Alliance Breakdown 3
“Where’s the sniper?”
“Moved to the hotel after the press conference.”
“Keep a close eye on him. We can’t have him doing anything unnecessary.”
“Yes, I’ve got his phone with me. But what about inside the prosecution?”
“I’ve blocked everything. They’ll all play dumb.”
A hint of relief washed over Vice President Jang Do-hyung’s face. He seemed anxious about how things might unfold if the higher-ups in the prosecution got involved.
“And the reporters?”
“I’ve given the ones who just rehashed the press release a generous tab for drinks.”
“The broadcasting executives will be walking a tightrope. Tell them to hold out for just a week. Everything will be over by then, and make sure they understand that a misstep could be irreversible.”
“Yes, I’ll start meeting them one by one this evening. I’ll make it clear.”
Jang Do-hyung spoke confidently but kept glancing at me, silently asking for more resources.
“There are security staff waiting downstairs. From today, move with them. They’ll follow in a van loaded with boxes of apples. Distribute 1 billion won to each director-level executive and 500 million to the lower ranks. It’s clean money, so tell them to spend it freely.”
Jang Do-hyung’s jaw dropped.
“Sir, that’s too much. That’s more than ten years’ salary for them…”
“If you want them to keep 1 billion, you have to give them 10 billion.”
“What?”
“Vice Chairman Jin Dong-ki will probably offer around 1 billion to suppress the reports. The journalists will have to choose, and a tenfold difference leaves no room for doubt.”
“Oh, I see.”
“And no doubt, they’ll promise a flood of advertising. But even the directors are just employees. Sure, they care about the company’s profits, but when they think about the 10 billion going into their own pockets, company ads seem trivial.”
“So you’re saying to make them forget about the company entirely, so they can’t even think about their conscience.”
“Exactly. Honestly, even 10 billion feels like it’s not enough. So if any journalist starts to stray after watching the news or articles, don’t hesitate to throw money at them. Whether it’s 1 billion or 2 billion, make their jaws drop. Understand?”
In urgent situations like this, you can’t follow market rates or norms. You have to give so much that the recipient thinks you’re crazy.
If you give just enough, they’ll think they can play around with you. But if you give them so much their jaws drop, they’ll become as docile as lambs.
For the next week, every media outlet in Korea must write and broadcast exactly as I dictate.
Even if I tell them to replace news articles with song lyrics, they should comply without a word, driven by money.
This might be like turning the Three Kingdoms into the Chu-Han Contention.
No amount of money is too much to pour into this.
“Looks like a real showdown, huh? Haha.”
“Father, this isn’t some petty gang fight over nightclub territory. This is a battle for a third of the Sunyang Group. Can you really laugh about it?”
“A third? Electronics is half of it. Even with all the financial subsidiaries combined, it’s not more than a fifth.”
“I’m not here to verify sales figures with you.”
Maybe it’s because he’s amassed so much and has so many under him?
Father seems more relaxed and magnanimous by the day. He watches the fight over the subsidiaries like a spectator.
“I don’t own a single share of Sunyang, so what can I do? I can’t join the board or call a general meeting.”
“But you can lend your strength in other ways.”
“In what way?”
“We might have to wage a media war against Uncle.”
Father’s smile faded, and he looked troubled.
“You know, I’m not really connected with the news department. My influence doesn’t reach there.”
“I know. I’ve already taken care of that.”
“Already? That was quick. Did you pay them?”
“Yes, enough to make their jaws drop.”
Father’s expression brightened again.
“Since you handled the money, I should at least help with something that doesn’t cost anything, to save face as your father. Hehe.”
“What do you mean by something that doesn’t cost anything?”
“Whether they’re high up or low down, everyone at the broadcasting station gets into trouble. They wield power as if they’re nobility, just because they work at a station. Well, some people go crazy over broadcasters, so that’s part of it.”
“Are you saying you’ll blackmail them with their weaknesses?”
“Blackmail? No. I’ll politely ask them not to throw a wrench in my son’s hard work. They’ll understand.”
Father winked with a smile.
“Then I’ll ask for something else.”
“What else?”
“If you set your mind to it, you can make someone a short-term star, right?”
“A star? You mean you?”
“I’m already a star, aren’t I? Not me.”
“You? Haha! Well, if you say so. Who, then?”
“Right now, it’s fine, but Uncle might try to ruin the prosecutor I’ve put forward. We need to be ready for that. If a media attack starts, get that prosecutor on talk shows and make them a sensation.”
Father had changed a lot, but his drive was the same.
He immediately picked up the phone.
“Bring the writers to my office… No, all of them.”
After a brief call, Father turned to me.
“Explain directly when they arrive. It’s important to convey your intentions clearly, so it’s better to do it directly than through someone else.”
He spoke as if my current situation was no big deal, but he must have been worried. He acted with lightning speed when it was necessary.
I didn’t share the full details with the gathered staff.
I simply asked them to portray the prosecutor as a paragon of justice. Someone who, rather than conforming to the organization, wielded their sword against all ranks, fighting a lonely battle with conviction.
“We’ll have the script ready by tomorrow. Since it’s a special program, please contact us in the morning. That way, we can air it during the prime time evening slot.”
“Thank you.”
As the producers and writers left, Father casually mentioned,
“Should I meet with your uncles?”
“No, it won’t help. This isn’t a family matter where appeals to blood ties work. It’s a public battle for control of the company.”
Father didn’t seem to blame himself for not being much help to me. Instead, he said something unexpected.
“Then I should prepare for the possibility of you losing this fight.”
Is it a parent’s instinct to think of a refuge for their child in case they fall?
“Come on, do you really think I’ll lose? And even if I do, I’ll look for a chance to turn things around.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I mean I’ll be ready for when that chance comes. I’m not planning to just comfort and console a son who lost his first battle.”
I remembered my grandfather’s words about Father being the most promising son. Did he foresee this side of Father early on?
“Do you have something prepared for your beloved son?”
“I make sure to greet the VIP patients at Sunyang Medical Center. There are quite a few useful people there.”
My father, ever meticulous.
Vice Chairman Jin Dong-ki kept fiddling with his phone.
At this point, he should have been bombarded with calls asking for his opinion or confirmation, but not a single one came.
All he heard were occasional negative reports from the busy secretarial staff outside.
“Hey! What’s going on? Is the rumor true?”
There was only one person who would burst in without knocking and shout like that.
“What rumor?”
“The Labuan slush fund! Did you really stash money by disguising it as a ghost company purchase?”
Jin Young-ki clicked his tongue, looking at his brother’s frowning face.
“If you did it, you should’ve covered your tracks. How could you let such news come out at a crucial time like this?”
“Who says I’m the one in the news?”
“Everyone but you! Everyone in this building is grumbling. We laid off thousands during the IMF crisis, and now they look at us like we’re bugs, not with respect, because you siphoned off a billion a year!”
“Let’s stop. If we dig deeper, you’ll have plenty of dirt too. Just the foreign exchange gains you pocketed from Sunyang Electronics exports amount to hundreds of billions, right? Want me to leak that to the news?”
Jin Young-ki sighed at his brother’s sharp retort.
“Anyway, clean it up quickly. Before the Sunyang name gets dragged into it. If you make a big personnel change now, the group’s atmosphere will really go to hell.”
“Stop nagging and do something yourself. At this rate, I’ll have to skip next week’s board meeting.”
“What do you mean, skip the board meeting all of a sudden?”
“This is all Do-jun’s doing. He’s using my weakness to try and protect the financial group.”
Jin Young-ki’s eyes widened.
“Do-jun? How?”
“It’s a long story. Anyway, he’s got evidence and witnesses of my slush fund and is blackmailing me. And somehow, he’s got the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General lukewarm.”
“Those guys?”
“They’re asking for a little time to assess the situation. They say it’s hard to cover it quietly without internal backlash right now.”
“Shit, we don’t have time to worry about that. Just leave it. It’ll quiet down on its own. What can they do?”
This time, Jin Dong-ki let out a long sigh.
“If he has clear evidence and witnesses and starts throwing money at the media? Do-jun isn’t some powerless, unconnected ordinary person. He’s someone who can mobilize connections like us.”
The persistent buzzing of his phone made Vice Chairman Jin Young-gi shake his head vigorously.
“You’ve got money, connections, and power! Handle it yourself. I won’t stand by and watch next week’s board meeting fall apart.”
With a stern warning, Jin Young-gi stormed out of his brother’s office, a peculiar smile playing on his lips.
“A powerful move, that’s what it is.”
Back in his own office, Jin Young-gi immediately summoned his chief secretary.
“Secretary Baek, to my office. Now.”
As soon as Secretary Baek rushed in, Jin Young-gi detailed the situation with Vice Chairman Jin Dong-gi and sought his opinion.
“What do you think?”
“The board meeting is likely to be canceled. A billion in overseas accounts might not be a big deal, but the timing during the IMF crisis is problematic. The public backlash will be severe…”
Jin Young-gi waved his hand to silence Secretary Baek.
“That’s not what I mean. What if we use this opportunity to temporarily sideline Dong-gi? If he steps down from the vice chairman position, who else but me should take over the heavy industries division?”
“Ah…!”
Secretary Baek’s face flushed slightly. As the strategist, he felt it should have been his idea, not Jin Young-gi’s, to maintain his dignity as chief secretary.
“But for that, you’ll need to get the evidence that Jin Do-jun is holding. Will he hand it over easily? He’s the one blackmailing his uncle to keep control of the financial subsidiaries.”
“He’s finally showing his true greedy colors, isn’t he?”
“Yes. We suspected as much, but now it’s blatant.”
“Then if we satisfy some of that greed, won’t he act as I want?” Baek Jun-hyuk’s ability to quickly grasp Jin Young-gi’s intentions had helped him rise to the position of chief secretary.
“I’ll meet with him. First, we need to find out exactly what he has and what he wants.”
A satisfied smile spread across Jin Young-gi’s face.
“Do it quickly.”