บท 88: CH86
Lecture hall at Korea University's Department of Business Administration.
As it was a major subject, most students were focused on the lecture. However, some students who were not very interested in grades were slouching in the back, browsing social media on their phones or searching for articles.
"When it comes to corporate management and ethical issues of executives…"
In the midst of the lecture, a male student suddenly screamed out, "Oh!"
Professor Kim Myoung-jun, who was writing on the board, looked at the student. "What's wrong?"
"The, they're holding a press conference at OTK Company right now…"
"And?"
"Jin Jin-hoo, a senior, is coming out."
"What?"
What is going on here?
Other students also exclaimed in unison.
"It's true!"
"It's Senior Jin-hoo!"
At those words, students, including Professor Kim Myoung-jun, hurriedly took out their phones from their pockets. The press conference was being broadcast live through some channels and YouTubers.
"Why is Senior Jin-hoo holding a press conference?"
"What's the connection with OTK Company?"
Every word of Kang Jin-hoo became an instant news headline.
"Search of K Company, for political purposes?"
"Allegations of illegal surveillance against K Company"
"Another scandal of illegal surveillance resurfaces"
"Male and female suspected NIS employees in the photo"
Kang Jin-hoo then claimed that the person being investigated and detained by the prosecution was not the CEO of OTK Company.
What he said next was a shock in itself.
"Senior is the CEO of OTK Company?"
"Unbelievable!"
The senior I went to school with last semester turned out to be the CEO of OTK Company!
The classroom was in shock. However, only one person among those present remained unfazed.
Yuri gazed out the window, thinking back to their meeting yesterday.
There, Kang Jin-hoo told her how he and his friends started OTK Company, and how they invested and expanded their capital.
In fact, she had suspected something beforehand. She thought there must be a deep connection with K Company when he raised $5 million at the start-of-term party. However, she never imagined that K Company was a subsidiary of OTK Company and that Kang Jin-hoo was its CEO.
Smiling at her surprise, he apologized for hiding it all this time. He wanted to tell her before she found out from the news.
"I didn't want to hear that," she thought to herself and sighed.
***
All classes at Korea University were temporarily suspended. Exclamations and gasps were heard everywhere.
Kim Min-young and Min Kyeongil, who were in a different classroom, were engulfed in shock.
"Kang Jin-hoo as the CEO?"
"Is this even possible?"
"How much wealth does he have?"
"About 20 trillion? 30 trillion?"
"Then, isn't Jin-hoo the richest person in our country?"
"Wow! I can't believe it."
Seon-ah bit her lip while watching the news.
There was an unexpected encounter at school during the break between them. She felt something had changed then, but didn't pay much attention to it.
What happened in his life that she didn't know about?
"Why didn't you tell me anything?" she wondered.
If she had known in advance…
***
Blue House residence.
President Park Si-hyeong watched TV. While the three major broadcasting companies only provided photo materials instead of live coverage, foreign press and specialized channels broadcasted live.
The press conference was beyond imagination.
In this world, there are neither eternal allies nor eternal enemies. Whether it's running a business or politics, revealing the government's mistakes while gathering the press meant making enemies for eternity.
'Could they really do something so foolish…'
Shouldn't it just move from discussing unfairness to passing judgment?
However, contrary to expectations, Kang Jin-hoo, who appeared in person at the press conference venue, exposed the mistakes of the National Intelligence Service and the prosecution.
He went beyond raising suspicions to presenting evidence. It meant he had been preparing to confront the government from the beginning.
Illegal surveillance involving the National Intelligence Service, politically motivated searches and seizures, investigations leading to arrests, and so on.
Park Si-hyeong was livid.
"This is insane…"
He was clearly the one who had drawn the first blade. However, it was not with the intention of turning the other into an enemy.
Initially, he intended to overlook a few things at the government level, and after the U.S. presidential election, establish a friendly relationship.
Isn't it true that what's good is good, and perhaps PAS could supply to Chrysler later?
'What on earth went wrong?'
Looking closely, everything turned out differently than expected.
The company K was the first problem after the seizure.
Whether it was a conglomerate or a politician, once investigated, everything comes to light. As a politician from a business background, Park Si-hyeong knew this better than anyone.
However, even after the seizure, nothing came out about Company K. In the case of a typical corporation, there is embezzlement and malpractice to some extent. Nevertheless, in K's ownership structure, Park Sang-yeop held 2%, and OTK Company held 98%. Unlike investment companies attracting money from the public, K did not receive any external investments.
With no other shareholders, and operating solely on its equity, it was structurally difficult for embezzlement and malpractice to occur in the first place.
Even more surprising was that they promptly paid taxes on realized profits and provided flawless evidence for cost management, making it difficult to find any loopholes.
The biggest mistake was capturing Oh Taekgyu. Even when the CEO was captured, K Company did not show any particular movement except for salvaging the company. Park Si-hyeong interpreted that as having no intention to challenge the regime, but that was completely wrong.
While Oh Taekgyu was under investigation, they swiftly dealt with all investment plans, and as soon as everything was done, they launched a counterattack.
Kang Jinhoo revealed himself as the CEO of OTK Company. He was smiling and gazing at the camera.
Park Si-hyeong could tell that gaze was directed at him.
"Are you going to see it through to the end?"
Just like when the surveillance issue came to light, it would have been good if North Korea conducted a nuclear test, but unfortunately, North Korea has been quiet recently.
For now, the scandal had to be buried.
Dealing with the media was his specialty.
Park Si-hyeong contacted the presidential spokesperson Lee Se-yeon.
"Immediately request cooperation from each media outlet."
Park Si-hyeong knew well how burdensome an unyielding media could be for regime operations.
Therefore, from the beginning of his administration, he focused on controlling the media.
He maintained close relationships with conservative newspapers, dismissed the presidents of the three remaining broadcasting stations, and placed his confidants in those positions.
The new executives collectively canceled current affairs programs and reduced the role of the newsroom. Journalists who opposed were all reassigned elsewhere.
Reporters and producers who were active until yesterday were demoted to roles like skating rink managers and building caretakers.
Jin Ye-jun was the PD of MBS's flagship current affairs program PD Note. When the new president, Kim Cheoljae, decided to cancel PD Note, he declared a strike, demanding media normalization and the resignation of President Kim Cheoljae.
The price he paid was severe.
His desk was immediately removed, and access to the editing room was prohibited. MBS blamed him for leading an illegal strike and dismissed him.
"F**k this, damn it!"
Jin Ye-jun shouted and stormed out of MBS. But he had no intention of backing down.
He gathered dismissed journalists from MBS, KBC, and SBC to found an internet news outlet called News Breakthrough, where he meticulously exposed the truth about Park Si-hyeong's media control under this regime.
He conducted investigative reporting on issues that the authorities wanted to hide. Even with all their power, it is difficult for them to directly intervene in online media.
Instead, they manipulate conservative groups from behind the scenes to file lawsuits and harass them. Jin Ye-jun did not flinch. Despite being summoned for questioning by the prosecution every day, he tirelessly uncovered the corruption of the Park Si-hyeong regime.
However, unless it was in the mainstream media, there were limits to his influence. No matter how big a story he broke, if broadcasting and newspapers covered up with other events, that was the end of it.
From the government's perspective, even though it might be troublesome, were they not a threatening presence? The Newsbreak office on Chungjeong-ro in Seoul was unusually quiet today.
Jo Woo-jin, the most senior reporter at Newsbreak, received a delivery of black bean noodles and sat in front of the TV.
Jin Ye-jun emerged from the editing room wearing slippers and asked Jo Woo-jin, "Where did everyone go?"
"They went to the OTK Company press conference venue," Jo Woo-jin replied.
Internet media reporters are rarely invited to press conferences; they usually sneak in among other journalists for coverage.
For some reason, the OTK Company sent an email, allowing Newsbreak reporters to confidently join the coverage.
"Why didn't you go?" Jo Woo-jin asked while eating noodles.
"You should allow younger colleagues to grow into excellent journalists like me," Jin Ye-jun replied.
"Ha, you talk too much."
"Just eat your noodles."
As they watched a live broadcast on cable news, a young man in his twenties who appeared to be a college student spoke out against the unfairness of the K Company's search and talked about the illegal surveillance by the National Intelligence Service.
Suddenly, an email alert rang.
Jo Woo-jin quickly checked his tablet and found hundreds of photos.
"Wow! Investigating those who spied on us."
Jin Ye-jun looked through the pictures, shaking his head.
"These people are completely crazy."
"Yeah, let's just stand up to them."
When Kang Jin-hoo revealed himself as the CEO of OTK Company, Jin Ye-jun burst into laughter instead of finishing his black bean noodle dish.
"Haha! What a scoundrel!"
Bits of food got scattered in all directions.
Jo Woo-jin exclaimed, "Oh! Truly disgusting."
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Thud thud!
"It's a quick service delivery!"
Jo Woo-jin signed the document handed by the delivery person and accepted the box.
"Who sent this?"
"It's not written."
Jin Ye-jun waved his hand dismissively. "It could be a bomb sent from the Blue House, so open it outside."
"No, if we're going to die, we'll die together."
Jo Woo-jin immediately opened the box. Fortunately, instead of a bomb, it contained a stack of documents and a USB.
As they examined the documents, they were surprised.
"W-what is this?"
"It's information about PAS."
There had always been suspicions and speculations about the relationship between President Park Si-hyeong and PAS. Jo Woo-jin had been investigating the issue for a long time but hadn't found decisive evidence.
"Who could have made this?"
Unknown to them, leveraging the information power of the world's largest IB, Golden Gate, the data was collected, and Oh Hyung-joo stayed up all night to compile it.
Although they didn't uncover the ownership structure, the documents revealed numerous pieces of evidence showing how the Blue House intervened in PAS's interests. Even the Foreign Ministry assisted in PAS' overseas expansion, and the NIS helped in the acquisition of subcontractors.
If a company's CEO moved the company for personal gain, it would be considered embezzlement. Similarly, if the president used his power for a specific company, it would be a betrayal of the people's trust.
By releasing this, Park Si-hyeong will suffer a fatal blow.
Jin Ye-jun and Jo Woo-jin looked at each other.
"Do you have an idea of who it might be?"
"I have a guess." The two immediately turned their gaze to the TV. There, they saw Kang Jin-hoo's face finishing a press conference and heading to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.
"If we expose this, won't we all be caught?"
In response to Jo Woo-jin's words, Jin Ye-jun burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Then it's settled. I should order a wheelchair."
"Why is that?"
"When the owner of a media company gets caught by the prosecutors, they ride in a wheelchair."
The opportunity to strike a blow has arrived. If they expose this, what expression will President Park Si-hyeong make?
Just the thought of it made their enthusiasm soar.
"Let's get to work!"
***
The prosecution has been completely turned upside down.
Through a press conference, it was revealed that the prosecution had been wrongfully arresting and investigating individuals based on the government's convenience. Kang Jin-hoo walked into the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office with documents confirming his CEO position, accompanied by numerous reporters trailing behind.
What would be the point of arresting Kang Jin-hoo at this point?
However, the prosecution had already announced significant allegations against the OTK Company CEO that warranted his arrest and investigation. It would be beyond their capacity to now admit to holding innocent people for political purposes. As seen in numerous retrial cases, the prosecution is an organization that never admits to wrongdoing.
Ultimately, the prosecution decided to arrest Kang Jin-hoo and release Oh Taek-gyu without detention. Oh Taek-gyu, although not entirely free of suspicions, was transitioned to non-detained status as there were no concerns about fleeing or destroying evidence.
The journalists bombarded them with questions:
"You arrested the wrong person, shouldn't apologizing come first?"
"Who is taking responsibility?"
"Who issued the orders?"
"Are you admitting to political motives?"
"Did the Blue House give instructions?"
The prosecution spokesperson remained silent, entering without giving any answers, while staff escorted the journalists out.
Veteran journalists who had long frequented the prosecution's premises could intuitively sense that this incident could escalate into the worst scandal of the Park Si-hyeong administration.
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