Chapter 183: Drawing the Sword (4)

Lim Do-hyun half-rose from his seat and greeted him.

"Chairman, have you arrived?"

"It is okay. Sit comfortably."

Director Shin Jung-woo took the outer garment before Chairman Nam slowly sat on the sofa.

"Is it bearable to stay here?"

"The scenery is good. Thanks to you, I am doing well. Thank you."

A faint smile appeared at the corners of Nam Kun-ho's mouth.

"Do not worry about the area around President Lim's villa. This place is top secret even within our company as to who is here. It seems Taeseong still has not found your whereabouts."

At that question, Lim Do-hyun's pupils shone.

"It will be difficult to find easily."

He slightly turned the tablet screen and showed it to Chairman Nam Kun-ho.

[Lim Do-hyun Vanished. Where is the Taeseong Aftermath Heading!]

Seeing the title, Nam Kun-ho gave a snort.

"Yes. Chairman Lim Man-seok must be in a real bind. Hahaha."

The laughter of the two people spread throughout the quiet villa.

The world clamored that Lim Do-hyun had disappeared, but he was actually preparing the next board in a place safer than anyone else.

It was the morning of exactly the seventh day since Lim Do-hyun went into hiding.

An hour before the stock market opens.

The captions at the bottom of the morning news suddenly changed.

[<Breaking News> Taeseong Group Chairman Lim Man-seok, Suspicions of Borrowed-name Accounts worth Hundreds of Billions]

The anchor turned a page of the manuscript he was holding, and his voice sank.

"This is breaking news that just came in. Suspicions have been raised that Taeseong Group Chairman Lim Man-seok holds borrowed-name accounts worth hundreds of billions of won. According to internal documents obtained by our reporting team, it seems Chairman Lim has managed stakes in the holding company and major subsidiaries through accounts under the names of close associates or relatives for a long time."

The screen switched, and captions summarizing the suspicions related to Chairman Lim Man-seok appeared.

[Suspicions of Borrowed-names for Chairman Lim Man-seok]

–Dozens of accounts under the names of drivers, secretaries, and relatives.

–Circumstances of holding distributed stakes in Taeseong Holdings, Taeseong Electronics, Taeseong Construction, etc.

–Possibility of avoiding inheritance and gift taxes and violating disclosure obligations.

The anchor took a breath for a moment and continued.

"In particular, if we look closely at this document, it was confirmed that the phrase 'The actual voting rights belong entirely to Chairman Lim' is included, along with detailed records of the number of shares held by each account. Regarding this, the financial authorities have stated they are reviewing the truth and have not released an official position."

It was then.

Similar captions appeared simultaneously on other broadcasting stations.

[Internal Leak of 'Borrowed-name Stake List' of Taeseong Chairman Lim Man-seok. Financial Authorities Watching Closely]

[Actual Control is much higher than Disclosed. Controversy over Taeseong's Governance Structure]

[National Tax Service. Reviewing Start of Tax Audit on Taeseong Group]

As the channels were turned, similar titles poured out.

As if they had been waiting for this day, they were pouring out all at once as if prepared.

On a stock-specialized broadcast, a reporter spoke in a calm voice just before the market opened.

"Today's stock market is expected to see a large mixed trend in Taeseong-related stocks. According to what has been grasped so far, many accounts in the names of third parties, not Chairman Lim's name, appear in the document in question, and it is reported that the holding company's stake becomes significantly higher than disclosed if these accounts are summed up. If this content is confirmed as true, it is expected that the impact on the market will not be small as it could lead to financial authority sanctions, as well as National Tax Service additional collections and voting right restriction measures."

Tension hung in the studio.

And with the sound announcing the opening, Taeseong-related stocks began to fluctuate.

Instead of red, dark blue bars were stuck in a row on the chart screen.

[Taeseong Holdings -8.9%]

[Taeseong Electronics -4.7%]

[Taeseong Construction -7.3%]

:

It was not a common thing for large-cap stocks to be pushed back this much as soon as the market started.

Every time the asking price window fluctuated, the shareholders' hearts sank.

The stock specialized reporter continued while checking the monitor.

"As you can see, Taeseong-related stocks are showing a sharp decline at the same time as the opening. In particular, the drop in Taeseong Holdings, which acts as a holding company, and Taeseong Construction, which directly handled the Iraq project, is prominent. As both foreigners and institutions have turned to selling dominance, it seems difficult to exclude additional volatility during the market."

The studio atmosphere became heavy in an instant.

"Even now, related reports and inquiries continue to come in. The Taeseong Group's position so far is only a short explanation saying 'Confirming facts.' In the market, observations are coming out that if the suspicions of borrowed-name accounts are revealed to be true, it could lead to a review of the overall governance structure beyond simple image damage."

The stock charts were stained blue.

The drop figures next to the names of Taeseong subsidiaries blinked constantly.

And the fact that they were falling in real-time was also delivered to the Chief Secretary's office at the Taeseong Electronics headquarters.

Chairman's Chief Secretary's Office, Taeseong Electronics Headquarters.

The morning news was continuing to flow from the TV hanging on one wall.

Someone stood up while holding documents but froze after seeing the caption on the screen.

"Se-Section Chief... Did you see the news just now?"

The Section Chief of the Secretary's office raised his head.

A new caption was floating on the screen.

[Much higher than Disclosed Stake. Suspicions of Chairman Lim Man-seok's Governance Structure Spreading]

The color vanished from the Section Chief's face.

"...What is this?"

While he muttered, the phones on the desks began to ring at the same time.

"This is the Chief Secretary's office."

–This is the PR office! The broadcasting stations and economic newspapers are all asking for the Chairman's position. They are asking if the borrowed-name accounts are true!

Reports poured in from other sides as well.

"A call came from the FSS side. They ask for an answer during the morning as soon as the facts are grasped."

"An email came in from foreign media as well. They are requesting Taeseong governance structure data and the Chairman's position...."

The air inside the Chief Secretary's office noticeably stirred.

At that time, Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo entered.

He fixed his tie knot once, checked the TV screen for a moment, and said lowly.

"Let us organize the phones first."

The secretaries' gazes turned toward him at the same time.

"Answer everyone the same way to the outside. Currently, we are confirming the facts, and we will guide you collectively as soon as our official position is organized. Do not make any other comments. Speculation, personal opinions, and of course, jokes are all prohibited."

"Yes, Chief Secretary!"

Vigorous answers followed.

Kang Cheol-woo scanned the caption under the TV screen once more.

[All actual voting rights to the Chairman... internal document scandal]

It was exactly the form of the sentences he had organized according to the Chairman's instructions.

Veins bulged out on his clenched fist.

"...I am seeing this from the outside."

Words leaked out to himself.

At that moment, the cell phone he had put in his pocket vibrated.

[Chairman]

Kang Cheol-woo took the call immediately.

"Yes, Chairman. This is Kang Cheol-woo."

The driving noise unique to the inside of a car was heard.

–Did you see the news?

"Yes. Currently, we are organizing the situation in the Chief Secretary's office."

–I was going to stay home today... but seeing this state, I cannot sit still. I am on my way to the company.

The sign of catching his breath was heard for a moment.

–Cheol-woo, only a few people know this.

Kang Cheol-woo's gaze narrowed further.

"Yes, Chairman."

–You and Ju Yeong-gil... and me. Who could it be among us? Cheol-woo, did you do it?

"No, sir."

–Yes. Then there is only one answer.

Lim Man-seok's voice sank coldly.

–Find out immediately how it leaked. Especially Lawyer Ju, it would be good to check where he is today first.

"Understood. I will first grasp Lawyer Ju Yeong-gil's movement."

The call ended.

The noise inside the Chief Secretary's office began to enter his ears again.

Kang Cheol-woo put the cell phone in his pocket and thought of one person.

Ju Yeong-gil.

He was Chairman Lim Man-seok's legal representative, and he had organized the borrowed-name account and borrowed-name stake lists together.

Kang Cheol-woo spoke immediately toward the Section Chief of the Secretary's office.

"Check first if Lawyer Ju Yeong-gil came to work today. The law firm side as well."

The Section Chief hurriedly made calls.

Then he came back and reported.

"Chief Secretary, they say he did not show up even for the meeting scheduled for this morning. They say he is not taking his cell phone either."

"What about until yesterday?"

"They say there was no particular abnormality until before he left work yesterday... but they are also separately grasping his whereabouts over there."

Kang Cheol-woo's expression hardened.

"Fine. For now, leave that side to dig more over there. Please call Lawyer Ju's person-in-charge."

The Section Chief returned to his seat and turned his head to the youngest in the Secretary's office.

"Who is Lawyer Ju's person-in-charge?"

"Ah, yes. For Lawyer Ju Yeong-gil, it is Assistant Manager Kim Sa-kong."

"Contact him immediately and tell him to come up here. Tell him that Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo is looking for him."

"Yes, Section Chief."

After a while, cautious footsteps were heard toward the entrance of the Chief Secretary's office.

The door opened, and a young man in a neat suit entered with a tense expression.

On the employee ID hanging from his neck, his name was written in small letters.

[Kim Sa-kong]

The youngest in the Secretary's office stood up and asked.

"Are you Assistant Manager Kim Sa-kong?"

"...Yes."

Kim Sa-kong entered the office inside the Chief Secretary's office team.

There, Kang Cheol-woo was sitting in his seat.

The two of them met eyes first.

A few years ago, at the new employee recruitment interview site.

Kim Sa-kong was an employee whom Kang Cheol-woo had personally picked because he thought Kim had sharp eyes and sensitive senses among the applicants remaining until the end.

After that, he had only given instructions by phone, so it was really a long time since they sat face to face like this.

"Sit."

At Kang Cheol-woo's short word, Kim Sa-kong bowed his waist to greet him and sat cautiously on the chair opposite him.

Facing him up close, his past memories were revived.

Chief Secretary Kang Cheol-woo's gaze was still fierce, and pressure was felt from his face, which did not change a single expression.

The feeling that his career built all this time would end in one shot if he made even a slip of the tongue.

"It is a pleasure to see you after a long time, Chief Secretary."

He thought he had made his voice confident, but what actually leaked out of his mouth was a crawling voice.

Kang Cheol-woo only nodded shortly and stared blankly at Kim Sa-kong.

"Assistant Manager Kim."

"Yes."

"How many years has it been since you were in charge of Lawyer Ju Yeong-gil?"

"Including this year... It is the 4th year."

"Is there anything that was strange or changed during that time... anything that comes to mind?"

It was a point-blank question.

Formal words were not necessary between them.

In an instant, Kim Sa-kong's head went white.

When his gaze met Kang Cheol-woo's head-on, his mouth naturally went dry.

"You may speak as it comes to mind. I will be the one to judge."

Only then did he take a long breath and continue.

"What was visible on the outside... he was always neat. The relationship shown on the outside with his wife was not bad either. Since they were often present together, or came together during events many times."

Kang Cheol-woo cut him off and asked shortly.

"What was visible on the outside?"

"...Yes."

Kim Sa-kong bit his lip for a moment.

The instruction he received a few days ago came to mind again.

It was when President Lim Do-hyun's tracks began to become obscure.

At that time, Kang Cheol-woo was proceeding on the premise of the possibility that President Lim was not simply vanishing, but someone was moving together with him.

Furthermore, Taeseong also came to know one fact through another line from a long time ago.

Specifically, that Lawyer Ju Yeong-gil was preparing for a divorce from his wife.

He was pretending not to know on the outside, but that information had already been on the desk of the Chairman's Chief Secretary's office for a long time.

A spouse was a card that could become a weakness at any time.

Because they were in a relationship where they knew even secret flaws from the closest position.