Chapter 218: I Want to Expedite That

A few days after meeting Chairman Seo Yong-geon, I received a call from Eva.

— Boss, JC reached out.

“What did they say?”

— They’re surrendering. They’ve agreed to transfer all their shares in the Il-seong Group to us.

They had no other choice. They couldn’t buy the already inflated JC Foods stocks on the market.

They didn’t have the funds, and their pride wouldn’t allow them to seek help from Il-seong.

Going down the path of a share battle would only decrease their chances further, leaving them with but one choice.

“Have you mapped out the scenario? How long do you think it will take?”

— Roughly six months?

“File the petitions for temporary shareholder meetings for all subsidiaries without revealing our true intentions. I’ll have the Chief Justice notify the court about it. Approval for the temporary meetings should come through quickly.”

— I know, Boss. I set the timeline for six months, considering that factor.

It took longer to plan the temporary meetings than I expected.

“Eva, is there no way to shorten this?”

— This is the bare minimum. They have no intent to negotiate, remember? Both sides will have to go for the kill, and it’s not easy when it comes to a company like Il-seong Materials. They’re likely to engage in lawsuits with no qualms.

If Eva said it was difficult to shorten the timeline, that was the reality. It was regrettable, but there was no choice.

“Understood. Have we received all the shares from Han Gyeong-yeong?”

— Of course. In a share battle, we’ll always come out on top. The issue is that they might drag things out by creating lawsuits over trivial matters. That’s something you’ll have to resolve independently, Boss.

“Right. I’ll handle the external issues, so focus solely on Il-seong.”

I could hear Eva chuckling on the other end, her unwavering faith in me evident.

This was just the beginning. Seo Yong-geon was not a person who would sit idly; I needed to be well-prepared.

Upon pressing the intercom, Manager Ma walked in through the door.

“You called, Boss?”

“Contact the media outlets and create a negative perception of Il-seong. Increase advertising with Jungwoo Group and Hyunhwa Group… Also, send a token gift to the editors. Make it meaningful.”

After giving the orders, I tapped my desk lightly, lost in thought. So much to do, my mind was swirling.

‘I need to meet with the Chief Justice in person, and the litigation will be handled by Yun & Jang…’

Once my thoughts were sorted, I stood up. I decided to deal with the tasks that required my attention first.

“Let’s go meet the Chief Justice first.”

Leaving the office, I headed to Oh Jeong-seok’s house to meet the Chief Justice.

He welcomed me warmly back to his modest apartment.

“It’s been a while, Chief Justice.”

“Welcome, Boss Kim.”

A lot of time had passed since we first met, yet I felt he looked even younger now.

“You seem to get younger every time I see you, Chief Justice.”

“Really? I appreciate the compliment.”

With a bright smile, Oh Jeong-seok led me into his study.

After exchanging pleasantries and indulging in small talk, we soon dived into the main topic with his inquiry.

“So, you’re planning a hostile M&A against Il-seong Materials?”

“Yes, Chief Justice. Eva will submit a petition for a temporary shareholders’ meeting to the court. Normally it takes over a month, but I want that expedited.”

“I’ll make a call right away.”

His nod suggested that it was no big deal, and I continued speaking.

“We’ll submit petitions for all Il-seong subsidiaries simultaneously. It’ll be designed to keep our true goals ambiguous.”

“Hmm…”

Oh Jeong-seok stroked his chin, deep in thought. However, it didn’t last long before he spoke up.

“All I can do is help you speed things along. Even if there are procedural issues, the public’s attention will undoubtedly be focused on Il-seong’s management rights battle.”

“I understand. I’ll make sure the procedures are flawless. I would never want to tarnish your name with something so trivial.”

Holding a temporary shareholders’ meeting involved several procedures.

First, a company must request a temporary meeting from its board. If it’s denied, a petition for the meeting must be submitted to the court.

Then, if the court grants permission after evaluating, the court can directly appoint a chairperson for the meeting.

“Il-seong will likely try to delay things by filing multiple lawsuits. You’ll need to intervene, Chief Justice.”

“Understood.”

Oh Jeong-seok nodded. A smile crossed his face.

“By the way, about the people who recently entered the National Assembly…”

Many individuals who once served under Chief Justice Oh managed to enter the National Assembly through the recent elections.

“You provided them with quite a bit of support, eh?”

“Of course! We’re all in this together.”

“After getting elected, they all came to seek me out.”

I could understand the meaning behind the smile that appeared on his face.

No matter how much influence they had in the legal community, being elected as a National Assembly member wasn’t easy.

Having Oh Jeong-seok facilitate their nominations for the Moderate Party strengthened his influence within the cartel.

That’s just how cartels operated. It wasn’t merely about loyalty.

They wouldn’t form a cartel unless it benefited them.

With over twenty of them now in the National Assembly, it instilled hope that they could dominate the legislative branch.

And if that happened, Oh Jeong-seok would follow, with Oh Hyeon-woo becoming the new leader of the cartel.

“Thanks to you, we’ve grown even closer.”

“It was beneficial for me as well.”

At my nonchalant response, Oh Jeong-seok’s smile grew wider.

“Hyeon-woo has chosen a good friend. He’s stubborn, but he has a good head on his shoulders, hahaha.”

“He’s more than qualified to be a leader, which is why we got close.”

“Really? That’s unexpected.”

While Hyeon-woo displayed a calm demeanor in public, at home he was merely his grandfather’s grandchild.

Perhaps because hardly anyone talked about Hyeon-woo, curiosity creased Oh Jeong-seok’s face.

“He’s always at the forefront of organizing gatherings and leading our friends. He might not attend often, but he keeps in touch frequently.”

Although I rarely made gatherings due to my travels, I stayed in contact regularly.

Praising Hyeon-woo caused Oh Jeong-seok to light up.

No grandfather disliked hearing praises about his grandchild. His reaction resembled that of any doting grandfather, and I smiled back.

“By the way, when will that kid bring a girl home…? Do you know anything?”

“Hmm, not really. We don’t talk about personal matters like that…”

Han Min-kyung crossed my mind, but I refrained from mentioning it. If they were seeing each other, it was Hyeon-woo’s place to share that.

“What about you? Don’t you have plans to get married?”

Suddenly, the arrow turned toward me.

“Not at the moment. I have too much to do. I plan to think about it once things settle down.”

Stealing a glance at my emotionless face, Oh Jeong-seok continued speaking.

“So, are you open to introductions?”

“Introductions?”

“Yes. There’s a nice girl I know. What do you think? Want to meet her?”

Lately, more people had been pushing for arranged marriages. I waved my hands with an awkward smile.

“No, I’m not considering dating through introductions or matchmaking.”

“You and Hyeon-woo think you can find love with how busy you are?”

“Even so, I still prefer it this way.”

I had suffered enough from loveless arranged marriages in my past life. A marriage that was just a façade was worse than being single.

Not wanting to give up, Oh Jeong-seok asked once more, but I declined. Trying to shift the conversation, I posed a question.

“Chief Justice, do you have no desires for other positions?”

My question elicited a light chuckle from Oh Jeong-seok.

“Me? After being Chief Justice, where else could I go? Unless it’s to become the President, that is.”

Korea didn’t have an official protocol for seniority like the U.S.

However, it followed an unwritten convention where the President, National Assembly Speaker, and Chief Justice were the ranked positions.

While the power structure might change due to various factors, the leaders of the key branches of government—executive, legislative, and judicial—remained constant.

Someone who had served as the head of the judiciary would never go for a position lower than Speaker of the National Assembly or the President.

Typically, the position of Speaker was held by seasoned lawmakers who had served five or more terms. Thus, even if one entered the National Assembly, they wouldn’t immediately become Speaker.

That left only the presidency, which he seemed to lack interest in.

“And even if there was a chance to become President, I wouldn’t want the position. It’s simply a ceremonial figurehead. Just five years of it at best. I’m someone who’s watched their fate unfold for decades. Do you really expect I’d want that?”

I nodded at his words.

The conclusion for our country’s presidents was rarely a happy one. Historically and in projecting the future as well.

Wiping the smile from his face, Oh Jeong-seok spoke with concern.

“Fighting against Il-seong won’t be easy. The forces known as Il-seong scholars are growing in the courts as well.”

With the Cheongpung Group vacating the legal sphere, the Il-seong scholars filled the void.

“But your choice is right. If time passes, the legal sphere may also fall under Il-seong’s grip. The time to strike is now.”

“Yes, I decided because I think it’ll be harder as time goes on.”

Oh Jeong-seok accurately read the pulse of the situation. There’s a reason he had remained at the top of the court cartel for so long.

The strength that could turn Il-seong into a powerhouse named the Il-seong Republic in the future stemmed from a combination of various forces, including the prosecutors’ office, judiciary, and political realms.

They prioritized Il-seong’s commands over the President’s or citizens’ wishes.

“I was puzzled when you first mentioned the objective wasn’t merely acquiring management rights but rather to take down Il-seong. After learning about the situation, it made sense. But don’t get too carried away with emotions and make poor judgments.”

“I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

“I’m only speaking because I have capable individuals like you around. I wonder if I’m just babbling needlessly.”

Oh Jeong-seok’s hearty laughter echoed in the study.

After finishing all the small talk, I headed back to Pyeongchang-dong when Eva contacted me.

— We declared war on Il-seong. We simultaneously requested a temporary shareholder meeting, including the resignation of the CEO and the replacement of the entire board.

“I assume they won’t accept?”

— Of course not. They’ll drag it out without accepting it. In the meantime, they’ll devise countermeasures.

Eva’s response was so obvious that she didn’t even chuckle, answering instead with a serious tone.

“I just came back from meeting the Chief Justice. If we follow the procedures, the approval for the shareholders’ meeting should come through quickly, and we’ll appoint the chairperson we want.”

— Okay. What about the media coverage?

“It’ll be featured on the front page of tomorrow’s morning newspaper.”

The vision we had all envisioned was coming to fruition.

— Il-seong won’t sit idly either. They’ll likely attack, claiming we’re foreign capital.

“That’s something we faced during the Jungwoo Group incident, and now they’ll use the fact that Eva transferred management of the bank to Ha Myung-hoon as a focal point for public sentiment. They’ll say we separate ownership and management, and that profits earned in Korea will be reinvested in Korea.”

— You always think the same way I do, Boss.

I could hear Eva’s laughter over the receiver, filled with confidence.

“Just don’t get too relaxed; always keep an eye on Il-seong’s movements. They’re not like the people from Jungwoo or the foreign exchange bank. Their power and influence are on a different level.”

Perhaps trying to lighten the mood, Eva’s voice turned serious again. Il-seong was definitely not an adversary to take lightly.

— I know that. Oh, and the public offering to acquire JC Foods is smaller than expected. The stocks shot up too high, I think…”

“That’s alright. We’ll buy up all the shares that are offered. I suspect that they’ll use this chance to organize their shares for succession of management on Seo Yong-geon’s side.”

The goal from the start was to drive up JC Foods’ stock price. Things were proceeding as intended.

Seo Yong-geon wouldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

“Once the disclosure indicates that we, along with JC Group, have reached an agreement in the management rights dispute, the stock prices will crash. At that point, we’ll start buying up stocks again.”

— Should we do the same?

Eva asked cautiously, likely due to losses from derivatives.

Chasing immediate gains would often result in far greater losses. I cut her off firmly.

“No. If we do that, it might lead to misunderstandings regarding the Il-seong case. Our true goal was management rights, and we decided to trust the current management one more time. We can’t risk damaging public sentiment in that regard.”

— Understood, Boss.

We couldn’t risk tarnishing public sentiment just to gain an insignificant advantage. The attack on Il-seong needed to be executed with utmost caution.

Ending the call, I tucked my warm phone away and let out a quiet sigh. This was the real beginning.

Time raced forward. Il-seong, as expected, rejected all our petitions for the shareholders’ meeting.

Eva promptly submitted the petitions for the temporary shareholders’ meeting and the shareholder register inspection to the court, just as planned.

And in the U.S., signs of a bubble collapse began to emerge.