Chapter 46. Finishing Blow (2)
I knew this would happen.
On his way to work, Mun Byeonggeol received a message telling him to stop by Chairman Kwon Osang’s house.
He immediately changed course and headed for Pyeongchang-dong.
When he entered the house, a butler in a tailcoat greeted him.
“The chairman is waiting for you.”
Mun Byeonggeol went straight to Chairman Kwon Osang’s study on the second floor.
The chairman’s study was practically his second office.
Kwon Osang had suffered from heart disease for years, and on days when his condition was poor, he worked from home.
His personal physician remained nearby around the clock, always ready for an emergency.
“Chairman, you called for me?”
Kwon Osang was inside with Chief Secretary Park Gukjong.
Go Seokdong, the president in charge of the group’s finances, was also present.
Judging from their expressions, something very serious had been under discussion.
“Sit there.”
This was Mun Byeonggeol’s first time entering the chairman’s study.
Part of him felt a swell of pride, as though he had finally entered the very core of the group.
At the same time, he shrank inwardly because he clearly hadn’t been called here for anything good.
Mun Byeonggeol carefully pulled out a chair and sat.
Kwon Osang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and immediately began questioning him, as if there were no reason to waste time.
“How do you think this will go?”
“We’re currently doing everything possible to prevent his arrest—”
“Who told you to worry about that? You’re the head of PR. Tell me where public opinion is going.”
Kwon Osang glared at him angrily.
There had recently been rumors that the chairman was beginning to show mild symptoms of dementia.
But with a voice that sharp and demanding?
Those rumors had to be nonsense.
Mun Byeonggeol couldn’t even meet his eyes properly.
His voice shrank.
“Since the investigation into the collapse is continuing, the company’s name will probably keep appearing for some time—”
Bang. Bang.
Kwon Osang struck the table twice.
“Of course the company’s name will come up. Who doesn’t know that?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Chairman.”
“If Jaegwan is going to inherit the company, he can’t take any more damage.”
“We’re doing everything we can to stop it, but every media outlet is competing for the story right now. No one can predict where the next spark will land.”
Kwon Osang’s forehead twitched.
“You’re saying there’s no way to stop it?”
“We’re doing everything possible to massage public opinion. On the drug issue, we’re currently framing it as excessive medication caused by a chronic condition.”
Kwon Osang waved that aside.
That wasn’t what he wanted to know.
“I’m asking about the collapse. They keep going after the reduction in the safety-management budget.”
“For now, we’re concentrating on defending that point. We’ve managed to shift the frame by attacking the morality of the executive who headed the Safety Management TF.”
“So Jaegwan is safe now?”
How am I supposed to guarantee that?
Mun Byeonggeol felt suffocated.
The problem was that Kwon Jaegwan’s lies had made everything worse.
The standard move would have been to apologize appropriately and let the matter die down.
Instead, he tried to dump everything on retired Executive Director Ahn Changwan and got hit by a counterattack.
Then, while trying to reverse that, the whole thing turned into an ugly battle over who was telling the truth.
“The Ministry of Employment and Labor has been very firm lately regarding workplace safety accidents. And Handong Construction already had the highest number of safety incidents last year. We barely contained the situation by promising to increase the safety budget...”
Kwon Osang’s eyebrows moved.
“So what you’re saying is Jaegwan caused this by cutting the budget? If he takes responsibility and gets arrested, everything’s fine?”
Cold sweat began forming on Mun Byeonggeol’s back.
One wrong sentence and he could fall straight into the abyss.
How much had he sacrificed to reach this position?
For the past twenty-five years, he had barely taken a real vacation.
He had given up weekends too.
He was still far too young to be sent home.
“For now, we need to avoid the downpour.”
“Avoid it how?”
“I think it would be best to assign the vice president to an overseas branch.”
“Send him abroad?”
There was suddenly more life in Kwon Osang’s voice.
Apparently, Mun Byeonggeol had moved closer to the answer the chairman wanted.
“Chairman, I think that would be best. We’re currently constructing a massive suspension bridge over the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey. Putting him in charge there would be appropriate.”
Yes!
Park Gukjong immediately supported the idea.
Kwon Osang turned toward Go Seokdong, who had remained silent the entire time.
“What about sending him overseas for a year? Would that give us enough time to clean things up?”
What is this?
Was there still something else about Kwon Jaegwan waiting to explode?
And judging from the fact that he was asking Go Seokdong, the issue involved money.
More specifically, slush funds.
“Hm. We still haven’t confirmed how much the vice president diverted...”
Go Seokdong seemed uncomfortable speaking with Mun Byeonggeol present.
That irritated Mun Byeonggeol.
Hadn’t the chairman summoned him here as a sign that information could be shared?
I’m a senior executive of Handong Group too.
I’m at least high enough to hear this kind of confidential matter.
“Executive Director Mun can hear it. He’ll need to know if he’s going to handle the response anyway.”
Kwon Osang settled the issue.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Speak freely.”
“We need to know how much was diverted before we can respond precisely.”
“If we pressure Jaegwan, he won’t tell us, will he?”
“Probably not...”
From the atmosphere, Kwon Osang already knew that Kwon Jaegwan had built up some money on the side.
He also knew his son would never reveal the full amount.
The boy was already fully grown, so it wasn’t as though Kwon Osang could simply discipline him.
And he had to hand over control of the group soon.
The chairman looked deeply worried.
“Do you think the National Tax Service has caught the scent?”
“It seems to be the Korea Customs Service, not the tax service. They’ve apparently been investigating for quite some time.”
Kwon Osang frowned, removed his glasses, and set them on the table.
“Idiot. If he was going to siphon money away, he should’ve done it properly without making it obvious. Why is everything he does so sloppy? Tsk.”
He wasn’t scolding his son for stealing money.
He was scolding him for doing it so clumsily that the authorities noticed.
“Work with Jaegwan and find a way to handle the commissioner of the Korea Customs Service.”
“Understood.”
“These days everyone is tearing at us like a pack of hyenas. We can’t let them think we’re weak. If they do, they’ll really start eating us alive.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Kwon Osang fiddled with his glasses for a moment.
Please send your son overseas.
Mun Byeonggeol prayed silently.
Judging from this conversation, Kwon Jaegwan had created offshore slush funds and evaded taxes, and the Korea Customs Service had caught on.
If that broke too, the last defensive wall would collapse.
No.
