Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1511

All the executives gathered in MK’s conference room, their eyes fixed on Lee Hyun-soo. Under all that attention, Lee Hyun-soo began to speak.

“I got a call…”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head vigorously.

“They said they’ve identified the culprit.”

“Already?” Lee Hyun-joo’s eyes widened.

Why had they called everyone together? Had they already found the culprit?

“No, it hasn’t even been that long since the investigation started.”

“I told you, it’s not that they’re incompetent. If they set their minds to it, they can catch most criminals within a few days.”

“…That’s even worse.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

Honestly, even Lee Hyun-soo hadn’t expected them to catch the culprit this quickly.

He thought it would take quite a while just to trace the several layers of complexity, but the South Korean police seemed determined to prove their competence this time, identifying the culprit almost immediately.

“The problem is the culprit…” Lee Hyun-soo placed the faxed documents on the table.

“Is this the bastard?”

“…So it seems.”

Lee Hyun-joo quickly reached out and grabbed the documents. Then, she began to read them, her brow furrowed.

“Taekwang? You mean Taekwang Group?”

“To be precise, it’s Taekwang P&D, an affiliate of Taekwang Group.”

“That’s basically the same thing.”

“Well, yeah.” Lee Hyun-joo checked the culprit’s personal information, looking dumbfounded.

“Oh my god, it really was a major corporation. I mean, what were they lacking that they had to target a small place like us? And in such a dirty way?”

“Big companies are even more desperate for results.”

Though he said that, Lee Hyun-soo’s expression wasn’t good either.

Taekwang Group was one of the top 10 conglomerates in South Korea. Of course, the person who committed this act was from Taekwang P&D, a small affiliate, so it was a bit ambiguous to say that Taekwang Group was directly involved.

“So, this person is the culprit?”

“That’s what they say. The funds themselves came from this person’s account, apparently.”

“No, how does a mere team leader have the money to pay for this out of their own pocket?”

“That’s why they’re also being charged with embezzlement, it seems.”

“Embezzlement?” Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

“No, so you’re saying that a team leader embezzled money, and then used that embezzled money to hire people to disrupt our business?”

“That’s what they’re saying.”

“Ha…” Lee Hyun-joo bit her lip tightly.

“Do these bastards think we’re fools?”

“Whoa, whoa, the chairman is here. Calm down, for now.” Lee Hyun-soo gestured slowly with his hand, lowering it.

“What do you think?” As Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze turned towards him, Hwang Min-soo spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“It’s a tail.”

“A cut-off tail.”

“That’s right. Well, the planning and the scheme would have been done by the higher-ups, and for something of this scale, it would be at least an executive level… a managing director, or a senior managing director?”

Gu Jung-beom chuckled at those words.

“Please speak reasonably, President. Just looking at the money involved, this isn’t something an executive level could do. Besides, it’s too petty for the board of directors to be involved.”

“Then, someone below that?”

“No. It’s someone higher up. First of all, the directors can’t openly suggest doing something this petty. They have their reputation to consider, and they have to be mindful of the president’s eyes.”

Noh Tae-gwang quickly agreed.

“Yes. I also don’t think this is something the board of directors would do. First of all, this is an issue that can’t even be put into a proposal.”

“Huh?” Hwang Min-soo frowned.

He hadn’t thought that far, but if those who had served as directors and those who were still serving as directors were saying this…

“Especially with Taekwang, it’s even more so.”

“Yes. Taekwang’s organizational culture is such that subordinates can’t do anything arbitrarily. Even the directors are busy protecting themselves, so they would never push something like this.”

“Really? Then it must be someone higher up. Who’s the president of Taekwang P&D right now?”

“Uh, well…” Gu Jung-beom, who was frowning as if he couldn’t remember, suddenly widened his eyes.

“Wow, this…”

“Who is it?”

“Jang Myung-chul, it’s Jang Myung-chul, President!”

“Jang Myung-chul?” Hwang Min-soo opened his mouth as if he finally understood everything.

“No, that scoundrel is in the president’s seat? Has the chairman of Taekwang gone senile?”

Lee Hyun-soo asked with a sullen face.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your excitement, but I wish we could all be in on this.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was just too surprised.” Hwang Min-soo smiled awkwardly and continued.

“Jang Myung-chul is the grandson of the chairman of Taekwang Group… This bastard has been notorious for being a scoundrel since way back.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. How should I put it, he’s like the epitome of a reckless third-generation chaebol [a wealthy family heir]. He’s a guy who goes around causing all sorts of trouble. He got caught doing drugs while studying abroad, and even after returning to Korea, he caused all sorts of problems, starting with women. His personality is so terrible that I thought he would have been kicked out of the group… But he’s even sitting in the president’s seat.”

Lee Hyun-soo narrowed his eyes.

“Then, it’s this guy?”

“If it’s the Jang Myung-chul I know… it’s definitely him. If it’s not him, there’s no one else who would do something this petty. Ha, if I had known he was at P&D, I would have immediately pegged him as the culprit.” Hwang Min-soo clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

Judging by his reaction, one could guess just how much of a scoundrel Jang Myung-chul was.

“Then, you’re saying he gave the orders?”

“That’s probably it. The actual people who moved were probably the executives who are like his right-hand men, but the orders must have come from him. And when things started to look like they were going to get complicated, he probably cut off the tail as he had prepared beforehand.”

Kang Jin-ho took the documents from Lee Hyun-joo and checked the culprit’s personal information.

“Isn’t this too careless of a cover-up? How many people would believe this?”

“It works, so they do it.”

“It works?”

“Yes. Just look at the news. It’s obvious to anyone that they’re cutting off the tail, but once the announcement is made, people will curse and then forget about it. It usually takes months or even years for the situation to become clear in court, and by then, no one is paying attention.”

“Ugh…”

“Even if the real culprit is revealed in court, it’s just old gossip that happened years ago. It’s a typical tactic.”

“It’s not about deceiving, it’s about not caring even if they know?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Kang Jin-ho let out a hollow laugh.

He couldn’t understand the way this society worked. He thought he had adapted to some extent, but after experiencing a series of recent events, he wondered if he had really adapted to this society.

“A president of a company does something like this, and the subordinates take the blame?”

“It’s a common occurrence.”

“Then what the hell does the president do?”

“…He planned it, didn’t he?”

“Planned it?”

“Yes. He planned this whole thing. Usually, if it succeeds, it’s his achievement, and if it fails, it’s the subordinates’ fault.”

Gu Jung-beom chuckled.

“The directors must have been in an uproar after the news broke.”

Noh Tae-gwang seemed to be on the same page as Gu Jung-beom this time.

“With his personality, he must have destroyed a lot of things. Ha, those directors, what a pity. It’s hard to make a living, so hard.”

Lee Hyun-joo summarized the situation.

“So, is this person arrested now?”

“No.” Lee Hyun-soo shrugged.

“The arrest warrant is currently under review, it seems. The National Intelligence Service contacted us first. They said this guy is likely to be caught.”

“Surely, you’re not going to believe everything these bastards say and end it here, are you?”

“Probably, we will?”

“…Does that even make sense?”

“It doesn’t make sense. But legally, it does.”

“No, common sense…”

“The law is different from common sense. In the end, the law is about whether you can prove something or not. No matter how much the judge has reasonable doubts, they can’t punish someone based on suspicion alone without clear evidence or witnesses.”

“No, I know that. But this is really too much.”

“That’s power.” Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue.

‘When someone else uses power, it always seems worse.’

In fact, even MK could easily pull off this kind of tail-cutting without any qualms.

The chaebols of South Korea build their own kingdoms and live according to the laws of those kingdoms. Sometimes they manipulate the law, and sometimes they manipulate people.

As long as power holds their hands, they will never be shaken.

“Then, what about the news reports?”

“They’ll go out as is.”

“…A mere team leader did all of this?”

“They’ll add a few more things. Unfortunate family history, pressure to perform, low performance evaluations, various circumstances that led him to do something he shouldn’t have done to increase the company’s sales.”

“Huh…”

“The headquarters will acknowledge their fault in not managing their employees properly and apologize, but we are also victims. Our image has been tarnished by one person’s misconduct. And he even embezzled money? Oh my, how unfair.” Lee Hyun-soo joked.

“It’ll probably go exactly like that. I guarantee it.”

“You know that, and you’re still going to let it go?”

“There’s no other way. To reveal this, we need to find evidence that the president directly ordered this, but where are we going to find that evidence? Are we going to infiltrate Taekwang and look at the CCTV footage, or open up the directors’ chats?”

“If we have to, we should do that!”

“Unfortunately, illegally obtained evidence is not admissible in court. This is a criminal case. Evidence collection must follow legal procedures.”

“…What kind of law is it that only allows powerful people to easily get away with things? It’s all advantageous to those who give the orders.”

“Well, the powerful people make the laws. Would they put in content that’s disadvantageous to them?” Lee Hyun-joo bit her lip, looking unconvinced.

“So, we just have to take this beating and endure it?”

“Of course not.” Lee Hyun-soo curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Ever since Chairman Lee became the chairman, the general meeting’s way of acting has been one thing. We thoroughly crush those who provoke us first.”

“Of course, we should!” Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“Chairman.” Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo and nodded.

“Speak.”

“Legally, there are limitations. The National Intelligence Service also said that even if we dig deeper, there’s no chance of finding any evidence. It’s a shame, but I think we should stop here.”

“On the surface, right?”

“Yes. On the surface.” Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo looked at each other and grinned.

“Instead, emphasize that it’s Taekwang, whether it’s a team leader or whatever, and make sure the news reports are done properly. We have to prevent the franchisees from being harmed.”

“I’ll make sure of that. If we hit the news a few more times, the advertising effect will be better than a commercial. If you think about it, this is a blessing in disguise. Our brand recognition has increased tremendously.”

And sales are also recovering. It seemed that they would be able to recover the sales from before this incident by this weekend.

“We need to let them know.” Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

“Who they messed with.” Kang Jin-ho frowned.

Recently, he kept feeling like Lee Hyun-soo was stealing his lines.

It must be his imagination?