Chapter 24: The Regulatory Storm
Chapter 24: The Regulatory Storm
The information on Sarah Kim’s hard drive was a political atom bomb. Jae-min chose not to deliver the data to the standard regional authorities, knowing the corruption ran too deep. Instead, he coordinated directly with the Supreme Prosecutor’s Special Anti-Corruption Task Force.
On a Tuesday morning, federal agents executed simultaneous raid warrants at the headquarters of the National Food and Drug Administration and the private residences of the corrupted officials.
The media coverage was unprecedented. The public, already fiercely protective of the Brooks-Kang Foundation after the valley crisis, demanded complete accountability.
Naomi stood alongside Audrey and Jae-min outside the Ministry of Justice as the disgraced officials were led out in handcuffs. The reporters rushed forward, their microphones crowded around Naomi.
"Ms. Brooks! With the regulatory body exposed as corrupt, how can consumers trust any food safety standard in the country?" a reporter shouted.
Naomi stepped up to the microphone, her demeanor perfectly composed, radiating an unshakeable authority.
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"Trust cannot be manufactured by a bureaucratic rubber stamp," Naomi answered clearly. "The system failed because it operated in the shadows of corporate boardrooms. From today, the Brooks-Kang Foundation is proposing a new National Food Safety Oversight Coalition—an independent, citizen-led board composed of chefs, scientists, and consumers who will audit the regulators themselves. Transparency is the only cure for institutional rot."
The proposal received immediate, overwhelming legislative support. The old, corrupt regulatory framework was dismantled, replaced by a system where the foundation held a permanent, independent veto power over food safety certifications.
