Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 180

180. 50th. The Inevitable Big Deal (6)

After spending the entire night drinking and commiserating with Yoo Seong-hak, we received a call from him and quickly secured a restaurant. Upon entering the room, we were stunned by the documents in the envelope Yoo Seong-hak handed us.

“How did you get these?”

“The Chief Secretary gave them to me.”

After answering, Yoo Seong-hak bit his lip, and Go Seung-ju’s eyes widened.

“Chief Secretary… are you talking about Chief Secretary Hwang Byeong-sik?”

“You remember correctly. Chairman Kang took him along during his time at Haedong Corporation.”

“Isn’t he the one who penetrated the Arab Qatari fabric market with Vice Chairman Bae? I can’t believe he would help us…”

To think that even the Chief Secretary of Daeju Group was one of us… I was too astonished to say anything as Yoo Seong-hak spoke to Go Seung-ju.

“The data that went to your side in London was also orchestrated by the Chief Secretary. He ordered them to hinder Daeju Group.”

“Excuse me?”

It was unexpected. A man who had been Kang Oh-jung’s right-hand man for decades, yet he was helping us?

“As you know, Chief Secretary Hwang was also known for looking after his subordinates. He wanted to ensure his friends in London had enough money to live comfortably.”

We all nodded at Yoo Seong-hak’s words.

If we exposed Daeju Group’s overseas slush fund issue, they would inevitably face legal punishment and struggle to find jobs even after their release. So, it seemed he wanted to ensure they had some financial security.

While everyone was sighing heavily, the door opened. We all stood up upon seeing the middle-aged man who entered.

“You’ve arrived, Chairman.”

The man who made us bow in unison was Lee Jae-heon, the Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission [a South Korean government agency responsible for overseeing financial institutions], the highest-ranking official overseeing the country’s economic restructuring.

“Nice to meet you. Let’s sit down and talk.”

We sat down with Lee Jae-heon, who gestured with his hand, and Go Seung-ju handed him the envelope.

“What is this?”

“Information on Daeju Group’s overseas slush funds.”

Lee Jae-heon’s eyes sharpened at Go Seung-ju’s answer.

“Is this true?”

“Yes, Chairman. All the documents in the envelopes on the table contain the evidence.”

Lee Jae-heon, observing Go Seung-ju’s stern expression, quickly examined the contents of the two envelopes.

“How could this be!”

Lee Jae-heon exclaimed as he flipped through the documents, then sighed. In the meantime, Go Seung-ju quickly spoke.

“You need to handle this as soon as possible, Chairman. You must inform the VIP [referring to a high-ranking government official, likely the President] immediately.”

“Chief Secretary Hwang will confess everything, Chairman. If you leave Daeju Group unchecked any longer, it will be irreversible.”

Lee Jae-heon nodded at Go Seung-ju and Yoo Seong-hak’s appeals.

“I understand. I will inform the VIP right away.”

Lee Jae-heon immediately took out his phone and pressed the buttons.

“This is Lee Jae-heon, Mr. President. It’s about Daeju Group…”

Lee Jae-heon reported that Daeju Group’s overseas slush funds had entered Daeju Group in the form of overseas investment attraction.

“Yes. I will take action immediately.”

Ending the call, Lee Jae-heon immediately contacted related institutions, including the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Korea Exchange [the stock exchange of South Korea], and ordered the freezing of accounts of 20 overseas investment companies invested in Daeju Group.

“I’m going to meet Chairman Kang. Let’s talk later.”

Lee Jae-heon left without even properly saying goodbye, and we collapsed into our seats.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“Thank Chief Secretary Hwang. It would have been difficult to handle without him.”

Go Seung-ju sighed at Yoo Seong-hak’s reply.

“I heard he was like that even when he was a department head. He took all the responsibility and shared the credit…”

Seeing Go Seung-ju feeling sorry, Hwang Byeong-sik seemed like a decent person. It was a pity that such a person was being ruined because of Kang Oh-jung.

“The fact that the issuance of corporate bonds and CPs [Commercial Papers, short-term debt instruments] was less than expected was probably because he was worried about what would happen next.”

“That’s probably it. With Daeju Group’s capabilities, they could have released much more volume…”

In fact, after attracting $4 billion in slush funds from Daeju Group, the total amount of CPs and corporate bonds issued did not exceed 2 trillion won. We also found that strange, but now all the pieces have fallen into place.

“This is Daeju Group that the Chief Secretary exchanged for the rest of his life. Please take good care of it.”

Yoo Seong-hak turned his head and grabbed Go Seung-ju’s hand, looking at him with earnest eyes, and Go Seung-ju and we nodded with firm faces.

***

Back at the company, Hwang Byeong-sik was summoned by Kang Oh-jung and called to his office at the Hilton Hotel. Kang Oh-jung, sitting at his desk, glared at Hwang Byeong-sik, who opened the door and entered, and asked.

“Why were you seeing Yoo Seong-hak?”

“……”

Hwang Byeong-sik, enduring Kang Oh-jung’s murderous gaze, lowered his head without saying a word. Kang Oh-jung slammed his trembling fist on the desk.

“Answer me! Did you betray me too?”

Only then did Hwang Byeong-sik open his mouth.

“…I’m sorry, Chairman.”

Kang Oh-jung, who had jumped up from his seat, walked towards Hwang Byeong-sik as if running. Kang Oh-jung swung his raised hand with all his might.

“You son of a bitch, worse than a dog! How dare you bite the hand that feeds you?”

“I’m sorry, Chairman.”

Even as Kang Oh-jung slapped his cheek with a loud crack and spat out curses, Hwang Byeong-sik was only repeating the word “sorry” like a broken record.

[Chairman, Chairman Lee Jae-heon is here.]

“L, Lee Jae-heon?”

The color drained from Kang Oh-jung’s face upon hearing the intercom. Lee Jae-heon, who was wielding a knife in the business world [a metaphor for being ruthless and powerful], was coming at this timing?

Kang Oh-jung, biting his lip, had to see Lee Jae-heon, who was opening the door and entering.

“It’s been a while, Chairman.”

“W, what brings you here, Chairman Lee?”

Lee Jae-heon, who bowed his head, glared at Kang Oh-jung, who was even stuttering, with cold eyes.

“You have disappointed the President twice.”

“What are you talking about, Chairman! I’m just doing this for the sake of the country’s economy…!”

Kang Oh-jung had no chance to make excuses. Lee Jae-heon cut him off.

“Your way is ruining the country’s economy! Bringing in slush funds disguised as overseas investment companies!”

Kang Oh-jung froze at Lee Jae-heon’s rebuke. Lee Jae-heon, with a cold gaze, spoke to Kang Oh-jung, who already had cold sweat on his forehead.

“It has already been reported to the President, and the slush fund accounts of overseas investment companies have all been frozen.”

“Ugh…”

Kang Oh-jung, making a groaning sound, saw Hwang Byeong-sik smiling faintly and slapped his cheek again.

“You bastard! How much did I trust you!”

“I’m sorry, Chairman. I couldn’t bear to see Daeju Group fall apart any further. Please consider it poetic justice.”

“Y, you…!”

Lee Jae-heon walked towards Hwang Byeong-sik, seeing Kang Oh-jung trembling. Hwang Byeong-sik, after finishing his words, bent over 90 degrees, and Lee Jae-heon sighed in embarrassment.

“Please leave the room for a moment.”

Lee Jae-heon, watching Hwang Byeong-sik straighten his back and leave the office, sat in the chair he had been sitting in.

“I was once a member of Daeju Group, so I will make a final proposal.”

Although he was kicked out of Daeju Group for failing one M&A deal, Lee Jae-heon was focusing on his current role rather than his past. This was because the dismantling of Daeju Group had to minimize the shockwave.

“What are you talking about?”

Even as Kang Oh-jung raised his voice with his eyes wide open, Lee Jae-heon was still exuding a cold aura.

“If you announce the creation of slush funds, accounting fraud, and the Daehan Credit Distribution case yourself, give up all your shares and slush funds, and step down from Daeju Group, I will ask the President for leniency. You will be released without detention and with probation, so step down quietly.”

Kang Oh-jung’s face froze like ice at Lee Jae-heon’s proposal. How did he know about Daehan Credit Distribution, let alone accounting fraud and overseas slush funds?

However, Kang Oh-jung opened his mouth as if to make a final struggle.

“What if I don’t give up?”

“You’ll see. Whether you retire honorably or get dragged out of the gutter, covered in dirt and battered, is your choice.”

Ending his chilling warning, Lee Jae-heon stood up from his seat.

“Whatever choice you make, all of your assets will be invested in normalizing Daeju Group. Don’t make a futile choice, make a wise one.”

Lee Jae-heon bowed his head and left the room, and Kang Oh-jung lowered his head powerlessly.

Kang Oh-jung, left alone, walked weakly to the window.

In his eyes, countless dots were moving back and forth in Baebum Park on the ground beyond the glass window. Now he had to go down from this room to that ground and become one of the countless dots.

“Was everything I did wrong…?”

His sighing voice and mixed monologue echoed emptily in the office.

It wasn’t all wrong to have come this far, starting with the 20 million won in start-up funds he received from Lee Dae-soo. He was recognized as a contributor to exports by establishing Daeju Trading, the predecessor of Daeju Corporation, and he tried to focus on substance rather than appearance for 10 years.

However.

After 10 years, in the process of expanding the company, he tasted the power of connections, including the new military [referring to the military regime that ruled South Korea for several decades], and relied on connections to avoid crises, and eventually, it became a habit, and it became difficult to run the business without those connections.

“I understand now.”

He, who had been the youngest director at Haedong Corporation, now remembered what Lee Dae-soo had often said to him when playing Go [a strategic board game, also known as Weiqi or Baduk].

[At least build a solid foundation before you expand your power. Otherwise, it’s dangerous.]

Until now, he had gradually taken those words lightly, but now that he had reached this point, those words were digging into his bones.

Thinking of Lee Dae-soo, who was as conservative as he was, and the Haedong Group he led, shining alone in the pitch-black darkness and running wildly, it hurt even more.

Kang Oh-jung took a long sigh and walked to his desk to pick up the receiver.

“It’s me, Mr. President.”

Kang Oh-jung listened silently to the screams coming from the receiver for a long time, and when the sound subsided, he opened his mouth.

“I will give up everything and leave, so please protect the livelihoods of the employees. I’m shameless, but I’m asking you.”

Was it because he had returned to his original intentions at the end? Kang Oh-jung appealed for the sake of the families of Daeju’s employees.

After the sound was cut off in his ear, Kang Oh-jung put down the receiver and closed his eyes.

How much time had passed? His eyes, with their eyelids raised, were clear and distinct for the first time since he founded Daeju Trading.

Kang Oh-jung picked up the receiver again, pressed the dial, and opened his mouth.

“Prepare a press conference.”

***

That evening at 6 p.m.

Kang Oh-jung, walking into the press conference hall on the first floor of Daeju Group’s Seoul Station headquarters, and the executives walking in two rows behind him, were filled with determination.

He walked up to the center of the prepared platform and turned around to look at the executives before opening his mouth in front of the podium.

The executives who made eye contact with Kang Oh-jung were trying to hold back the tears that were about to pour out, either gritting their teeth or lowering their heads.

Kang Oh-jung, staring intently at Hwang Byeong-sik, who was in the center of them, walked towards him.

“I’m sorry, Chief Secretary Hwang.”

Hwang Byeong-sik struggled to open his mouth as he held his hand with one hand and stroked his shoulder with the other.

“…I will bear all the sins… Chairman.”

His pronunciation was slurred, perhaps because of his swollen cheeks, but Kang Oh-jung looked at Hwang Byeong-sik with pity.

“There’s no need for that. If you had stayed at Haedong, your future would have been bright…”

Kang Oh-jung shook his head and couldn’t continue speaking. If he hadn’t taken him out, Hwang Byeong-sik, who was soaring, would have been aiming for the next leadership of Haedong Corporation, wouldn’t he?

“Thank you for taking care of an stubborn old man like me, haha.”

Kang Oh-jung, who laughed casually, walked to Yoo Seong-hak, who was at the very back.

“Seong-hak.”

“…Yes, Chairman.”

Kang Oh-jung put his hand on Yoo Seong-hak’s shoulder, who couldn’t even make eye contact and barely answered.

“I should have done as you said. I should have known when to move forward and when to step back, but I was foolish.”

“…Hngh!”

“…Chairman!”

Water droplets fell vertically from the face of Yoo Seong-hak, who lowered his head, and sobbing sounds leaked from the mouths of other executives.

The press conference hall was like a funeral home. Kang Oh-jung, looking around at the executives inside, waved his hand.

“Don’t cry, you people. I’m not going to die, haha.”

The executives, looking at Kang Oh-jung, who was laughing heartily unlike them, closed their mouths, but

Their shoulders were still shaking

Tears were falling from their eyes without stopping.

Although it was Daeju Group built on debt, it seemed that they couldn’t bear the sadness of the years they had spent shoulder to shoulder and back to back to get to this point.

Kang Oh-jung, looking at their faces one by one with a calm expression, took a breath and turned around to walk towards the podium in the center of the platform.

Kang Oh-jung, who was about to grab the manuscript, swallowed dry saliva, drank the prepared water, and cleared his throat.

It seemed like he wanted to make his last exit dignified. That was the only last gift he could give to Daeju Group.

Kang Oh-jung, who stopped clearing his throat, adjusted the microphone stick to his mouth.

“I have committed an unforgivable sin against the people, employees, and investors to save Daeju Group. Our Daeju Group has committed a total of 12 trillion won in accounting fraud…”

Thud.

Thud, thud.

Thud, thud, thud.

Tears fell from the eyes of Kang Oh-jung, who was reading the manuscript with a firm face, and flashes went off.

“…Everything is my fault and a tragedy caused by my greed. The executives are only guilty of doing what I, the chairman, told them to do. So…”

Kang Oh-jung paused for a moment and then opened his mouth again.

“I will donate all my stocks and assets to Daeju Group, step down from Daeju Group, and accept the punishment for my sins.”

The mouths of reporters and cameramen were wide open at Kang Oh-jung’s declaration of Baek-ui Jong-gun [a Korean term referring to a warrior who fights to the bitter end, even if it means certain death], who was reading the manuscript while shedding tears. In this unprecedented situation where a chaebol leader [a South Korean business conglomerate] not only revealed his sins in public but also declared that he would give up everything, no one could hide their shock beyond expectations.

Kang Oh-jung, who had stopped crying, took out a handkerchief, wiped away his tears, and looked straight at the camera with firm eyes.

“I ask the people and each group in the business world. The 100,000 Daeju Group employees and 500,000 partner company employees are your families and neighbors. Please protect their livelihoods. I ask you again.”

Kang Oh-jung, who put down the manuscript, came to the front of the podium and bowed deeply to the broadcasting camera.

“Please, people!”

The executives, who screamed as if in despair at the sight, ran out behind Kang Oh-jung and bowed deeply.