As soon as Jinhyuk Park was appointed as the CEO at the shareholders’ meeting, his belongings began moving from DS Pharma to DS Telecom.
Since the outcome was essentially predetermined, Junwoo Kim had packed everything in advance and ordered the move as soon as the decision was announced. However, it took some time for the person to follow the items. There were still people to say goodbye to at DS Pharma, and there were loose ends to tie up or finalize.
After one week had passed, the day arrived for Jinhyuk Park, the next CEO and President of DS Telecom, to report for work.
Inside an elevator, two men naturally began discussing Jinhyuk Park, who was scheduled to arrive that day.
“One of my college classmates was at DS Construction, and he said the guy’s influence was incredible.”
“Hey, hey. I have a friend at DS Pharma, and he said they couldn’t even breathe back then.”
“I can understand DS Construction, since he dropped from the sky as the Head of the Restructuring Headquarters, but why DS Pharma? He didn’t even go there as the President; he was just an Executive Director.”
“Don’t even get me started. When an Executive Director-level official was newly appointed, the presidents of the subsidiaries and even the President of DS Pharma came out to greet him. They issued a no-movement order for all employees, including those in the lobby, and supposedly held all six elevators at the control room to wait for him. Even then, he didn’t even blink. You don’t even need to see the rest to know how it went.”
“Really? It was that much?”
“Is that all? Didn’t you hear the story about our company’s spin-off shareholders’ meeting?”
“I know, I know. Didn’t the prosecution burst in all at once and turn the meeting into a mess?”
“Yeah. Back then, the doors opened, and the prosecutors and investigators swept in from the entrance all at once… and our President stood there alone, greeting those people head-on. Then, the prosecutors and investigators who had pushed in suddenly bowed ninety degrees to the President all at once… According to a classmate who went to help with the meeting at the time, it was a magnificent sight.”
The speaker was gesturing to describe the scene to his listener. Although the speaker hadn’t seen it himself, he was describing the situation in such detail that it felt as if he had witnessed it.
“What will it be like this time?”
“Won’t it be even more grand than last time? This time, he’s coming as the CEO. We’ll be able to predict what follows just by looking at the welcome ceremony. He might even tell them to gather all the employees for a ceremony.”
“All the employees here? There are 3,000 people in this building alone.”
“What’s the problem with 3,000? People who like to make a fuss prefer it the more people there are.”
The two men in the elevator had been talking since they got on at the first floor. After chatting for a while, the two men got off when the elevator stopped at the 15th floor. Only after they left did Junwoo Kim, who had been standing behind them, press the button for the 36th floor.
“Should I have made it more extravagant?”
Jinhyuk Park turned to Junwoo Kim with a wide smile on his face. Once the elevator was empty, Junwoo Kim took a step back from Jinhyuk Park and spoke.
“Should I tell them to prepare something even now?”
“No, that’s enough. What kind of welcome ceremony is a welcome ceremony?”
“Still, I felt a bit of regret, thinking it might seem too empty.”
“I did that at Construction and Pharma because there was a reason, but doing that here would be a negative. It’s better to enter quietly.”
At Jinhyuk’s words, Junwoo Kim did not mention the welcome party any further. Jinhyuk Park was a man who moved as if he were planning every single detail of his entry into the company like a military operation. If such a man said it was a negative, then it certainly was.
When the elevator stopped at the 36th floor, the highest floor of DS Telecom’s headquarters, Jinhyuk Park and Junwoo Kim stepped out and headed toward the office.
The hallway, lined with magnificent paintings on both walls of the wide passage and covered in high-end carpets, created a different atmosphere than at Construction or Pharma. Ceramics placed here and there caught the eye, and the subtle music playing made one feel calm and stable.
Jinhyuk checked the value of each painting and ceramic as he passed by. They were works that easily exceeded hundreds of millions in value. Jinhyuk passed them by at first, thinking one or two might be something Suman Park had placed there as a hobby.
However, as the sight continued without end, Jinhyuk eventually stopped in front of one painting.
“Seriously. What is this?”
Junwoo Kim followed Jinhyuk and looked at the painting in front of them. It was a strange piece of work where the artist’s intention was unclear. However, after confirming that the painting’s value on paper was worth hundreds of millions, Junwoo Kim spoke cautiously to Jinhyuk.
“I heard that former Vice Chairman Suman Park was very interested in paintings.”
“No matter how interested he is, I haven’t even reached the office yet, so how many are there? Plus, there are paintings and even ceramics… How many of these are here right now?”
“From what I’ve identified, there are twenty paintings currently hanging, and fifteen display items including ceramics. And I understand there are over fifty works kept in the art museum to be rotated each season.”
“What? There are over fifty more besides the ones hanging here?”
“Yes. That is the number written on the documents I received. I will go and verify them personally once the busy work is over.”
“He’s out of his mind.”
The values visible on each painting were exceeding hundreds of millions. Since they were hanging on the walls, their sizes were also substantial. Seeing that there were dozens of these, Jinhyuk thought that Suman Park’s intention in collecting them might not have been merely for appreciation.
Jinhyuk scanned the paintings once more and asked, “Are they all stored in our group’s art museum?”
“Yes. On paper, they are said to be kept in our museum’s storage room.”
“Later, Secretary Kim, go there yourself and compare them with the documents. And tell me once the verification work is finished…”
After speaking, Jinhyuk stood before the paintings and stared at them for a long time. He was looking because he couldn’t understand why these things held values of hundreds of millions. Furthermore, suspicious of Suman Park’s ulterior motives for not only hanging these paintings but also storing them separately, he paused his steps for a moment.
However, Junwoo Kim, who was by Jinhyuk’s side, thought differently.
‘I heard the President was deeply into painting during his school days, so it must be true.’
Jinhyuk’s daily routine consisted of nothing but the company, home, and the occasional neighborhood bar, with no other hobbies. Disagreeing with his reputation as a profligate son of a chaebol family, he enjoyed nothing and had been observed working like a madman as if addicted to it.
But now, seeing him show interest while standing in front of the paintings, Junwoo Kim was sensing another side of Jinhyuk Park.
‘I should organize this first.’
Since Jinhyuk was being inaugurated as the CEO of DS Telecom, there were many things to organize. Therefore, he had pushed items like these paintings to the very bottom of the list, but now he felt he might need to organize these first and understand them in detail. This was because nothing that caught Jinhyuk’s interest was ever trivial.
After admiring the paintings for a while, Jinhyuk turned around and headed for the executive office.
“President. You’ve arrived?”
People came out from the desk located outside the President’s office and an office prepared on one side to greet Jinhyuk.
“Hmm. You’re all here.”
“Yes. We have all decided to move with you, President.”
The secretarial staff who had worked with Jinhyuk at DS Pharma moved to DS Telecom as they were. They had arrived for work before Jinhyuk to prepare and were celebrating his entry.
“Good work. Then, please help me a lot here at DS Telecom as well.”
Jinhyuk gave a light greeting and walked into the office through the open door. The size of the interior was so enormous that it felt as if the rooms used at DS Construction and DS Pharma combined would still be smaller than the office of the CEO at DS Telecom. A scale and atmosphere that did not fall behind the Chairman’s office at the headquarters were being presented in the DS Telecom President’s office.
“We have disposed of the existing furniture and brought in new furniture that you might like, President. However, as time was a bit short, it seems it will take some time for a few pieces to arrive.”
“Handle that as you see fit.”
Jinhyuk sat down at the wide desk prepared on one side of the office. Perhaps the desk size had increased along with the room size, as it boasted a size so large that even if he stretched his arms out straight, he couldn’t reach from one end to the other. The chair was also plush, wrapping around Jinhyuk’s thighs and back as soon as he sat down.
Jinhyuk felt the comfort for a moment while sitting in the chair, then looked at the standing Junwoo Kim and spoke.
“What is Union Leader Park doing?”
“He has set up a tent in front of the headquarters and has gone on a hunger strike.”
“That man is really trying to see this through to the end.”
“Several broadcasting stations have filmed Union Leader Park Ho-yeon.”
“Do you think it’ll get noisy?”
“If they make it noisy, there’s a strong possibility it will become quite loud. The fierce resistance from the union is no joke. Still, with the full support of the shareholders, it seems the media can’t easily take Park Ho-yeon’s side either.”
Jinhyuk nodded at Junwoo Kim’s words. Then, he picked up and opened the documents that were already placed on the desk before his arrival. While Jinhyuk slowly read the documents, Junwoo Kim explained the contents written inside.
“After the shareholders’ meeting ended, tips accusing Union Leader Park Ho-yeon began to come in as you expected, President.”
“It seems they wanted to confirm that I was appointed as the CEO first.”
“Yes. It appears they were cautious for fear of a backlash if they reported it for no reason.”
“So, is this the result of verifying those tips?”
“Yes. It seems he had a deeper relationship with former Vice Chairman Suman Park’s side than expected. The amount of money he took is quite large.”
Jinhyuk muttered while reading, “He appeared to be struggling, living in an 18-pyeong apartment with a family of four. However, ten years ago, the assets of a first cousin once removed, who had never owned a single patch of land in the countryside and whose annual income never exceeded 5 million won, began to grow. That period coincides precisely with when he took over as Union Leader. Hmm…”
Jinhyuk continued to flip through the back of the documents while speaking.
“His child was good at studying, so he sent them to study abroad in the Philippines. However, the school they attend in the Philippines is not a regular school, but an international school with an annual tuition of 30 million won. Including living expenses, the money spent on the child is expected to be over 50 million won per year. A person earning an annual salary of 70 million won… well, that’s possible. It’s possible.”
Jinhyuk smiled and kept flipping the pages.
“Ah. This doesn’t make sense. I thought he only sent one child, but he sent both. Doesn’t that mean the money spent on two children alone is 100 million won? A person receiving a salary of 70 million won remits 100 million won? Hahaha.”
“That is not all. After sending his wife and two children to the Philippines, he was not living alone but was cohabiting with a woman.”
“Without getting a divorce?”
“Yes. He was staying with another woman without getting a divorce.”
“His wife will be heartbroken if she finds out.”
“That… his wife is also with another man in the Philippines…”
“Fine. Stop. This isn’t the Discovery Channel; I don’t want to know that. Let’s not dig into such a messy private life. Even without involving that, there are plenty of other things to use. So, have you confirmed the scale of the funds that flowed to that first cousin once removed?”
“From what I’ve confirmed with the help of the prosecution, it’s roughly 2 billion won.”
“What? With whose help?”
Jinhyuk placed the documents he was looking at on the desk and smiled at Junwoo Kim. Junwoo Kim spoke cautiously, thinking Jinhyuk might be offended.
“I apologize. I requested assistance from Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-hoon.”
“Kim Jae-hoon? That Kim Jae-hoon who came when we hit my uncle last time?”
“Yes. I cooperated with Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-hoon, who is the head of the Financial and Tax Investigation Department, to investigate the corruption of Union Leader Park Ho-yeon together.”
Jinhyuk recalled Kim Jae-hoon, whom he had seen at the shareholders’ meeting. He remembered him because he was displaying a significant value above his head.
“He mentioned something about receiving a DS scholarship… Is he a favorable person?”
“He was favorable and ambitious.”
“Ambitious?”
“Yes. He was showing a will to somehow make it to the position of Chief Prosecutor.”
“Really?”
Jinhyuk crossed his arms as he listened to Junwoo Kim. Until now, there had been no particular reason to join hands with the prosecution, and since the work of using them wasn’t extensive, he hadn’t thought about it deeply. However, as things progressed, he felt that the power of the law was also necessary.
“Arrange a meeting once.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Since he was displaying a value of 20 billion, Jinhyuk thought it wouldn’t be bad to meet and establish a relationship. Furthermore, since he was favorable and ambitious, Jinhyuk felt there was no better person than him.
“Seeing as you said the prosecution already knew the facts, were they waiting for my instruction to start a full-scale investigation?”
“Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-hoon’s side says the investigation is complete. He said as soon as you give the order, President, he will immediately request a warrant and arrest Union Leader Park Ho-yeon.”
“What are the charges? Bribery or something like that?”
“It seems he also took money from non-regular workers under the guise of converting them to regular positions. Lawsuits for fraud have already been filed by several non-regular workers.”
“There were already lawsuits filed?”
“Yes. It appears the company had been shielding and blocking them.”
“Ah. So that’s why he was so desperate. Because he thought the protection wouldn’t continue after I stepped in.”
“I believe that is part of the reason.”
Jinhyuk rose from his seat and approached the window. Looking down at the tent the size of a fingernail and the people and broadcasting equipment surrounding it, Jinhyuk spoke.
“Since we’re arranging a meeting with Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-hoon anyway, let’s make it a bit more dramatic. Tell him I’ve given my approval and to proceed. And tell him that the day he comes to see me will be the day Union Leader Park Ho-yeon is arrested. Let’s see how much Chief Prosecutor Kim Jae-hoon wants to see me.”
Jinhyuk instructed Junwoo Kim, his gaze still fixed on Park Ho-yeon.