Chapter 734: Let’s Just Arrest Them All

The sanctions against China’s Jungwoo Group had officially begun.

Starting with the suspension of construction and business operations, all branch managers working in China were arrested by public security on charges of bribery.

The Korean Government sent an ambassador to China to protest, but China retorted that it was a normal investigation procedure.

The Korean business world watched anxiously, worried about how far this situation would escalate.

It took a week after contacting Wen Jiabao to finally get through to him.

— President Kim Mu-hyeok.

“Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. What in the world is going on? Why is it so hard to reach you?”

— There are many eyes watching me. I don’t think this call will last long either.

It seems Wen Jiabao is being monitored.

His words gave me a glimpse into the internal atmosphere of China.

“…Is the situation really that bad?”

— Yes. Even President Hu Jintao can’t do anything about it. I’m also tied hand and foot.

“It’s certain that the attack on Jungwoo Group is a plot by the Chinese Communist Party, right?”

— ······.

Wen Jiabao didn’t answer readily.

But his silence was an answer in itself.

“Understood. Still, detaining the Jungwoo Group branch managers went too far.”

— I told them the same, but Luo Gan isn’t listening at all. The elders, the Shanghai faction, and the Princelings all want to escalate this matter.

“Even the Princelings?”

— Yes. Li Peng met with Luo Gan. Since then, Luo Gan has been moving more aggressively. Also there are more eyes monitoring me. It’s likely Luo Gan who’s watching me.

Hearing that Luo Gan and Li Peng had met, I let out a small sigh.

So Li Peng is indeed backing Luo Gan.

Even a toothless tiger still has claws.

“Understood.”

— I have to hang up now. And it’ll be difficult to contact me for a while. Please understand.

“I understand completely. Let’s talk again with a smile next time.”

Wen Jiabao hung up the phone in a hurry.

I put down the phone and tapped the desk, lost in thought.

‘They want to escalate things huh? It can’t be just a warning for me.’

During an informal conversation with President Yoon Chang-ho, the topic of economic sanctions against large companies that had advanced into China came up.

The attack on Jungwoo Group, which began immediately afterward, could not be a coincidence.

There was no way China didn’t know that Jungwoo Group was related to me.

If so, it was clear that it wouldn’t end with just Jungwoo Group.

If I backed down here, there was a high probability that it would end around this point.

But if not, the Chinese companies I invested in would also be subject to their attacks.

‘I don’t like this but…’

While friction between the Chinese and Korean governments was unavoidable, I couldn’t just sit back and take their attacks on me.

Just then, I heard a knock on the study door.

“Boss. I’m coming in.”

Manager Ma came in.

“Jack Ma wants to speak to you.”

“Jack Ma?”

“Yes. What should we do?”

“Put him through.”

Manager Ma picked up the phone and made the call.

“It’s connected, Boss.”

A moment later, Manager Ma handed me the receiver, and I held it to my ear.

“Chairman Jack Ma. It’s been a while.”

— President Kim Mu-hyeok. A big problem has occurred.

Jack Ma’s voice on the other end of the line was urgent.

Without even exchanging pleasantries, he immediately said that a big problem occurred, but Jack Ma continued speaking as if he didn’t care for my response.

— Public security has raided our company. And suddenly, they arrested the chief financial officer.

“What? They arrested the chief financial officer?”

— Yes. They also confiscated all the hard drives.

“Is there anything that could be problematic?”

Jack Ma answered my question immediately.

— No. There isn’t anything that is a big problem. But if they start digging, we won’t be able to hold on. What should we do? The high-ranking officials with connections to us are all avoiding contact.

The high-ranking officials connected to Jack Ma were the investors who invested in Alibaba.

They followed me and invested in Alibaba.

Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao also followed me and put investment funds into Alibaba.

Even so, they raided Alibaba and arrested the chief financial officer.

It was natural for Jack Ma to be terrified. In China, you could not do business without the backing of the Communist Party.

The reason Jack Ma received my investment was also to be protected by high-ranking officials of the Communist Party.

“First, don’t get agitated, and tell me slowly what happened.”

Jack Ma slowly explained what had happened that day.

He was still rambling as he was so flustered, but the gist of it was simple.

Public security raided without warning, confiscated hard drives and various documents on the computers, and arrested the chief financial officer.

“Did they bring a warrant?”

— I didn’t get to see the arrest warrant for the CFO, but I did see the search warrant.

“Are arrests possible without an arrest warrant?”

— According to the legal team leader, it’s possible. They can take them away under criminal detention and investigate them while detaining them for up to 37 days.

Indeed, China didn’t care about human rights.

The fact that they could detain someone for over a month without any evidence or a warrant made me laugh.

— Companies doing business with us are also notifying us of contract terminations, saying they will break the contract with us, even if they have to pay a penalty.

That’s why Jack Ma was in such a hurry.

Although Alibaba had entered the B2C market, Alibaba’s main business was still B2B.

In the future, B2C would become its main business, but it was not a structure that could generate profits immediately.

It was because they were in a game of chicken with eBay in the U.S.

If B2B were blocked in the middle of a game of chicken requiring a massive investment, Alibaba would obviously collapse.

“How long can you hold on?”

— At this rate, it will be difficult to hold on for even 6 months. What should we do?

“I’ll come up with a plan. Don’t do anything rash, and do your best to stabilize the company.”

I was the only one who knew that Alibaba would grow into a large company in the future.

If they could just hold on now, it was clear that they would get an even bigger return.

“If you’re short of funds, I will continue to support you. But if things don’t go well, I also need to consider withdrawing my investment and pulling out of China.”

— President. If you do that, we’ll die. Withdrawing your investment?

“If I withdraw my investment, all the issues Alibaba is currently facing could be resolved.”

At my words, Jack Ma hesitated before cautiously asking.

— ······Are you saying that all this happened because of you, President?

“Yes. There’s a high probability of that.”

— ······.

Jack Ma didn’t reply.

He must be very confused since he heard that this was happening because of me.

“What should we do? Should I withdraw the investment and connect you with another investor?”

— Ah no.

The reply came quickly, but his voice was trembling slightly.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Think carefully and contact me again. It’s because of me, but I can’t guarantee that I can resolve this. The Chinese authorities are targeting you on purpose.”

— ······There aren’t any investors like you, President, who invest and don’t interfere with the business. I have no intention to change yet. Although I can’t guarantee it in the future.

Hearing his honest answer, I laughed, inappropriately.

“Understood. If it seems like you absolutely cannot hold on, tell me. I’ll support the operating funds through another channel.”

— Yes······.

“Then, I’ll hang up. Let’s talk next time for a good reason, Chairman Jack Ma.”

I ended my call with Jack Ma and handed the receiver to Manager Ma.

“So they really want to have a go with me.”

“Did Alibaba also come under attack?”

I nodded my head.

It was likely that it wouldn’t end with just Alibaba. All the companies I invested in would be targeted.

“We may really need to consider pulling out of China.”

With a troubled mind, I let out a deep sigh and asked Manager Ma.

“How is the investigation regarding the Chinese spies in the Blue House going?”

“We’ve narrowed it down to three people.”

“Three people huh? Did you find any evidence?”

“No. They haven’t found any evidence yet.”

“Who are they?”

Manager Ma listed the names of the three people suspected of being spies.

“The Senior Secretary for Public Relations, Kim Gab-soo, currently has a son studying abroad in China.”

Kim Gab-soo, the Senior Secretary for Public Relations, had a son studying abroad in China, and he was frequently hanging out with children of Chinese high-ranking officials.

“The Senior Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security, Ban Jang-woo, has served as an ambassador to China. He is a strong candidate. He also often meets with the Chinese ambassador to Korea.”

Ban Jang-woo was a person who had taken off his military uniform and became a diplomat during the military regime.

He had served as an ambassador to China and had many connections there.

“And lastly, the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs, Woo Young-shik. He was very close to the current Chinese ambassador to Korea during their study abroad.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised as soon as I heard the name, Woo Young-shik.

“Woo Young-shik? Isn’t he one of the President’s closest aides?”

“Yes. That’s what I know.”

“But he’s a suspect? Are you sure?”

“There is no definite evidence, but these three are the only suspicious senior secretaries. There are more among the secretaries.”

I was hesitant to touch Woo Young-shik, especially compared to the other senior secretaries.

Hoping that he wasn’t the one, I asked Manager Ma.

“What’s the probability that it’s Woo Young-shik?”

“Over 50%.”

“That’s an estimate from Black Bear, right?”

“Yes. During the investigation of his past activities, they found suspicious parts. It is estimated that he had been in contact with China for a long time. But that alone does not guarantee that he is the spy the President mentioned.”

If Woo Young-shik was the spy, I couldn’t even imagine how shocked the president would be.

The Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs was a position held by the most powerful person in the Blue House.

Especially with President Yoon Chang-ho’s background, it was an even more important position.

When President Yoon Chang-ho’s administration was launched, the media was buzzing about who would become the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs.

And when Woo Young-shik was appointed to that position, people nodded in agreement.

The reason why the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs held so much power was due to the special authority to oversee the investigative agencies.

The Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs was given the authority to oversee the main investigative agencies such as the Prosecutors’ Office, the police, the National Tax Service, and the Board of Audit.

If such a Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs was a spy passing on information to China, it would obviously lead to a major scandal.

‘No, before that, why would the President’s friend do such a thing?’

It was a move that I could not understand.

“How long will it take to find the evidence?”

“They say they can do it quickly if the Blue House helps. All they need to do is leak information and watch them.”

I shook my head.

President Yoon Chang-ho could not step up himself, so he had asked me to do it.

“That would put too much pressure on the Blue House.”

I was thinking of meeting them separately, but even that information could be leaked to China.

“Let’s just arrest all three of them.”

“Are you sure? They’re senior secretaries of the Blue House. It could cause problems later.”

“I know. But it’s difficult to catch them using normal methods. Sometimes, it’s best to use a simple approach. If they aren’t the spies, we can compensate them accordingly. Arrest them all.”

“Understood.”

Sometimes, simplicity was better.

“Check their schedules and bring them all at once. The location will be…”

I thought of the warehouse in Incheon, but quickly shook my head.

I couldn’t bring the senior secretaries to such a place, unless they were all spies.

“Let’s use the villa in Gyeonggi Province.”

“I understand.”

After Manager Ma left, I buried myself deep in the sofa and muttered to myself.

“So, you want to try me huh?”

If they attacked me, I would return it two or three times over.