Still, I Will Live As The Son-In-Law Of A Conglomerate [EN]: Chapter 8

3rd. Commencing Action (1)

After watching Lee Sung-min leave, Lee Dae-soo shared some honey water with Ko Seung-ju. He wanted to share the stories he had been holding back in front of his eldest grandson with Ko Seung-ju, whom he regarded as his own son.

“I never thought Sung-min would change so much.”

“He’s become quite sharp. He wouldn’t have dared to speak up in front of the Chairman like that before.”

The Lee Sung-min they knew was a bright child, but timid. The fact that he had changed so drastically, becoming bold and sharp, couldn’t be taken lightly.

“It’s not just his attitude, but from what he said, he’s been scratching the wrong itch all along. Even when the Blue House occupant [President of South Korea], the Army Chief of Staff, and the Defense Security Commander were removed, that was the case, right?”

“Yes, Chairman. He reportedly met with the Minister of National Defense and gave the orders. According to recent intelligence, the remaining kill list is being drawn up by the working-level staff.”

The Haedong Group’s intelligence network stemmed from connections built over half a century. Added to that, Ko Seung-ju’s reports, compiled from information circulating in various intelligence meetings through the Secretary’s Office, were almost always accurate, so Lee Dae-soo nodded.

“Our eldest grandson really got one over on us, huh?”

Lee Dae-soo could only marvel at his grandson’s insight. Despite the clear precedent, everyone had been dealing only with high-ranking officials, just as they had always done.

In contrast, Lee Sung-min had broken away from that inertia and presented a new approach, proving he had the quick thinking necessary for a businessman.

“We’ll have to see how much this kid grows in the future, huh?”

He couldn’t show it because of appearances, but Lee Dae-soo couldn’t stop smiling, as his grandson, who he was grateful for just for returning from the brink of death, had cleared the fog in the family and the group.

***

“Rest well, Hyung [older brother/male friend].”

“Yes, Master.”

After climbing the stairs back to my room, I took off my jacket and hung it on the hanger, then loosened my tie and threw myself onto the bed.

“Hoo-”

I still couldn’t believe it, so I pinched my cheek, but all I got was a sharp pain.

“This won’t do.”

I wanted to collapse, but I couldn’t sleep, so I got up and sat at my desk, opened my notebook, and wrote down everything that came to mind, along with the years, months, and days. Even if my memory is good, organizing things visually is the best way to plan for the future.

Among them, the first thing I organized was the Shinsung Group.

Jang Ho-geon, who took the largest affiliate and the foundation of the Shinsung Group, centered around Shinsung Electronics and Shinsung Corporation.

Jang Ho-kyung, who left with cash-cow affiliates like Shinsung Department Store and Cheil Flour.

Jang Ho-min, who handles the heavy chemical industry sector, making a killing with Shinsung Heavy Industries, Shinsung Construction, and Shinsung Oil.

The three siblings jointly control Shinsung Life Insurance and its affiliated financial companies, using them according to their respective shares.

These three siblings, who were worse than strangers despite sharing blood, started a civil war in 1997 when the gentleman’s agreement ended.

Using the power they built with their respective affiliates to shake each other’s governance structure was basic. They even planted people in each other’s affiliates to dig up internal information, even the dirty secrets of their families, and expose them.

Thanks to that, cousins of my rank suffered from all sorts of low-quality scandals, but I was an exception. It was less because of the surveillance device Jang Su-yeon had placed on me and more because I didn’t want to show a disgraceful appearance in front of Jang Ha-yeon.

The Jang Ho-kyung and Jang Ho-min families must have gone crazy because of me.

I, who had nothing to hide, became a loyal dog of the Jang Ho-geon family, mercilessly biting and clawing at their personal and business weaknesses, dragging them down from their thrones.

That’s why I am now the only outsider who knows the inside story as well as the insiders of the Shinsung Group. I’ve been through the core departments and affiliates of the Shinsung Group, knowing everything from family relationships to each person’s personality and business direction.

If there’s one more thing I know about the Shinsung Group, it’s the executives.

I know everyone, from who is on whose side or who is an enemy, to who has brought profit to the company or caused losses, so I can be a useful joker.

But.

There was a biggest problem.

“There’s no easy target, damn it.”

I sighed, tapping the desk with my fingernails.

In military strategy, the attacking side needs to be at least three times the size of the defending side to fight evenly, and ten times the size to be sure of victory.

But the asset size of the entire Shinsung Group is currently nearly ten times that of the Haedong Group, and the money they earn is nearly twenty times as much. We are being pushed back by Shinsung because of the Chairman’s unique, almost bizarre, management style, in terms of both size and profitability, so we need to change the Chairman.

However, I can’t recklessly use the money hidden in the shadows.

Unlike slush funds created within the group, our family’s money in Myeongdong [a district in Seoul known for finance and commerce] is like the bank’s capital.

That money creates several times the credit, and a significant portion of the Myeongdong private loan market revolves around it, so using a large sum of money at once would create a massive sinkhole in the Korean economy.

Considering the conflicts with other domestic conglomerates besides Shinsung and the foreign exchange crisis that will hit in a few years, unnecessary expansion of the business within the country is worse than doing nothing.

Why would I eat junk food when there’s plenty of quality food available?

I bit my lip as I pondered.

“I have no choice. I have to imitate Carthage.”

The method Carthage used to recover from the wounds of the First Punic War.

That method is the best option the current Haedong Group can choose.

Carthage.

After losing to Rome in the First Punic War, Hamilcar Barca led an advance into Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula today) to restore national power.

Hamilcar built up his strength based on the silver mines and farms there, and although he died in vain, his son Hannibal used his father’s legacy to start the Second Punic War, tormenting Rome for more than 10 years.

Even though Hannibal was defeated at Zama and eventually poisoned in a foreign land, I will win in the future war. I will create Hispania for myself, my family, and my group all over the world.

Those Hispanias will become the swamp that I, who will be outside the Shinsung Group even if I become the son-in-law of the Jang family of Shinsung Group, will drag the Shinsung Group and the Jang family into.

A swamp that will slowly devour Shinsung Group affiliates.

A swamp where the Jang family will flounder without knowing why.

Once those swamps have swallowed up the Sungh Group and the Jang family, I, we, will solidify on top of it enough to prosper.

It’s still a long way off, but I recalled that day and poured my memories into my notebook.

***

The next morning, 6:50 AM.

In the conference room next to the Secretary’s Office of the first building of the Haedong Group’s twin towers on Teheran Road in Gangnam [a district in Seoul], Ko Seung-ju, the Chief of the Secretary’s Office, and officials from the group’s Secretary’s Office and affiliate planning offices were gathered.

They were a brain trust within the group that gathered by 8 AM every morning at the latest, but today, at Ko Seung-ju’s urging to come even earlier, everyone had woken up at 5 AM and waited until 10 minutes before the meeting.

It was the first time this had happened, so their faces were filled with tension.

“These are the Chairman’s instructions.”

Those who were seated were silent, staring only at Ko Seung-ju’s mouth.

“From today, we will quietly and quickly recover the group’s slush funds. We need to hurry before the disclosure of assets of high-ranking public officials is over.”

Their Adam’s apples bobbed as they saw his cold, resolute eyes at the head of the table.

“Corporation.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Meet with CEO Bae and CEO Tae and ask for their cooperation in storing cash. Tell them to mobilize anything, container boxes in department store logistics warehouses, port bonded warehouses… We’re going to withdraw all fictitious and anonymous accounts. If that’s not possible, exchange them for department store gift certificates.”

“I will report as soon as I get back.”

Storing it in a bank is the best in terms of convenience and profit, but we need cash that can be withdrawn at any time. We couldn’t leave accounts created in the names of non-existent people, even if we could find nominee accounts by throwing down a resident registration card.

“We need to maintain strict security. Call in people you can trust to do the work.”

“Understood.”

The Haedong Corporation official in charge, who was on high alert, moved his hand busily over the notebook he had prepared.

“Finance.”

“Yes.”

“Tell CEO Cho that we’re going to bury the group’s slush funds in Finance. We’ll need a lot of accounts because we need to bury them in new nominee accounts at other banks as well.”

“How much should we prepare, Chief?”

Even as he asked cautiously, the face of the Haedong Finance official in charge looked as if he thought it would be insufficient even if he scraped together the resident registration cards of people who were catching anchovy fry or shrimp in the Myeongdong private loan market.

“At least a thousand. Keep them well-oiled.”

Unlike Ko Seung-ju, who said it without a second thought, the officials in charge swallowed hard. Each account created by bribing bank branch managers contained hundreds of millions to billions of won, and there were at least a thousand of them?

“Yes, Chief. I’ll take action immediately.”

Even as the Haedong Finance official in charge continued to move his pen, Ko Seung-ju called the construction official in charge.

“Construction.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“All the land in Dongtan, Pangyo, Yeongi, and Iseo under nominee names will be purchased by Construction and Corporation. The same goes for the land we bought elsewhere.”

The Haedong Construction official in charge swallowed hard.

Haedong Construction is a solid company with a debt ratio of 50 percent and more than 100 billion won in cash, even though its sales are small. It also has a lot of its own slush funds that operate separately from the group’s slush funds, so it owns about 10 million pyeong [a Korean unit of area, approximately 3.3 square meters] of land across the country, and in times of emergency, it can purchase hundreds of billions of won in promissory notes issued by the company at face value and hold them.

However, the amount was too large, beyond the scope of his decision-making power, so sweat was beading on the official in charge’s forehead.

“C, Chief, but even to purchase all that land, we need the approval of the president in the Middle East in addition to the CEO.”

Ko Seung-ju waved his hand as he watched him stutter and wipe the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

“I contacted him last night. I told him to take care of it, so when it’s converted to cash, withdraw it all or put it in newly created accounts.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Even as the face of the construction official in charge brightened, Ko Seung-ju conveyed the relevant information to the remaining affiliate officials in charge before bringing up the most important instructions.

“Mobilize the group’s entire network to grasp the government’s movements. Thoroughly mark the movements of working-level staff below the director-general level in departments related to the real-name financial system [a system requiring financial transactions to be conducted under real names]. The same goes for KDI [Korea Development Institute] research fellows.”

“That’s…”

Everyone seemed not to know why at the excessive instructions, but they composed themselves after meeting Ko Seung-ju’s eyes as he drank water and caught his breath.

“Personnel changes, office changes, overseas business trips. It’s all a smokescreen. Don’t worry about the lack of eyes and ears, and tell the affiliate CEOs and advisors. Tell them the entertainment expenses are unlimited.”

Ko Seung-ju’s instructions were to use all means to win over the gold badges [high-ranking government officials] and government officials, whether it was stuffing wads of cash in their pockets, pouring alcohol into their mouths, or putting women at their sides.

Not only that, but to follow and monitor them, everyone’s lips were slightly raised at the situation that had temporarily changed them from fugitives to trackers.

“But I don’t think there are any people who will use it recklessly.”

“Chief, you’re too much…”

There were snickers here and there from around the desk.

The affiliate CEOs and advisors were the top contributors and shareholders who had built the Haedong Group’s 67-year history. They wouldn’t waste company money on wiping the bottoms of government officials and Yeouido [an area in Seoul known for politics and finance] lawmakers, even if they were pocketing it for themselves.

“As I always say, don’t get too relaxed or too tense. Keeping your center is what makes a true professional.”

At Ko Seung-ju’s order, everyone seemed tense, but their lips twitched. They knew that even if they were pointed fingers at and punished by others when their actions were revealed, there was always a greater reward, so there was no fool who would refuse this kind of work.

“That’s all.”

Ko Seung-ju wiped away the slightly excited atmosphere and sent out the people who were bowing like knives, then returned to his office and took out his cell phone from the safe.

He had to use a burner phone in this room alone because it was something that had to be handled without even the people who had been in this room just a moment ago knowing.

“This is the Chairman’s order. Starting today, withdraw the Chairman’s funds from the bank and erase the Chairman’s traces in Myeongdong. Maintain the purchase of group promissory notes. I’ll contact the others as well. Yes.”

After making a dozen or so more calls to Lee Dae-soo’s financiers, Ko Seung-ju put his cell phone in the safe and sat down as if buried in the sofa.

“I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

His face was gradually relaxing as he even loosened his tie. Even he, who was ranked as the number one scout among the secretary-generals of the business world, finally felt lighter on his shoulders at the fact that he had salvaged the funds of the group and the private loan organization.

Six months from now.

While other companies are falling into the swamp of ‘no way,’ we need to avoid that swamp without anyone knowing and recover all the funds before D-Day arrives.

There are many eyes in the business world, but Ko Seung-ju was confident. Didn’t Lee Sung-min, who he cherished more than his own nephew even though they weren’t blood-related, tell him how to know D-Day?

The human network that the Lee family, including the Haedong Group and the Myeongdong private loan organization, had created since before the country was liberated, the net that had only been used to collect information rather than to acquire interests, would be able to catch the big fish called D-Day.

“That rascal… Heh heh.”

He burst out laughing as he looked out the window. The sky he saw looked unusually clear today.