Chapter 100: Reputation Is Not to Be Trusted

In his office, Jinhyuk Park received a report from Junwoo Kim regarding the directors of DS Telecom whom he had been investigating.

“Excluding the vacant CEO position, there are a total of ten registered directors at DS Telecom. It is composed of two internal directors and eight external directors, and they make up the board.”

While listening to the explanation, Jinhyuk scanned the names, photos, and biographies listed in the documents.

“The two internal directors must be Suman Park’s people, right?”

“Yes. They were appointed to the registry while Suman Park was in the CEO position. They are essentially his closest confidants.”

“Then skip them for now…”

Junwoo Kim had expected Jinhyuk to start by targeting the internal directors. He thought that if the most difficult buttons were fastened first, the rest would collapse like a breaking dam.

However, Jinhyuk’s thoughts were different. The fortress belonging to Suman Park had already crumbled. It was certain that the people living inside that fortress would never stop looking around for a way out. If that was the case, there was no reason to touch them first. If they saw that other fortresses were falling, they would eventually raise the white flag and walk out of the castle gates on their own.

“They’re all professors or something.”

“Yes. Most of the external directors are faculty members or people who once held positions in the previous government. It seems the board was composed that way because it looks good for appearances.”

Jinhyuk nodded and separated the professors from the former high-ranking government officials. In the case of the professors, he felt he knew exactly what they wanted.

“If I tell them I’ll extend their terms, most of them will flip. Term extension is likely what these people want most, after all.”

“Were you not planning to restructure the board once you were inaugurated as CEO?”

“Restructuring the board isn’t urgent. They are just rubber stamps without voting power; it doesn’t matter who is sitting there. And if they don’t listen, I can just choose not to extend their terms when the time comes.”

Having experienced the top of the corporate ecological pyramid, Jinhyuk had learned many things. In the past, during the time of Yujeonggeol, he had thought that the general shareholders’ meeting was a massive event that decided the direction of the company. However, after becoming Jinhyuk Park, he realized that the shareholders’ meeting was merely a one-way presentation event where shareholders were gathered for an announcement.

He learned that the major agendas and decisions of the company were made by the board of directors and that even in a large company, the board consisted of only about ten people. He used to think that everyone called a director was a member of the board, but he now knew they were divided into registered and non-registered directors, and only registered directors actually set the company’s direction.

About ten people would plan the direction for the company a year or several years in advance, and then they would seek the consent of the shareholders based on that plan. He also realized that the directors on the board who made those decisions often performed only the role of a rubber stamp, failing to voice any real opinions.

However, the situation was slightly different this time. It was Suman Park who had formed the current board, and it was obvious he had brought them in to serve as his own rubber stamps. Therefore, it was clear without even experiencing it that they would not have good feelings toward Jinhyuk, who had ousted Suman Park.

But they were not blood brothers, nor was it a relationship of lord and vassal that had to be followed for a lifetime. Their experience as high-ranking officials would surely tell them that they needed to switch ships when the tide changed. Jinhyuk only needed to show them that the tide was indeed changing.

“These three. The ones who held positions in the previous government. Set up meetings with them. You meet the professors and handle them.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

“Ah! Wait.”

Jinhyuk called out to Junwoo Kim, who was about to bow and leave after finishing the report.

“Look into those external directors I’m going to meet in more detail.”

“By detail, how far should I…”

“It’s not like I’m trying to date them, so focus on things that could become weaknesses and organize them for me.”

“Weaknesses?”

“They are people who served as government officials for a long time. That means there’s a high possibility they are even more stuck-up than we think.”

Jinhyuk slowly scanned the resumes of the eight external directors.

“Most of them have been out of their government roles for more than three years. By now, their guard should be quite lax. Enough time has passed for them to have caused some trouble. We need a card to play in case the conversation doesn’t go well. Dig it all up and bring it to me.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

Junwoo Kim bowed to Jinhyuk and walked out.

***

From DS Headquarters, an official notice was sent down to its subsidiary, DS Telecom, to proceed with a board meeting regarding the appointment of a new CEO. DS Telecom hurried to coordinate the meeting date with the internal and external directors. They eventually announced that a board meeting concerning the CEO appointment would be convened one week after the notice was issued.

“Sir. The former Senior Secretary for Economic Policy whom I met yesterday contacted me to say he will declare his full support for you.”

“Really? As he should. At least that man is reasonable.”

At Jinhyuk’s words, Junwoo Kim silently bowed his head slightly and smiled. As Jinhyuk expected, the external directors who had been bureaucrats were not easy to talk to. Even though they were not unaware that Jinhyuk was Junman Park’s eldest son and the closest to the next chairman position, they looked down on him simply because of his age and considered him nothing more than a greenhorn with little experience. Their mindset when dealing with people was different from that of private-sector employees who had lived their lives receiving a salary for decades.

“The man you are about to meet shortly, former Vice Minister Yu Byeong-yeol, served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology in the previous administration.”

“Vice Minister of Science and Technology. If he made it to vice minister, he’s someone who climbed as far as one can go after entering public service.”

Jinhyuk nodded and scanned the biography of Yu Byeong-yeol that Junwoo handed him. He was a typical elite bureaucrat who had passed the higher civil service examination and spent his career in the Ministry of Science and Technology. Below, it was noted in small print that he was evaluated as having expert-level insight because he had been in charge of government tasks related to telecommunications.

“In the case of Yu Byeong-yeol, there was nothing specific to catch him on. His wife’s family is from a prominent local lineage, so he was free from financial issues throughout his public service career. Since he only has two daughters, he was also free from military service issues regarding children. The only thing that could be called an Achilles’ heel was that he lived his whole life under the thumb of his in-laws’ prestige.”

“Is that so? I wonder why my uncle picked such a decent person.”

The external directors Jinhyuk had seen before all had flaws without exception. Taking money during their public service careers was common, and several professors were confirmed to have taken excessive consulting and lecture fees. Jinhyuk used those points. Even if they had concluded their public careers, the image and networks they had built their whole lives were still being maintained. If they were kicked out of their external directorship due to a scandal, they would have nowhere else to go.

It was the same for the professors. If their reputation was tarnished, they might have to resign from their faculty positions, and it would certainly be difficult to find another spot. Furthermore, for people whose necks were stiff from the weight of their titles, the sense of loss would be even greater.

Jinhyuk demanded their support during the board meeting in exchange for turning a blind eye to those issues. In any case, after sitting in the CEO’s chair, he could seize control of the board at any time. Since he could push them out gradually, he intended to use them only for the purpose of fastening the first button.

At the back of the document Jinhyuk had been looking at for a while, he discovered photos attached, unlike with the other external directors. Jinhyuk pulled out the photos attached to the back, looked at them, and then looked up at Junwoo Kim. Meeting Jinhyuk’s gaze, Junwoo explained the photos.

“That’s why I dug in a different direction than I did with the former Senior Secretary for Economic Policy. After staking out his neighborhood for a long time and checking his surrounding routes…”

Junwoo paused for a moment as if it was too embarrassing to say the rest. After seeing the photos, Jinhyuk unknowingly let out a hollow laugh and pointed at them.

“Is this the answer?”

“Yes.”

Jinhyuk glanced up at Junwoo Kim.

“How did you find something like this?”

“His accounts were too clean, and his reputation within the Ministry of Science and Technology was so perfect that I wondered if a better person could even exist. That’s why I was more suspicious.”

“True. Hearing you say that makes me suspicious as well. A vice minister position is indeed the end of a public career, but if his reputation was that good, he could have aimed for even higher.”

“Exactly. That’s why I suspected there might be something else and obtained these by lying in wait near his house.”

While listening to Junwoo’s explanation, Jinhyuk flipped through the photos one by one. They were so natural that they didn’t seem suspicious. However, after seeing Junwoo’s explanation and the text describing the photos, he realized that Yu Byeong-yeol was doing something incredibly ridiculous.

Jinhyuk laughed while shaking the photos, then put them back in the documents and closed the folder. He then raised his hand toward Junwoo and gestured with his finger.

“You said he’s waiting outside? Send him in. I want to see his face and find out what kind of person he is. I need to see the look on his face to understand what on earth he’s thinking by doing this, regardless of the board meeting or anything else.”

“Yes. Then I will go out and send him in immediately.”

“Go ahead.”

Junwoo Kim bowed and carefully opened the office door to go out. As if he still couldn’t understand, Jinhyuk took the report on Yu Byeong-yeol and moved to the reception sofa. Just as he sat down and cracked his neck from side to side, a knock was heard, and Junwoo Kim entered with a man in a neat outfit wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

“Sir. This is Yu Byeong-yeol, the former Vice Minister who is on the board of directors of DS Telecom.”

Jinhyuk stood up from the sofa and reached out to greet the man warmly.

“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Jinhyuk Park.”

Yu Byeong-yeol took Jinhyuk’s hand and scanned him from head to toe. Even though Jinhyuk had greeted him first, instead of answering, the man scrutinized him, causing Junwoo Kim’s face to contort. This was because he could see an overt look of condescension toward Jinhyuk in Yu Byeong-yeol’s expression.

“Please, come in. Secretary Kim, go and ask for some tea.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

When Jinhyuk didn’t say anything else, Junwoo Kim glared at Yu Byeong-yeol once and walked out. Once Jinhyuk sat on the reception sofa first, Yu Byeong-yeol followed and sat across from him. From the moment he entered the office until he sat on the sofa, he didn’t say a single word and only stared at Jinhyuk.

Jinhyuk took his gaze calmly and spoke first.

“You know why you were asked to come here today, don’t you?”

Jinhyuk spoke and waited for Yu Byeong-yeol’s answer with a plain expression. Yu Byeong-yeol remained silent for a long while even after Jinhyuk’s question. As if he were performing some silent meditation, Jinhyuk also sat in a comfortable posture and looked at him, as if he were willing to wait an hour or even a day.

Seeing Jinhyuk’s attitude, Yu Byeong-yeol finally opened his mouth as if he had no choice and answered Jinhyuk’s question.

“I know. You want to become the CEO of DS Telecom, don’t you?”

“Yes, that’s right. Please give me your support.”

“Hmph.”

Yu Byeong-yeol openly scoffed at Jinhyuk. Then, with one side of his face scrunched up, he looked at Jinhyuk as if he were pathetic and spoke.

“Listen here. How old are you?”

Yu Byeong-yeol spoke informally right off the bat.

‘As expected, reputation is not to be trusted.’

The information Junwoo Kim had gathered about Yu Byeong-yeol didn’t contain this side of him at all. It was written that he was respectful to his superiors and showed leadership to his colleagues.

‘Now that I think about it, it didn’t mention how he treated his subordinates.’

There was no way Junwoo Kim would have skipped gathering evaluations from those who were Yu Byeong-yeol’s subordinates. That meant they had probably held their tongues. And the attitude Yu Byeong-yeol had shown toward his subordinates was now appearing in front of Jinhyuk.

“I was surprised when a young man said he wanted to see me. I found out you’re the Chairman’s eldest son and that your name is being tossed around for the next succession? But that’s one thing… and it’s quite another to arrogantly summon an elder like this. If it was too difficult for you to come to me, we should have met somewhere else. What is this? Sending for an elder to come to your office. It seems you still don’t know much about social life. By any chance, have you been to the military? Young people these days go to the military and it’s basically just a camp, so it’s different from our time. You don’t know hardship like we do. In that sense, let me give you some advice.”

“Advice?”

Jinhyuk did not lose his smile while watching Yu Byeong-yeol. His smile wasn’t forced. He truly wanted to hear what kind of advice Yu Byeong-yeol would give.

“I don’t know if you’ll succeed DS Group or not, but regardless, you should work while looking at who you’re dealing with. I heard you met the other external directors and threatened them to support you?”

“Threatened… If they felt that way, then I suppose what I did was a threat.”

“I am not a person who yields to such threats. Money? I am a man who has lived with pride in my work throughout my entire life in public service. I have never eaten a meal on someone else’s dime, and I am a man who bought even a toothpick with my own money. Don’t even think about making useless threats toward me.”

“I know. You’ve lived a very clean life.”

At Jinhyuk’s acknowledgment, Yu Byeong-yeol snorted again.

“Hmph. I’m not saying this to hear that from you. How dare a boy who is still wet behind the ears sit in an office and summon an elder? Others might be trembling because of their sins or because they’re afraid of the Chairman, but I am different from them. How do you think I got to this position? I’ve come this far alone, trusting only my convictions and never shaking hands with anything corrupt. So don’t even think about getting support from me. You are far too young to lead a company.”

As if he would never bend for anyone, he sat straight on the sofa and looked at Jinhyuk, who was leaning back against the armrest.

“They say you can tell a person’s character just by how they sit… You truly have nothing noteworthy about you other than the fact that you were born.”

Jinhyuk did not lose his smile as he looked at Yu Byeong-yeol, whose mouth was itching to criticize him severely. This was because the man in his eyes was so insignificant that he couldn’t even bring himself to scoff.