An Impossible Alliance, Part 2
“The Minister and the Chief Prosecutor have ordered the investigation to be closed. They also asked that if you were upset, you kindly let it go.”
Lee Hak-jae leisurely placed a cigarette between his lips.
“Really? HW Group’s got some pull, huh? Seems like they can brush off Sunyang’s requests too.”
“It’s easy for the government to be misunderstood as interfering in fair corporate competition.”
“Is that all there is to it?”
“Considering HW Group’s status and Miracle Investment’s influence, it’s like a shrimp caught in a whale fight.”
When the Director of the Inspection Bureau spoke cautiously, Lee Hak-jae frowned.
“Stop beating around the bush. Yes or no?”
“Yes, sir. There won’t be any more trouble for the Chairman.”
“The prosecution and the Ministry of Justice have been taking a lot of money from here, huh? They’ve got their straws in deep.”
The Director bit his lip and frowned at Lee Hak-jae’s crude language.
Noticing this, Lee Hak-jae’s eyebrow twitched. His anger rising, he accidentally tapped his cigarette ash into a water glass instead of the ashtray.
“Tell them I got the memo. And let them know I’ll be keeping a closer eye on things from now on.”
Whether it was relief from leaving an uncomfortable situation or the promise of more money, the Director’s expression brightened.
“Thank you, Chairman. Then…”
As he stood and bowed, Lee Hak-jae spoke.
“Once you say something, you should stick to it, right?”
“Sorry?”
“Didn’t you say you’d drink from the glass when I got home?”
Lee Hak-jae pointed to the glass with cigarette ash in it.
“What? Don’t like this place? Does it have to be Sunyang?”
“No, not at all.”
The Director quickly picked up the glass and downed it in one go.
Watching him, Lee Hak-jae chuckled.
“That’s why I can’t dislike you. Good job running errands. There’s a box in your car for the kids’ snacks.”
The Director bowed politely and left.
Alone, Lee Hak-jae had no time to savor the relief of having no wolves on his tail.
“Chairman, Director Jin Do-jun is here.”
Seeing the room filled with congratulatory flowers, it was like peering into Lee Hak-jae’s vast network.
“Congratulations, Chairman Lee Hak-jae.”
“Enough. It’s like hiding in a safe place, what’s there to celebrate?”
He waved off my congratulations, clearly uncomfortable.
“If you don’t like the position, why not resign?”
He flinched at my direct gaze but quickly regained his composure.
“I know how it feels to be a demoted official. But isn’t this a huge promotion? Anyone would see it as a step up.”
He didn’t accept the Chairman’s position reluctantly, but he shouldn’t say such things again. The executives he leads aren’t fools.
If he acts like a cow led to slaughter, the existing management will surely rebel.
“Driving a big company like Sunyang, you think HW is easy to handle? It’s not a small car or a corner store.”
Lee Hak-jae waved his hand again, this time with a different meaning.
“Enough with the scolding. I’ve heard so many congratulations today, it’s embarrassing. I never thought it was easy or a demotion. I’m scared and worried if I can do well. I can’t even sleep these days.”
“Now you’re just exaggerating?”
“I’m serious.”
His expression was indifferent, but his words were sincere.
“I believe you.”
“You’re just like your grandfather, always pushing when you see an opportunity.”
I smiled at his small grin.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He erased the brief smile and spoke.
“A friend from the Ministry of Justice just left. He apologized, saying they won’t bother me anymore.”
“Representative Oh Se-hyun did some running around.”
“I should thank him… but he’s nowhere to be seen.”
“He said seeing the major shareholder too often is burdensome… He’s probably packing now.”
“Packing? Again?”
It was the most surprised he’d looked all day.
“Yes. He’s heading back to Kota Kinabalu. He insisted we don’t call him for anything.”
“Really? The proxy leaves, but the real owner… or rather, the master stays.”
He gestured towards me.
“I’m different from Representative Oh. I never take my eyes off things. Heh.”
“That’s not what I heard. At Sunyang Financial Group, you didn’t interfere except for major personnel issues?”
“That was a gift from my grandfather, but I bought this company with my own money. It’s different.”
“Right. I’ll make sure your hard-earned money isn’t wasted.”
“That’s not all. If you can’t prove your management skills here, I can’t give you the promised Sunyang Group Chairman position.”
“To keep that promise, you need to take over Sunyang first. Talk big after that.”
Our eyes met, filled with determination rather than trust.
“Did you bring all your secretarial staff?”
“Yes. They’re packing up now. I told them to erase what needs erasing and take what needs taking, so there’s no trouble later.”
“Didn’t anyone want to stay at Sunyang?”
“Quite a few. But I persuaded them. Those who wanted to stay had ignored me before. They felt guilty. But staying in an empty place would only mean eating humble pie. I had to take care of them.”
“Their loyalty will deepen, having been pardoned.”
“There’s no calculation here. It’s loyalty.”
Lee Hak-jae glanced at me and changed the subject.
“By the way, what are your plans for the upcoming general election?”
“Isn’t it a foregone conclusion?”
“Why?”
He probed, testing my political insight. Sharing what I knew wasn’t hard.
“With the backlash from the presidential impeachment, the ruling party will win by a landslide.”
“A landslide? How much?”
“More than a majority.”
He seemed a bit surprised.
“Isn’t that too much? The ruling party is a mini-party with only 47 seats, the third-largest.”
“The major opposition is setting up tents in Yeouido, trying to garner sympathy. They feel the crisis, but it’s too late. The impeachment became the mini-party’s best election marketing tool.”
The opposition, facing the general election, set up a tent office, claiming to apologize to the people. It was a desperate move, as they were expected to win fewer than 50 seats.
The tent office was set up in Yeouido, where the Small and Medium Business Exhibition Center used to be, symbolizing a fresh start away from corruption and privilege. Opposition members commuted to the tent.
Ironically, they paid 4.2 million won for 50 days of rent, while the ruling party’s office rent was 2.5 million won per month.
They wasted taxes seeking sympathy votes.
Lee Hak-jae still seemed skeptical about my prediction of a majority, but he acknowledged one thing.
“Your political insight is unmatched, so I’ll trust your judgment. Should we bet everything on the ruling party?”
“No. Just enough to avoid penalties for not showing support. It’s a sure win, and the ruling party isn’t likely to give big perks to companies like ours.”
“Really? Then we won’t waste unnecessary money.”
“No. Instead, let’s send a few boxes of instant noodles to the opposition camping out.”
“Bet on a losing horse?”
“You know why. The opposition doing the tent show is always pro-chaebol. They always repay what we give, so it’s not a loss.”
Lee Hak-jae nodded.
He asked for confirmation because I’m the owner of this company. He sees it as a matter of courtesy.
“I’ll spread it around appropriately. Do I need approval for this too?”
“Of course not. It’s better to stay out of illegal matters and feign ignorance. The owner should stay clear if things go south.”
“Shameless. At least pretend to feel guilty. Heh.”
As we exchanged jokes, the secretary knocked on the door.
“Chairman, it’s time for the executive meeting. Should we delay it?”
He waved off the cautious secretary and stood up.
“No need. I’m done here. It’s the first executive meeting chaired by the new Chairman. Can’t be late. They’ll complain I’m showing off.”
Lee Hak-jae stood to attend the meeting and extended his hand to me.
“Don’t come too often. It makes me nervous.”
I shook his hand and said.
“Chairman.”
“What? More nagging?”
“There’s a project involving the acquisition of Alfa Romeo. It’s in the final stages, so I’d appreciate a thorough review. Haha.”
As the two brothers went through the report, their expressions grew increasingly grim.
Finally, Jin Young-gi, the more impatient of the two, flung the report aside in frustration.
“Those bastards are causing chaos and then running off?”
Jin Young-gi’s outburst made Jin Dong-gi look up from the report.
“They’ve cleverly erased the middle links. This is going to be a headache.”
The report concluded that some of the connections between the subsidiaries with controlling shares were untraceable, and establishing a holding company wouldn’t be possible until the following year.
“We need to report Lee Hak-jae and all those secretariat guys who worked under him. How dare they leave a mess on their way out?”
“Calm down. This is something we need to handle ourselves. If we start an investigation, we’ll have to trace the movement of controlling shares step by step. Do you really want to broadcast our shady dealings to the world?”
Jin Young-gi’s face twisted even more at his brother’s calm reasoning.
“So what? We just sit back and watch?”
“Let’s wait until after the general election and the decision on the president’s impeachment. Then we can come up with a plan.”
“Hey! What do those guys have to do with us?”
“Think about it. The prosecution has washed their hands of this. Our only leverage is in politics. We need to use them to shake up HW Group. We’ve got the National Tax Service, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Fair Trade Commission. If we can’t get to the people, we’ll target the company.”
“Damn it. All we do is wait and make missteps. What kind of mess is this?”
Jin Young-gi was exasperated, remembering how everything used to fall into place with just a word or a command from their father. Now, nothing seemed to go smoothly.
“It just means our position isn’t as solid as we thought. It’s inevitable. Everyone said it—Cheongil Group, Hwasun Group—they all struggled under second-generation leadership. Look at Daehyun Group; they’re still in turmoil.”
“We need to elect a chairman quickly and take control. That’s the only way to get things moving efficiently.”
Jin Dong-gi frowned at his brother’s words.
The conversation was taking a strange turn. Electing a chairman, really…?