of the existence of such a world, let alone solving the murder case.”
Inspector Nam clicked his tongue in surprise.
“Say that. I couldn’t have imagined these facts. The art world is really complicated too. Anyway, I think I’m getting a clue to the case. Are you saying that Chairman Choi took out Kim Seo-bong’s collection and had someone remove it because he didn’t want to give money in return?”
“But there was already a lot of money in Kim Seo-bong’s account.”
Captain Nam tilted his head and opened his mouth.
“Okay? Did Chairman Choi deposit the money?”
“No. Chairman Choi has never deposited money. He didn’t even know the name of that manager Park Mun-soo.”
“Then who is it? Who attacked him? Why?”
“After tracing the deposited account, it turned out that the money was withdrawn from the account of an executive at an oil company.”
“What? An oil refinery executive?”
“Yes!”
Captain Nam’s unexpected answer made Captain Kim’s eyes wide open.
“No! Why did the oil refinery executive deposit money to Kim Seo-bong?”
“I don’t know. Jeongyusa executives may have bought posthumous works like that from Kim Seobong… “
“But couldn’t it be that Kim Seo-bong bought and paid for art or antiques that he personally owned? Is not it?”
“Okay.”
“Do you still believe that this art trade is for tax avoidance?”
“That is still unknown.”
“The owner of the gallery who was murdered before… What was your name?”
“I am Hwang Jong-guk.”
“I thought he said he also runs an art gallery, right?”
“Yes. Because his father died and was a famous painter.”
“It is a strange thing. The murder of two art museum owners… To think that he was also stabbed by someone who seemed to be the same person… “
Captain Kim shook his head excitedly.
“The way they used the sword was obviously different, so it’s hard to conclude that they were the same person.”
Superintendent Nam looked at Captain Kim and said.
“The way you used the sword was different?”
Captain Kim’s voice grew louder.
“In the case of Hwang Jong-guk, he pushed accurately toward the vital point, but in the case of Director Kim, he was a writer who did not have that much experience. So he was bleeding more. The speed and method of subtraction were completely different. Experts come out turning at an angle of about 15 degrees to the right or left from the direction they entered.”
“Why is that?”
Captain Kim’s eyes widened again.
“Once the knife is inserted, it adheres closely to the flesh, so it does not come off easily. So I’m tweaking it a bit. To make space. However, in the case of Director Kim, it must have been quite difficult to remove it. He didn’t come out well because he was just trying to take it out. I was flustered and whimpered and turned around, so the cuts became quite large. Proof that I am not a professional swordsman.”
“Hmm… Then… I’ll have to do some more research first. Really! Take a look at the works in the two museums and see if there are any more forgeries.”
“Yes. All right.”
“And hurry up and find out the background of the video in which the pictures were taken.”
“Yes! I will do as you command.”
