Chapter 47

Chapter 47. Finishing Blow (3)

“Yubin, isn’t this a bit much over one little joke?”

Since when are we close enough for you to call me Yubin?

“You keep calling yourself my senior, so I address you that way. But are we close enough for you to call me ‘Yubin’?”

Yubin drew a clear line.

At the very least, he should call her Ms. Seol.

What gave him the right to casually call her Yubin?

“Come on. A senior can call a junior by her name. Why are you picking a fight over that?”

As the atmosphere turned icy, Chu Jiyeong stepped in again.

“You have to actually work together in the field and build some kind of relationship before you can call each other senior and junior. Honestly, Senior Choi is practically a stranger to me.”

Choi Minjung shut his mouth.

Truthfully, he had simply gotten comfortable speaking to her because he knew Chu Jiyeong and Harok.

He hadn’t expected her to be this prickly.

“Forget it. The cigarette doesn’t even taste good anymore.”

Yubin tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground and ground it out irritably.

“Uh, Ms. Yubin.”

Choi Minjung immediately changed how he addressed her.

“What?”

“Our vice president is going to be assigned overseas soon. He won’t even be in Korea anymore. Can’t you ease up a little?”

So now that his downfall is becoming certain, he’s just running overseas?

And once things quieted down, he would come back to Korea and inherit Handong Group anyway.

Yubin stared at Choi Minjung with a look of disbelief.

In his desperation, Choi Minjung had accidentally revealed Kwon Jaegwan’s upcoming overseas assignment.

Normally, something like that would be carried out suddenly without any advance notice to the outside world.

The moment the words left his mouth, Choi Minjung realized his mistake.

But it was already too late.

The previous day, Handong Group’s PR office had reached the conclusion that the best way out of the current crisis was to send Kwon Jaegwan overseas.

As long as Kwon remained in Korea, they believed defending him was impossible.

Mun Byeonggeol had gathered those opinions and reported them to Kwon Osang that morning.

The chairman had approved the plan.

“Overseas? I heard he already went abroad once to escape trouble under the excuse of studying. Now he causes another scandal and runs overseas again?”

“Why do you have to say everything like that? I told you it’s an overseas assignment.”

Yubin found Chu Jiyeong’s behavior ridiculous.

If she had stayed quiet, at least she could have preserved some dignity.

Why was she volunteering to act as Handong Group’s spokesperson?

“Yes, yes. I hope he enjoys the trip.”

Yubin gave a small nod, shot Choi Minjung one last sideways glance, then turned and entered the building.

Choi Minjung waited until she disappeared inside before speaking.

“Jiyeong, can you find out what article she’s working on?”

“The issue has mostly died down. Would there really be anything major left?”

“Something about the way she was talking felt wrong.”

“Fine. I’ll contact you after the morning meeting, once I see the page layout.”

“Thanks.”

Choi Minjung had just finished his cigarette and was about to leave when—

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

“Last time, Executive Director Mun mentioned something about overseas training. What was that about?”

Choi Minjung had never heard of it.

Large conglomerates sometimes funded overseas training programs for journalists.

But that was the kind of thing only top-ranked business groups like Oseong Group or TS Group could afford to operate.

Handong Group didn’t have the luxury to run something like that.

“There was something like that?”

“You don’t know?”

“I haven’t heard anything... Why would Executive Director Mun say that? I’ll find out.”

Chu Jiyeong looked deeply disappointed.

Had he really dangled an overseas training opportunity in front of her just to play games?

“Maybe he just didn’t tell me. I’ll check right away and call you.”

“Okay.”

At the same time.

Harok was on his way to meet Myeong Jaesik, Gu Wonung’s brother-in-law and an employee of the Korea Customs Service.

Harok had once helped Myeong Jaesik after a traffic accident.

Through him, Harok had arranged to meet Lee Jongyun, head of the Foreign Exchange Investigation Division.

Lee Jongyun had initially refused.

Then Harok mentioned Kwon Jaegwan’s offshore tax evasion.

His attitude changed immediately.

When Harok arrived at the café, Myeong Jaesik was already there with a man in his late forties.

That was Lee Jongyun.

Myeong Jaesik introduced them and left, saying he was busy.

Lee Jongyun was an impatient man.

He got straight to the point.

“How did you learn about the offshore tax evasion?”

Harok knew because it had become huge news in his previous life.

But he obviously couldn’t say that.

“Handong Group has been at the center of the news lately. I was reporting through several channels and obtained information.”

Lee Jongyun lifted his teacup with a suspicious look.

“This isn’t something that leaks easily.”

“I heard he created paper companies in tax havens and built slush funds worth tens of billions of won. I also know the Cayman Islands are involved.”

Lee Jongyun tried to hide his surprise.

What Harok had said was almost exactly correct.

Still, he couldn’t simply hand over details of Kwon Jaegwan’s suspected crimes.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Report it.”

“We’re still investigating the matter.”

Okay. Bingo.

He had admitted there was an investigation.

Harok already knew the approximate scale of the offshore tax evasion.

If he could add confirmation from a Korea Customs Service official that an investigation was underway, that alone was enough for an article.

“I also know the paper company is called Pearson D&E.”

Once again, Harok’s unusually sharp memory helped him.

He tended to forget things that left no impression.

But once he deliberately stored something in his head, he remembered it precisely.

In his previous life, Kwon Jaegwan’s offshore tax evasion had caused an uproar.

Anything involving Kwon Jaegwan had been of enormous interest to Harok.

The paper company repeatedly mentioned back then had been Pearson D&E.

Now that Harok had even named the company, Lee Jongyun could no longer pretend he knew nothing.

“So the information came from inside Handong Group?”

“Something like that.”

Harok subtly watched Lee Jongyun’s expression.

The man looked like he was itching to talk.

But he still couldn’t quite make up his mind.

Harok kept pressing, telling him this was the right opportunity.

“I think the reason Kwon Jaegwan became executive vice president of Handong Construction was partly because he wanted a channel for moving money overseas.”

“Is that so?”

Lee Jongyun reacted just enough to pretend ignorance without overdoing it.

“This is about setting things right. This is the best opportunity you’re going to get.”

Harok was still persuading him when a message from Yubin arrived.

[Yubin: JK overseas escape imminent.]

Normally, Harok tried not to look at messages in the middle of an interview.

But this one caught his eye immediately.

He quickly picked up his phone and apologized to Lee Jongyun.

“Excuse me for a moment. Something urgent just came up.”

Harok called Yubin at once.

“Yeah. Okay... Right, right. You don’t know when he’s leaving?... We can’t just let him run abroad... Got it. Good work.”

Harok ended the call and looked at Lee Jongyun with a grave expression.

“This has become urgent.”

“What happened?”

“Vice President Kwon Jaegwan appears to be preparing to flee overseas.”

Lee Jongyun’s expression darkened immediately.

“We need to break the story first.”

“Well...”

“If he leaves the country, you’ll be the dog left staring after the chicken. What if he starts erasing traces of the slush funds abroad?”

“Based on what we’ve confirmed so far, there may not be enough to arrest him immediately.”

As expected of a civil servant, he wanted to follow procedure to the letter.

“Director Lee, if this opportunity passes, do you think there’ll be another one? Kwon Jaegwan will probably clean everything up before he ever comes back.”

Lee Jongyun became more conflicted.

Harok noticed him wavering and kept pressing.

“Imagine someone like Kwon Jaegwan taking control of a conglomerate that size. You can already see exactly where that future leads.”

“I agree that there are serious concerns, but...”

Harok pulled out his phone and played Kim Jongseok’s recording.

As Kwon Jaegwan’s profanity-filled voice continued, Lee Jongyun’s expression twisted more and more.

“Enough.”

Apparently, he couldn’t stand listening any longer.

“This recording is scheduled to be reported tomorrow. Once that happens, Kwon Jaegwan will probably accelerate his departure. He’ll think a prosecution investigation is getting closer.”

“You already know quite a lot yourself, Reporter Baek. Just write what you know.”

“That won’t work. What I know isn’t enough by itself. I need confirmation that the Korea Customs Service is actually investigating this.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. My speculation only becomes official once it comes from your mouth.”

Lee Jongyun slowly nodded.

At last, Kwon Jaegwan’s slush fund was about to be exposed to the world.

“As you said, construction companies often serve as channels for conglomerate slush funds.”

“Yes.”

Overseas construction projects were one of the easiest ways to create slush funds.

There were many methods.

A paper company could be inserted into the middle of a transaction, material costs could be inflated, and money could be siphoned off through the difference.

“Pearson D&E doesn’t stand out much, but it appears in almost every Handong Construction project. There are a few other paper companies too, but Pearson D&E is by far the most significant.”

“Do you know how much money flowed through it?”

“The confirmed amount already exceeds fifty billion won. And there’s barely any information about what kind of company it actually is.”

“No financial statements?”

“There are. But those alone don’t tell us everything.”

Lee Jongyun began explaining in detail, as though worried Harok might not follow.

Harok had majored in political science and was terrible with numbers.

But he had years of reporting experience.

And in his previous life, he had gained another ten years on top of that.

After writing countless articles on hidden funds, money laundering, and other financial crimes, he had naturally become familiar with this kind of scheme.

“So what you’re saying is that you confirmed money flowing out through Pearson D&E eventually ended up in Kwon Jaegwan’s personal overseas accounts?”

“Yes.”

Kwon Jaegwan.

Start chanting that you’re dead.

“This means violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, plus concealed offshore assets... If it’s offshore tax evasion, the National Tax Service will need to get involved too.”

“That’s correct.”

In Harok’s previous life, the slush fund had eventually grown into the trillions of won.

The issue exploded not long after Kwon Jaegwan became chairman.

Then accounting fraud used to create the slush fund came to light as well.

The slush fund became one of the major reasons Handong Group eventually staggered toward collapse.

Politicians later passed stronger laws.

But by then, it was already too late.

In truth, exposing Kwon Jaegwan’s slush-fund problem now was good for Handong Group too.

At this point, the damage might still be contained to Handong Construction going under.

“Have you informed the National Tax Service?”

“Not yet...”

Harok had gathered every fact he needed for the article.

There was just one problem.

He couldn’t write it himself.

Harok explained.

“Actually, I was transferred recently. I’m in the Culture Department now, so I can’t write this story myself.”

“What?”

Lee Jongyun looked stunned.

Understandably so.

He had just disclosed confidential information, only to hear that the reporter sitting in front of him couldn’t even use it.

“You don’t need to worry. A junior of mine who has been writing the recent Kwon Jaegwan stories will handle it.”

“Ah...”

“She’s also the one writing the article based on the recording I showed you earlier. You can trust her.”

“Understood.”

On his way back to the office, Harok immediately called Yubin.

“Yes, Senior.”

“You’ve got one more article to write.”

“What kind?”

“The finishing blow that will take Kwon Jaegwan down.”

“More than welcome.”

Harok was convinced that a violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act could finally put Kwon Jaegwan behind bars.

He had dodged the drug issue by blaming excessive medication caused by a chronic illness.

He was trying to bury the assault scandal by settling with the victims.

Even the apartment collapse had occurred before the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect, so it would be difficult to punish Kwon himself.

But a foreign-exchange violation was different.

As the global economy became increasingly interconnected, offshore tax evasion had become a serious problem for governments around the world.

The Korean government was also regulating it aggressively.

Kwon Jaegwan might find loopholes around all the other problems.

But there was no easy escape from this one.

“So what is it?”

“Something solid.”

Harok summarized his conversation with Lee Jongyun for Yubin.

“Seriously, Kwon Jaegwan is an endless spring of article material. I’m almost starting to feel fond of him. Hehe.”

After what had happened with Choi Minjung that morning, Yubin’s fighting spirit was at its absolute peak.

She had already decided that whoever got in her way next was going to be crushed.

And now someone had stepped directly into her path.

Senior Choi, don’t blame me.

This story came from Senior Harok.

Yubin began organizing the article in her head, thinking about how to write it so it would hurt the most.

A strong lead.

Concise sentences.

Fast pacing.

She mentally repeated the writing principles Harok had drilled into her.

Then her phone rang.

Ring, ring.

Executive Director Mun Byeonggeol.

What?

There hadn’t been any particularly damaging article published today.

Why was he calling?

Yubin suddenly had a bad feeling.