Without further explanation, the host immediately described the theme of today’s Emergency General Meeting.
Since the people gathered were already interested through the media, no one objected to the host’s explanation, and the proceedings moved quickly. The host stated the agenda, and the representatives immediately entered the process of persuading the shareholders.
Most of the shareholders present had already decided who they would vote for before arriving. Therefore, they could have started the voting process immediately, but the representatives worked hard to persuade the shareholders to pull anyone who might be wavering to their side.
“They’re working so hard. They don’t really need to go that far.”
The person representing those opposing the spin-off, who could be seen as being on Jin-hyuk Park’s side, spoke to the shareholders with all his heart and soul. Watching from below, Jin-hyuk Park chuckled and nudged Jun-woo Kim’s side.
“The result is already decided, yet he’s working so hard.”
“The reason he’s working so hard isn’t to persuade the shareholders. He’s doing it to appeal to you, Executive Director.”
Jin-hyuk Park looked back at the man who was enthusiastically holding the microphone and giving a supporting speech after hearing Jun-woo Kim’s words. Realizing the direction the man was looking while speaking was exactly where he was sitting, Jin-hyuk couldn’t help but laugh.
After the supporting speeches from each camp ended, the voting began in earnest. Unlike general voting, where everyone fairly exercises one vote, the power of a vote in a shareholders’ meeting changed according to the number of shares held. Because of this, Su-man Park had been running around busily trying to recruit the big players until the moment voting started.
Although he was guaranteed victory, he worked hard to make his face known even once to those who held large stakes, just in case an unexpected situation occurred. However, Jin-hyuk Park was different from Su-man Park. Whether something happened or not, he merely sat in his seat with a disinterested expression, watching the long line forming for the vote.
Su-man Park tilted his head as he watched Jin-hyuk’s attitude. He hadn’t secured enough shares to be that confident in winning, so seeing him like that made Su-man think Jin-hyuk had already given up. But this was DS Telecom. With seven subsidiaries in the telecommunications sector, DS Telecom was a lucrative company with annual sales approaching 10 trillion won. Although there were slight issues with growth potential since it wasn’t an export-driven industry, it was a stable company with fewer ups and downs. Considering that, it was a subsidiary that DS Group could never afford to lose.
That was why Su-man Park did his best to secure shares, not knowing what methods Jun-man Park and Jin-hyuk Park might use to block the spin-off. Even knowing it was illegal, he gathered funds through Hanuri and visited investment companies, pleading and begging for their support. He had called for the Emergency General Meeting and entered the vote because he thought it was worth a shot with the shares he had gathered, but…
Su-man Park shook hands and talked with the person who attended as a representative for a Hong Kong-based investment firm, then turned his gaze back to Jin-hyuk Park. Jin-hyuk remained seated with his arms crossed, talking only to Jun-woo Kim, looking as if he had no intention of even lifting his rear from the chair.
‘Did he really give up?’
The shares in favor of the spin-off that he thought he had firmly secured before coming to the meeting were his own 15%, the employee stock ownership shares at 7-8%, and the 15% promised by investment companies. By his calculations, if they entered the vote with approximately 38% of the shares secured, he expected to secure more than half of the voting rights based on the attendees. Since he had succeeded in securing the 38% he planned before coming to the meeting, he was confident in the result, yet Su-man continued to do his best until the last moment just in case.
However, Jin-hyuk Park showed no movement despite having secured just over 30% of the shares. Su-man Park shot a glance at Jin-hyuk and then moved toward the person attending as a representative for an American investment firm. He figured Jin-hyuk was Jin-hyuk, and he was himself.
Jin-hyuk Park watched Su-man Park running around until his feet were sweating with an amused look.
“People like that always say ‘Man proposes, God disposes’ while waiting for the will of heaven. Even though the result is already decided.”
Jun-woo Kim nodded at Jin-hyuk’s words. No matter who Su-man Park met or what he did, the result would not change. Perhaps the result had been decided from the moment Su-man Park set his mind on taking DS Telecom.
‘No. It felt like this result had been decided the moment he stood on the opposite side of this man.’
Jun-woo Kim checked the message he received on his phone, which had been set to silent. Then, he quietly relayed the news to Jin-hyuk.
“I am told it has begun with Hanuri.”
Jin-hyuk Park nodded.
***
The voting drew to a close. Jin-hyuk also exercised his voting rights for his 1 billion won worth of stock and returned to his seat.
With everything finished and nothing left but to wait for the result, the people gathered around Su-man Park were exchanging congratulations. Jin-hyuk narrowed his eyes and scanned the executives of DS Telecom who were bowing toward Su-man Park.
“You’re keeping a good record of the executives who sided over there, right?”
“Yes. I have already compiled a list.”
“Good. Clean it up once this is over. They must be prepared to take responsibility for their choices.”
If they were already greeting and congratulating Su-man to get on his good side before the result was even out, it meant they weren’t people he could walk with. Jin-hyuk leisurely watched Su-man Park’s group receiving congratulations from various people.
Paper ballots were used for the vote, and since one person’s vote did not equal a single count, the announcement was taking longer than expected due to the multiple verification processes. Still, neither side complained, enjoying the waiting time without asking for the results to be announced quickly.
Su-man Park felt like his body was halfway off the ground, savoring the moment. He sat in his chair, imagining the moment he would announce the victory and the spin-off of DS Telecom to the whole world. A man who appeared to be an assistant approached Gwang-seok Byeon, who was sitting next to Su-man. Looking extremely urgent, he whispered something into the ear of Gwang-seok Byeon, who had been matching Su-man’s mood with trivial jokes.
*Clatter!*
A commotion broke out around Gwang-seok Byeon as he suddenly stood up from his seat.
“The word must have reached them.”
“Yes. It seems news has spread that a search and seizure is underway at Hanuri. Shall I tell them to move in here as well?”
“That would be best, wouldn’t it?”
Jun-woo Kim nodded and called someone. Jin-hyuk turned his gaze from Jun-woo to Su-man Park’s group, where the commotion was rising again. Gwang-seok Byeon’s face had turned pale, and he looked like he didn’t know what to do. The people around him tried to calm him down, but his behavior—standing and fidgeting in place like someone suffering from a mental breakdown—was strange enough to be deemed bizarre.
Su-man Park felt his mood sour, as if Gwang-seok Byeon was raining on his parade right before the pleasant event.
“Get him out of here.”
It felt strange that the man couldn’t even say properly what was wrong, but Su-man didn’t have the luxury to care about that right now. All his senses were focused on the upcoming announcement.
As Su-man Park’s assistants grabbed Gwang-seok Byeon from both sides to drag him out, Gwang-seok reached out his arm and moved his mouth as if trying to say something to Su-man. Seeing this, the assistants couldn’t pull him away immediately and waited for him to speak. However, Su-man ignored him and stared straight ahead, while Kyung-man Park looked at Gwang-seok. Watching Gwang-seok’s mouth move as he tried to speak, Kyung-man tapped Su-man next to him.
“I think he has something to say.”
“Huh?”
Su-man Park, who had been anxious about why the result wasn’t coming out quickly, turned his body to look at Gwang-seok Byeon at Kyung-man’s word. In just five minutes, Gwang-seok’s face had aged as if 50 years had passed. Upon catching Su-man’s eye, his mouth moved soundlessly.
“What? What are you saying?”
When Su-man only saw the mouth moving without any sound, he looked back at Kyung-man. However, the answer came from somewhere else, not from Kyung-man.
*Crash!*
The doors of the grand auditorium, which had been closed during the meeting, flew open all at once. Through them, dozens of people poured in within an instant.
“Stay where you are. Everyone, do not move. We are from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. We ask for your cooperation. Do not move. You there. Don’t move.”
The person leading the way shouted at the surroundings, and the people were startled and flustered by the sudden situation. Jin-hyuk Park took a slight look back. Men in suits and those surrounding them walked toward Su-man Park with a fierce aura.
Watching them come straight toward him, Su-man Park looked around. He felt something was wrong when he saw Gwang-seok Byeon looking resigned.
A man in a suit and black horn-rimmed glasses stood before Su-man Park and spoke.
“Are you Su-man Park?”
“I am… but what is this?”
Because the atmosphere was unusual, honorifics naturally came out of Su-man’s mouth. Several people in leather jackets went up to the podium, and some even began verifying the identities of every person attending the meeting. The man in glasses also checked the people around Su-man.
“And the person on the right is Kyung-man Park. The person over there is Gwang-seok Byeon. You are all correct, yes?”
Without even waiting for an answer, he pulled a document from his pocket, showed it, and spoke.
“We are executing the arrest of Gwang-seok Byeon for illegal loans and violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. And we are executing the arrest of Su-man Park and Kyung-man Park for violations of the Capital Markets Act, solicitation of illegal loans, and violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.”
“What on earth… what is the meaning of this?”
“Do you see the warrant here? The arrest warrant hearing was held at the court today, and from this moment on, you will be detained and investigated for your crimes. Take them away.”
The police officers nearby handcuffed the three men and read them their Miranda rights. Gwang-seok Byeon hung his head in resignation, while Kyung-man Park still looked like he hadn’t grasped the situation. Only Su-man Park screamed, claiming his innocence.
“What law did I break?!”
“If you didn’t break the law, you won’t be punished. Searches and seizures are already underway at your office, Vice Chairman.”
“Search and seizure?”
“There was so much evidence that we didn’t even need a search and seizure… but since you called the media here so nicely, we decided to join in. I’d like to thank you for that. It’s been a while since I’ve stood in front of a camera.”
“Call Prosecutor General Kim. Call him!”
“You’ll see him once you get to the Prosecutor’s Office anyway, so there’s no need to seek him out so urgently.”
While screaming at the prosecutor, Su-man Park discovered Jin-hyuk Park laughing in the back. Jin-hyuk, who had been sitting as if his rear were glued to the chair the whole time, was now standing up and watching Su-man being dragged away. Seeing Jin-hyuk’s calm demeanor, Su-man realized the truth.
“You… it’s you, isn’t it?!”
Su-man desperately tried to shake off those dragging him and move toward Jin-hyuk. This sight captured the attention of every single attendee at the meeting. The prosecutor ordered them to drag Su-man away quickly, but Jin-hyuk signaled the investigators to wait for a moment and slowly walked toward where Su-man was. He stood straight in front of Su-man and smiled. At that sight, Su-man felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him.
“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one who made me like this!”
“What are you talking about?”
“You… you…”
He had much to say, but he didn’t seem to know what to say. Jin-hyuk Park spoke in Su-man’s place.
“You want to say that I framed you, right?”
“Yes! Did you lead me into a trap?”
“What does that matter now? Put your hand on your heart and think. Did you not use borrowed-name accounts? Did you not take a loan from Hanuri Savings Bank? And what did you offer as collateral when you took that loan? Was it your personal assets?”
Su-man Park couldn’t say a word. The collateral he offered for the 500 billion won loan was not his personal assets, but the assets of DS Telecom.
“Embezzlement, breach of trust, and violation of the Capital Markets Act. Even excluding minor criminal acts, this is just what you’re caught for. Are you still innocent? If you are, then it won’t be a big deal. You’ll be out soon, so you can come out and proudly seize control of DS Telecom again.”
“…DS Telecom is mine! I won!”
“Is that so?”
Jin-hyuk Park shouted toward the person looking down from the podium.
“Is the result out? What was the result?”
The host holding the result sheet looked around for a moment. If Su-man were dragged away like this, it was certain that the result would only be known by a few and then buried. However, Jin-hyuk was asking for the result.
The attendees turned their gaze to the podium at Jin-hyuk’s words. They were just as curious about the result. Seeing everyone stop to wait for the result, the host unfolded the paper and began to announce it.
“This is the result regarding the spin-off of DS Telecom. Out of a total of 430 million shares, 74%, or 318 million shares, participated in the vote. In favor of the spin-off… 29%, or 94 million shares, agreed. Against the spin-off, 71% of the participants, or 227.8 million shares… Accordingly, I declare that the spin-off has been rejected.”
“That’s impossible! 94 million shares… only 94 million shares?!”
“Take him away.”
The prosecutor ordered them to drag Su-man Park away, perhaps thinking that everything was finished. Even as he was being dragged out, Su-man wore an expression of disbelief.
94 million shares.
It meant that only his own shares and those of the employee stock ownership plan had supported him. Not to mention the general retail investors, even the individual investors who had supposedly sided with him had turned their backs. It meant not a single one of them had raised their hand for him.