Chapter 120: Mayor Choi’s Bombshell

The briefing room at Seoul City Hall was overflowing with cameras and reporters.

Rumors had already spread like wildfire: the Seoul mayor was about to make a significant announcement, something unbelievably shocking.

While reporters buzzed with exchanged information, Mayor Choi Chang-je, his face set in a grim expression, walked onto the podium carrying a few pages of notes.

As camera flashes erupted, Mayor Choi adjusted the microphone and began to speak.

“Today, I stand before the citizens of Seoul and the nation with a heart full of apology. Even if I was unaware, I sincerely apologize once again for my family’s involvement in this disgraceful affair.”

He stepped to the side and bowed deeply.

The reporters were certain today’s briefing was a major scoop. Mayor Choi’s family was just a modest law firm, but his in-laws were none other than the Soonyang Group. If Mayor Choi was holding a press conference, it had to be about the Soonyang Group.

“A few days ago, in an effort to curb excessive real estate speculation, I announced revised plans right here. Since then, we’ve received numerous tips alleging illegal circumstances in the real estate acquisition process, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government has forwarded all related materials to the prosecution.”

Mayor Choi adopted a more solemn expression as he faced the cameras.

“However, until now, there has been no indication that the prosecution has launched an investigation. Instead, suspicious individuals have reportedly flocked to Susaek-dong, demanding the deletion of transaction records. How can this be? The prosecution, standing idly by, destroying evidence….”

His voice trailed off as he lowered his head, causing a stir among the reporters. After a moment of silence, Mayor Choi raised his head.

“The ‘family’ I mentioned at the beginning refers to two entities: the prosecution, where I began my public service, and my in-laws, the Soonyang Group. My in-laws are the ones who instigated the real estate speculation, and the prosecution is the one that condoned it, knowing full well what was happening. As the Mayor of Seoul, I can no longer stand idly by. Therefore, I urge the National Assembly: if the prosecution won’t act, the National Assembly must.”

The reporters’ expressions darkened, and murmurs filled the room.

“What? Why is the National Assembly involved here?”

“Is he calling for a special prosecutor? For real estate speculation? Isn’t that overkill?”

“He’s getting ahead of the curve, trying to avoid any suspicion that he leaked the information himself.”

“He’s drawing a line. He wants to show that he and the Soonyang Group are separate entities.”

“Damn it, we’re just playing a supporting role in Mayor Choi’s show.”

“But it’s a story, isn’t it? The Soonyang Group and the prosecution, there’s clearly something there. Let’s play along. Heh.”

Having witnessed the reporters’ lukewarm reaction, Mayor Choi quickly concluded the press conference. His message had been delivered sufficiently, and he was satisfied.

* * *

“That bastard has lost his mind…!”

Watching the TV, Vice-chairman Jin Young-ki immediately pulled out his phone. But the call wasn’t for Mayor Choi.

“Seo-yun, you come to the company right now.”

—Oppa, why are you being so abrupt? I’m busy too. Can’t we just talk on the phone?

“Do you even know what that Choi in-law of yours has done?”

—Watch your words. What do you mean, ‘that in-law’? He’s your brother-in-law.

“Shut up! Did you put him up to this? Huh? Ruining my son wasn’t enough; you had to drag it out and make it a bigger deal? Can you handle the consequences?”

—What is this? So childish. Are you threatening me now?

His younger sister’s sharp voice pierced his ear.

“Threatening? No. I’m warning you. Stop here. If you take one more step, your husband won’t be safe either.”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-ki hung up the phone abruptly and dialed another number.

“It’s me. About today’s Seoul mayor story… make sure there are no follow-up reports. Make it clear that if it’s not a one-off article, they’ll be at odds with Soonyang.”

With countless incidents happening every day, what was one Seoul mayor’s press conference? In a couple of days, it would be a forgotten event from the past.

Just one more call would extinguish the immediate fire. But it seemed the other party was more anxious. Jin Young-ki’s phone was ringing.

“Ah, Chief Prosecutor.”

—Vice-chairman. What’s with Mayor Choi’s press conference today? My people were stunned when they saw it….

“Don’t worry about it. He’s just trying to get some media attention. That’s how politicians are.”

—It’s a bit difficult to ignore. The Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs just contacted me. This involves a project related to the government’s initiative to become a cultural powerhouse, and any controversy would be problematic. They want it resolved cleanly, without even a hint of suspicion.

Jin Young-ki’s face tightened as he held the phone. Things were escalating. All the way to the Blue House….

“Honestly, why is everyone making such a fuss? It’s just buying some land! And we didn’t even make a profit; we incurred massive losses. Let’s keep things reasonable.”

—Vice-chairman, please consider our position….

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll talk to the Blue House, so just wait a little longer.”

After ending the call, Jin Young-ki finally sensed the gravity of the situation.

The Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs….

His usual influence was failing, and he had to go through multiple intermediaries instead of direct contact. This was especially true after the change in administration.

His father could get through in an instant, but he absolutely couldn’t run to his father about this. Things would truly blow up. In a bad way.

* * *

“Well done. Now you’re selling out your own nephew?”

His grandfather didn’t look angry. He just stared at his aunt with a look of disappointment.

“Father, I had no choice this time. Young-jun bought tens of thousands of square meters of land. If this gets out, my husband will be in danger. He’ll be suspected of insider trading using leaked development plans. This is grounds for a hearing, a special investigation. Do you know how many people are after him?”

His aunt vehemently defended her actions with reasonable justifications, but his grandfather’s expression remained unchanged.

“That’s not it. You lured Young-jun into buying the land, and Choi in-law used that to pretend to be a righteous mayor, didn’t he?”

“Father!”

“Enough. You’re just as foolish. Choi in-law fooled you too. Don’t you realize his target isn’t Young-jun but the prosecution?”

I didn’t know either, not until my uncle-in-law held the press conference.

I never imagined he’d drag the prosecution into it…. He was a much more devious man than I thought.

“Then what do we do? To liquidate everything before development starts, we need a guarantee that the prosecution’s investigation will be closed.”

“Still siding with your husband…. Tsk, tsk.”

Looking at his aunt biting her lip, I understood. She was also feeling the sting of her husband’s betrayal.

“And you, Do-jun!”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“I think I misjudged you.”

Since I didn’t know his true intentions, I had to play along, dance to his tune.

I bowed my head deeply.

“So you think knowing some trivial information beforehand is something to brag about? Important information should never be disclosed, even to your parents. What do you gain from showing off like that!”

“I apologize.”

After his outburst, his grandfather turned back to his aunt.

“Choi in-law has provoked the prosecution, so they won’t stand idly by. And your brother will be out for blood too…. You should have handled something you could manage.”

His aunt’s expression was grim.

She should have stopped at reporting Jin Young-jun. Inflicting some damage on the eldest grandson was enough to distance herself from the Soonyang name.

His aunt hadn’t anticipated things would escalate this far, so she was likely in a bind.

His aunt glanced at his grandfather, then let out a short sigh. His grandfather was pointedly avoiding her gaze.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen my grown children fight. You fighting amongst yourselves is none of my concern, but if it causes even the slightest harm to the company, I’ll make sure whoever’s responsible regrets the day they were born. Remember that.”

At his grandfather’s stern gaze, his aunt quietly stood up. I also started to rise, but had to sit back down.

“Do-jun, you stay!”

His aunt, leaving the study, gave me a pleading look.

It was a plea to resolve the situation.

“What were you trying to do?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why did you provoke the prosecution?”

“Ah, no, that’s not it.”

Oh no, he misunderstood. He clearly thought I orchestrated this to screw over both sides.

“I just advised my uncle-in-law on how to distance himself from the ‘Soonyang’s son-in-law’ label, suggesting a level of minor scandal.”

“And that involved Young-jun?”

“Yes. If they had just excluded the Susaek district in Eunpyeong-gu from development, it would have been over… I never expected him to attack the prosecution.”

“Is that so? Now you don’t even try to hide it from me.”

His grandfather seemed incredulous, even letting out a soft chuckle.

“Don’t you see through everything? Why would I hide it?”

It was right to be confident in this situation. If I tried to hide my involvement, he’d be disappointed.

People close to each other shouldn’t have secrets.

“So? What are you planning to do now?”

“Is there any room for me to intervene? They’ll handle it themselves. Whether they fight like dogs or shake hands and make up.”

His grandfather’s gaze changed. It was a subtle shift, but definitely a look of disappointment.

“You think you have your uncle-in-law in the palm of your hand, don’t you? Because you have a contract for 40 billion won in election funds.”

“It’s not quite like that. It’s more like insurance.”

“Whatever it is, you thought you had the reins, so there wouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“To some extent, yes.”

“Too bad. The foal you thought you had on a leash is likely to die before it even grows up. Heh heh.”

It wasn’t a joyful laugh. It was a sneer.

Wait… die? Could Grandfather be making a preemptive move?

“G-Grandfather. What are you talking about? Please explain it so I can understand….”

For the first time, I started to grovel. I needed to nurture my uncle-in-law into a useful stallion, but if Grandfather interfered, it would be impossible.

“There’s something your uncle-in-law has taken too lightly.”

“The prosecution? Did he underestimate them because he’s from that background?”

“No. It’s his in-laws.”

“Excuse me? His in-laws…?”

“Young-jun’s wife’s family. Your cousin’s in-laws.”

“Ah…!”

I’d forgotten. Hanseong Ilbo, arguably Korea’s media conglomerate, was Hong So-young’s family’s business.

“Rumor has it your cousin’s wife is quite upset, and her family has poured all their available funds into that land. Their losses will be significant. And your uncle-in-law is the one who caused it.”

Oh, shoot!

I hadn’t considered it. If the leading media outlet started relentlessly attacking the Seoul mayor for four years, he’d be in dire straits, just as Grandfather said.

He’d have no chance at the presidency, and even running for re-election as mayor would be a lost cause.

“What media companies fear most are corporations like us. We control their purse strings.”

“But the one place they absolutely can’t afford to lose to is politics.”

“Exactly. It’s the only place they can truly exert their power. Media outlets fear politicians, so corporations give them advertisements. If word gets out that Hanseong Ilbo was played by the Seoul mayor? They’ll be branded as a weak newspaper. What a disgrace that would be?”

His grandfather stared at my distressed face before bursting into laughter.

“Hahaha. Oh, my youngest grandson. You thought you were so clever, but you got played hard. What are you going to do now? You tried to use your uncle-in-law as a horse, and now you’re going to lose money. Haha.”

I couldn’t even hear his grandfather’s mocking words.

If Hanseong Ilbo decided to tear apart Media City, there was no telling how public opinion would shift.

Judging by his expression, Grandfather was clearly planning to sit back and watch the fireworks….

I needed to come up with a plan quickly.