Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1605

The three of them left the hall and settled into the upstairs conference room.

Following Lee Hyun-soo’s instructions, the staff quickly brought refreshments and placed them before the three. Once the staff had left, Ko Han-bong began to speak quietly.

“First of all, thank you again, Chairman.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Actually, this isn’t something that can be concluded with mere pleasantries. There are cases where people who have made a decent amount of money operate foundations as a way to show off, but I’ve rarely seen someone with your kind of wealth invest so much money to open a foundation.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his nose silently.

He felt a little strange.

It wasn’t so much because of the pleasantries, but rather because the Prime Minister’s thoughts seemed to be slightly different from what Kang Jin-ho had in mind.

In truth, Kang Jin-ho had just wanted to run a few orphanages, but things had gradually escalated to this point. He hadn’t had any grand ambitions from the start.

“That’s why I’m saying this, but are you really not going to accept a medal? If you’re uncomfortable with the attention, how about the Order of the Peony instead of the Order of Mugunghwa, the highest national medal?”

“Mugunghwa? Peony?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, and Lee Hyun-soo smiled slightly as he explained.

“The Order of Mugunghwa is the highest grade of the National Medal. It’s awarded to those who have made great contributions to the nation. And the Order of the Peony is the next highest grade.”

“The Order of Mugunghwa is indeed excessive. Medals are usually given for a person’s lifetime achievements, and while it might be different if the foundation is well-run and greatly contributes to the welfare of South Korea… I think it’s definitely problematic to give the Order of Mugunghwa just for establishing it.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

‘I knew I shouldn’t accept a medal…’

“So, how about accepting the Order of the Peony?”

Lee Hyun-soo subtly urged him.

However, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t hide his dislike.

“Let’s get one thing straight.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“If someone else had established the exact same childcare foundation, would they have been given a medal?”

“Yes.”

“…Yes?”

“They would have.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at the Prime Minister with a bewildered look.

This wasn’t the answer he had expected.

Ko Han-bong smiled at Kang Jin-ho’s expression.

“Basically, medals are awarded for two purposes. One is when a person’s lifetime achievements have developed South Korea or have had a significant promotional effect. The other is when a person’s actions are widely publicized so that others can follow their example. You clearly fall into the latter category, Chairman.”

“I won’t deny that our desire to improve our relationship with you is behind the offer of the Order of Mugunghwa. But you really deserve the Order of the Peony. I would have recommended it even if someone else had done the same thing.”

Kang Jin-ho waved his hand.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I’d like to forget about this.”

“Chairman.”

Ko Han-bong pressed slightly, and Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“Let’s talk about this later.”

“Yes. It seems I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

Ko Han-bong smiled.

‘He’s certainly a unique person.’

Most people would have had their eyes sparkling the moment they heard about a medal.

Not to mention Jung Hong-geun out there, even Hwang Jeong-hoo would likely refuse a few times before reluctantly accepting if a medal were awarded. In fact, Hwang Jeong-hoo is currently being considered for the Gold Tower Industrial Medal.

But Kang Jin-ho looked genuinely troubled.

Having been in politics for so long, he could distinguish between people who were playing hard to get to create an atmosphere and those who genuinely disliked something. Kang Jin-ho was clearly the latter.

“Haha, let’s talk about this again later. I have something else to tell you.”

“Yes.”

Ko Han-bong spoke with a slightly tense expression, different from before.

“The welfare workers who neglected the orphanages you acquired will all be disciplined. Those who were clearly found to have taken bribes and turned a blind eye have been handed over to the prosecution. They will be dismissed once their sentences are confirmed.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded silently.

Then, Lee Hyun-soo asked cautiously.

“What about those who didn’t take money?”

“We’ll look into how heavy their workload was and issue appropriate disciplinary measures.”

“That seems reasonable.”

Kang Jin-ho also nodded at Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

He didn’t particularly harbor any ill feelings towards those civil servants. There was no need to show mercy to those who had taken money and colluded with the directors or heads of the orphanages, but he didn’t want to punish anyone just for not doing their jobs.

‘That’s my own greed.’

Not everyone lives their lives diligently and to the best of their abilities. Forcing them to do so is also a form of violence.

“However, there’s a problem…”

“Yes?”

Ko Han-bong sighed.

“In most cases, these guys are cunning and use organized crime to deliver money, which makes it easier to catch them. But to get those who directly dealt with the heads of the orphanages, we need to catch the heads. And those heads are currently missing…”

Ko Han-bong looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a strange expression.

“Do you have any idea…?”

“Hahaha, I don’t know. We don’t know.”

Suspicion flickered in Ko Han-bong’s eyes.

Wasn’t the situation too coincidental?

That the heads of the problematic orphanages went missing just after he acquired them.

Lee Hyun-soo awkwardly changed the subject.

“Anyway, it’s a good thing.”

Ko Han-bong laughed lightly.

He felt a little uneasy, but he didn’t want to push them. He didn’t have the power to do so, and as Lee Hyun-soo said, it was a good thing.

“Anyway, thank you.”

“…Yes?”

“I want to thank you again for acquiring those orphanages. The human mind is like that, isn’t it? When starting something new with a lot of money, you tend to want to set everything up from scratch.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

Unless they were short on money, everyone would feel the same way.

“Usually, in such situations, it wouldn’t be easy to turn your attention to other orphanages… It seems like you’ve done what the state couldn’t, and I feel ashamed.”

“It’s alright.”

Ko Han-bong quietly looked at Kang Jin-ho.

He had seen Lee Hyun-soo several times recently, but he didn’t have many opportunities to meet Kang Jin-ho.

‘He’s a very unique person.’

To put it coldly, this man is a criminal.

A criminal of a terrible caliber. If one were to count the number of people he had killed, it would be chilling to even sit across from him like this.

And yet, such a person is opening a welfare foundation.

Not just a foundation to show off, but the largest welfare foundation with a massive amount of personal funds. This welfare foundation will own more than ten orphanages in the future.

Is it hypocrisy?

Well…

Hypocrisy only has meaning when there’s something to gain, but no matter how much he thought about it, Kang Jin-ho had nothing to gain from opening a welfare foundation. He even controlled the media to avoid any burden.

Other conglomerates would have made a big deal out of opening a foundation with just a tenth of the investment, but this man was refusing even the interviews that were offered.

‘I can’t figure him out.’

Is he evil, or is he good?

Perhaps there’s no need to choose.

Ko Han-bong knew that everyone carried both an angel and a devil within their hearts.

Kang Jin-ho was simply the type whose two sides were expressed simultaneously and extremely.

So, he could only hope that the side of Kang Jin-ho he saw was the good one.

“There are some incomplete documents related to the foundation. I think we need to finish processing them.”

Lee Hyun-soo raised his hand slightly.

“I’ll take care of that.”

“I’m sorry. This is… If I had the assurance that the government wouldn’t change, I could have provided all the conveniences, but if I handle it carelessly and the government changes, it could become a pretext. Of course, the opposition party wouldn’t try to interfere with the General Assembly [National Assembly].”

“You mean we need to make sure even the exposed parts are handled properly?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re right. Well, it’s not difficult, and it seems like we just need to submit the necessary documents… I’ll complete them as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you.”

The three, having finished their business, returned to their seats.

Kang Jin-ho, who had come down from the second floor, sighed deeply at the scene in the living room.

“…Why are they like that again?”

“Ugh, they’re like oil and water…”

Jung Hong-geun and Hwang Jeong-hoo, sitting far apart at the table, were making faces and hurling insults at each other.

From the start, Hwang Jeong-hoo had the moral high ground, and his eloquence was not lacking, so it should have been a one-sided attack from Hwang Jeong-hoo, but Jung Hong-geun was not easy to deal with either.

He cleverly twisted Hwang Jeong-hoo’s words to maintain the balance.

“Hey, if you like Japan so much, why don’t you live there? Why are you living in Korea?”

“I’ll probably go to Japan often without your concern, so you better protect Korea well. While you’re at it, look into a grave too. It looks like you don’t have much time left.”

“Heh heh, why? Are you going to call the police and report me?”

“Has this old man gone senile? What do you mean by police!”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes slightly.

It was fine to fight. Yes, it was fine to fight.

But did they have to fight so childishly?

“Please stop it.”

Hwang Jeong-hoo clicked his tongue as Kang Jin-ho sighed and walked over.

“Jin-ho, be careful. That guy is the type to stab you in the back at any moment. Why did you invite such a guy to this good place?”

Kang Jin-ho turned his gaze to Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo whistled and turned his head away.

‘But he still has a reputation.’

This was a welfare foundation that Kang Jin-ho and Cho Gyu-min had worked hard to create. He couldn’t let the opening ceremony of the welfare foundation pass by bleakly.

“Alright, alright, instead of that, let’s all take a picture.”

“A picture?”

“Pictures are what remain, aren’t they? I’ll take a great one for you.”

“We already took one when we cut the ribbon?”

“Is that the same? We need to take one with just us.”

Lee Hyun-soo quickly gestured and called the cameraman. Then, a person who had been waiting in the back ran over with a camera.

“Chairman, please stand in the center. Prime Minister, please stand on the left, and on the right…”

Before he could finish speaking, Jung Hong-geun had slyly taken the right side of Kang Jin-ho.

“Get out of here, you!”

“Hey, you’re too old to be fighting over a spot. You go stand over there.”

“You, you Japanese…”

Kang Jin-ho squeezed his eyes shut.