Chapter 55: Ominous Whispers and Calculated Moves

“Good grief, that stubborn old mule. Doesn’t change a bit even with age.”

Chairman Jin clicked his tongue, offering the makgeolli bowl. Song Hyun-chang received it with both hands, pouring the drink.

“Perhaps you asked to meet because you’re planning to lend me some money?”

“Where would I get money? I spent it all buying steel bars. I’m broke.”

“In that case, it seems I’ll be paying for the drinks today.”

“Wouldn’t a broke man with no debt be better off than someone drowning in it? I’ll pay today.”

After exchanging lighthearted banter for a while, Chairman Jin cut to the chase.

“Bankruptcy is inevitable. From what I’ve gathered, the prevailing opinion is to settle things before the presidential election.”

“Daehyun Group is truly formidable. I couldn’t find a single crack in their network, it’s that solid.”

What major company didn’t have connections in politics? But Chairman Song’s efforts only led to frustration. He only confirmed how weak Ajin Group’s connections were, finding no real help.

“Wasted effort, indeed. Everyone Chairman Song met has bought houses and put their kids through school with Daehyun’s money. But my network is a bit finer, more resilient.”

His words carried a hint of something more. Chairman Song Hyun-chang’s gaze sharpened.

“Please, say what’s on your mind.”

“Since bankruptcy is inevitable… how about declaring it sooner rather than later and making a fresh start?”

This “fresh start” wasn’t the kind ordinary people imagined. Not the diligent kind of paying off debts step by step, but a shortcut to wipe the slate clean.

Song Hyun-chang’s mind raced.

“Chairman Joo of Daehyun must have already drawn up the plans, right? Get some debt relief, sell off a few Ajin Group subsidiaries… and after most of the stock is either incinerated or devalued, Daehyun will inject funds and swallow Ajin whole.”

“Speaking from experience? You know it well.”

“Because it’s the plan I laid out myself six years ago. Chairman Joo of Daehyun is just putting that six-year-old plan into action now.”

“That plan failed, didn’t it? I can rest easy then.”

“You can’t count on luck twice. This time, there will only be a domino effect of major company bankruptcies. There’s no corruption scandal significant enough to shake the government, is there? The odds of success are much higher.”

“Chairman, you’ll be paying for the makgeolli. It feels a bit unfair for me, about to be buried in debt, to pay.”

He had already resigned himself to his fate to some extent, but Chairman Jin’s matter-of-fact tone made his heart sink further. However, Chairman Jin’s next words made his eyes widen.

“Song Chairman will pay. Because I’ll ensure you keep your position as chairman.”

This wasn’t someone who’d make empty promises for comfort. Every word from his mouth carried the weight to shake the business world.

“You’re the one who said you were broke.”

“Is only my money, money? Money has no name tag.”

After a moment of staring at Chairman Jin, Chairman Song Hyun-chang called out to the kitchen.

“Okcheon Madam! Another pajeon and some more makgeolli, please.”

The pajeon restaurant owner placed the makgeolli and pajeon on the table and stepped back. Chairman Song then poured the makgeolli from Chairman Jin’s bowl onto the floor.

“A fresh cup, please.”

Chairman Jin chuckled, offering his bowl.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Just declare bankruptcy.”

Chairman Song bit his lip, wanting to hear about the situation after bankruptcy.

“And then?”

“Chairman Joo Young-il has already made moves, so the creditor banks will whisper about saving you if you come up with a restructuring plan. Cooperate fully. Sell off everything except eight subsidiaries. I’ll even look for buyers for the ones worth selling.”

“And then?”

“A bidding war will begin.”

“Daehyun will be the only one submitting a letter of intent.”

“That letter of intent will have conditions attached. Debt relief. Stock incineration or a reverse stock split.”

“Likely.”

“What’s the harm? Chairman Song, the debt you recklessly incurred will be covered by the people’s taxes, and the stock devaluation will affect the small investors and the union members who hold shares.”

So far, so good.

Scrape away the mold and inject nutrients to change the constitution. All with the people’s taxes!

“And you’re saying I should hand it over to Daehyun?”

Chairman Song’s lips trembled as he asked.

“Daehyun might take it, or an unexpected third party might.”

“Is that third party Soonyang?”

“I told you, I’m broke. There’s someone else jumping into the fray. You know them, right? Miracle Investment, a foreign capital firm.”

“Miracle? Could it be the one that submitted a business card during the Hando Steel bid… ?”

“Yes, that’s them.”

Chairman Jin raised his makgeolli glass and downed it.

“Don’t get any strange ideas. I have absolutely no connection to them. It’s a completely American investment firm, and their president was a classmate of my youngest son when he studied abroad. That’s why they asked me to relay the message.”

Song Hyun-chang shook his head slightly.

“Chairman, you as a messenger relaying someone else’s words? Who would believe that….”

“Believe it. I’m desperate to save the automobile business too.”

“Pardon?”

“If Daehyun Automobile acquires Ajin Automobile, Soonyang Motors will have to withdraw. They’ll be crushed.”

Song Hyun-chang still looked doubtful.

“Check it out. Miracle Investment has been around for almost ten years. It’s impossible that I foresaw this situation and prepared for it back then. And why would I bother with a proxy? If I had the money, wouldn’t I jump into the bidding war myself?”

“Alright. So, what does this Miracle want?”

“What do moneylenders want? To acquire Ajin with little capital, nurture it, and sell it for a hefty profit.”

“And they’ll guarantee my position as chairman?”

“There’s no one else capable of managing it anyway.”

Song Hyun-chang took a long swig of his makgeolli.

“It won’t be for long, though.”

“Salaried presidents have to retire. Even the president’s term is only five years.”

“So, you’re implying I’ll be guaranteed five years?”

“Perhaps.”

“And after five years, when Miracle sells its shares, you might acquire the company, Chairman?”

“Goodness, how long do I have to live? Five years from now? I won’t even care.”

Chairman Jin put a piece of pajeon in his mouth and set down his chopsticks.

“Miracle already holds some shares. They’ll likely call for an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. If you accept their proposal, the meeting should proceed smoothly, right?”

Having said all he wanted, he stood up.

“Chairman Song, may I say one more thing?”

“Please do.”

Chairman Song Hyun-chang also awkwardly rose from his seat.

“This place’s makgeolli isn’t great. The pajeon is passable. I guess it tasted better because we were hungry after hiking.”

A spark ignited in Chairman Song’s eyes.

“Indeed. When you’re hungry, anything tastes good.”

“You understand. Haha.”

It was as good as an answer. Chairman Song Hyun-chang, the person most affected, would know best that now wasn’t the time to be picky.

“Daehyun’s full-scale offensive will begin. They’ll portray you as an incompetent and greedy old man, and they’ll summon you. They’ll pressure the prosecution to put you in the photo zone in front of the Prosecutor’s Office.”

“Is that part of the plan you created, Chairman?”

“If the public is outraged and the company goes bankrupt, there’s no room for sympathy. At that point, Daehyun, disguised as an expert savior, can step in without opposition.”

Chairman Jin chuckled and nodded.

“I’ll handle the prosecution, so don’t worry… However, there will be some articles.”

Tarnishing Song Hyun-chang’s personal image would hinder his grandson’s plan to keep him as chairman; it was by no means an act of goodwill driven by concern for Chairman Song.

Song Hyun-chang gave a slight nod and opened his mouth.

“Halt the request for an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting. It will only make Daehyun more wary. You’re planning to request an audit at the general meeting, aren’t you? We’ll open the company’s internal affairs enough to make that unnecessary. Provide them with enough information to win the bid.”

“Understood. Haha.”

Chairman Jin let out a satisfied laugh and left the restaurant.

Without paying the bill…

* * *

Under the guise of an emergency audit, dozens of experts occupied Ajin Group’s main conference room.

They discovered billions of won in loans funneled to shell companies and lying dormant in the stock market. They also found evidence of purchasing more than three times the number of work gloves than the number of workers in the automobile factory.

Ajin Construction, which had nothing to do with automobiles, was essentially a slush fund.

The accounting experts dispatched from Miracle Investment shook their heads at the accountants from Soonyang Group’s audit team.

They found billions in slush funds from a single number and uncovered corruption within the factory from a single car part.

They also discovered a case of corruption that left everyone speechless.

The company supplying 7mm hexagonal bolts was regularly bribing assembly line workers, not managers, and the workers were forcing the 7mm bolts into the cars instead of the 6mm ones supplied by other vendors.

This incident was the cause of the massive recall three years prior.

“But… how do you know all this so well? Are you from the Financial Investigation Department of the Prosecutor’s Office?”

“Aren’t you all educated abroad?”

“Indeed.”

When the Miracle accountant asked out of curiosity, the Soonyang Group audit team employees burst into laughter. It was a clear mockery.

“Ajin’s guys are amateurs. Their methods are crude, not sophisticated.”

“This level is just child’s play in Korea. Amazing, isn’t it? That Korea, rife with this kind of corruption, has developed so rapidly?”

“Bribery and embezzlement, that’s the driving force behind economic development. Hahaha.”

As every last ten-won coin hidden by Ajin Automobile was brought to light, Daehyun Group held a series of emergency meetings.

“The prosecution? Why are those bastards so quiet?”

“They say it’s difficult to issue a summons based on circumstantial evidence alone.”

“It’s a witness summons! How hard can it be?”

“Well… since he’s a fairly significant figure, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office has instructed them to be cautious….”

“Significant, my ass… Then what about the media? Why is their coverage so weak? Didn’t I tell them to hit it hard like a celebrity drug scandal?”

As Chairman Joo Young-il’s voice grew louder, the voices of the meeting attendees grew softer.

“Ch-Chairman. It seems someone is protecting Ajin. Every newspaper is reporting it, but with a somewhat hesitant tone….”

“That’s right. You know Hanseong Ilbo’s influence is the greatest….”

“So? Didn’t we give Hanseong Ilbo advertisements? Didn’t I tell them to plaster the paper with our corporate ads?”

“We did. But… not a single line has been published.”

“What’s going on? Is the rumor about them marrying into the Soonyang family true?”

“It seems so. If we absorb Ajin Automobile, the biggest blow will be to Soonyang.”

“Damn it! Why at this timing! Chairman Jin too. Selling off his grandson to make him a mouthpiece?”

No one spoke. Wasn’t Chairman Joo himself in a marriage alliance with the owner of a media company?

Then again, considering it’s customary for grandsons far down the succession line to be sold off to media companies, Soonyang was going too far.

Wasn’t he the eldest grandson?

As Chairman Joo’s heavy breathing subsided, the president of Daehyun Automobile cautiously gauged the atmosphere.

“Chairman. The tide has already turned. Our main bank will make a decision next week.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Even the Myeong-dong loan sharks have turned their backs, so the possibility of securing emergency funds is zero.”

Just as the president of Daehyun Automobile asserted, Ajin Automobile became subject to the ‘Bankruptcy Moratorium Agreement,’ a financial institution agreement enacted by the government on April 21, 1997, to prevent a chain reaction of bankruptcies of insolvent companies.

To become eligible for the agreement, Ajin Automobile submitted a letter of abandonment of management rights, a union consent form regarding wage and personnel cuts, and a consent form for the dispatch of a funds management team.

Now, during the two-month bankruptcy moratorium period, Ajin Automobile began the process of secretly siphoning off hidden slush funds.

The people secretly directing this operation were none other than Ajin’s Chairman Song Hyun-chang, Miracle’s Oh Se-hyun, and Soonyang’s Chairman Jin Yang-cheol.