Chapter 82
Chapter 82
I got a call from Yuri after a long time.
[Senior, did you take a leave of absence again?]“Huh.”
When I first came to the United States, I thought I would be able to finish my work in a month or two and return. However, things took a turn for the worse with the US presidential election.
Originally, I was planning to make the investment sequentially, but somehow the scale grew to 20 billion dollars.
The length of my stay in the US continued to increase due to work, and I couldn’t return until the start of the second semester.
Yuri said in a smirk.
[what? If that’s the case, tell me in advance.]I said with a smile.
“I didn’t know it was going to be like this either.”
[What are you doing in America?]“Just what….”
I can’t tell you because I’m afraid I’ll be shocked if I find out.
[When will you come back to Korea?]“I’ll be there in a few days.”
She came in on a tourist visa, and her 90-day stay was almost over. She doesn’t have a way to extend it, but she already had her flight tickets booked because she was planning on going to Korea anyway.
[Please contact me when you come to Korea. Got it?]“Okay.”
After finishing the call, I bought coffee at Starbucks and went back to the hotel.
I handed the coffee to Hyunjoo noona.
“It’s a two-shot Americano.”
“Thanks.”
Ellie said as she drank her coffee.
“The only things I gain from work are coffee and wrinkles.”
Even if she says so, she is smooth without a single wrinkle. Beyond just being pretty, it’s attractive that her face is full of vitality.
Thinking so, I saw Henry looking over here and blushing on her face.
“Have some coffee.”
“Ah! Thank you.”
As I handed the coffee, Henry gasped and turned his head to the other side.
Do you really like Ellie?
Taek-gyu picked up the pineapple blended.
“It’s strange. I thought it would be easier to earn money, but why do you seem to be getting busier?”
“That’s it.”
I thought I would too, so I went back to school, but took a leave of absence again after one semester. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to graduate. As I sighed inwardly, I received a text message.
[Call this number as soon as you check the text. If possible, use a US cell phone. Never use your cell phone. ?SY-]“·················ogue.”
What is this? If it’s SY, is it the upper leaf?
Why are you telling me to contact you on another cell phone?
I felt something ominous.
I told Henry.
“Would you mind lending me your phone for a minute?”
“Here it is.”
I handed Henry’s phone and made a call. After a few beeps, it was connected immediately.
“Are you senior?”
[Yes, Jinhoo.]“What is this number?”
[This is a temporary phone made in someone else’s name. For the time being, contact me here. Neither you nor Taegyu should use your own cell phone in the future. You may be eavesdropped.]“Yes?”
What do you mean?
Seeing that his voice is serious, it doesn’t sound like a joke.
“What’s going on?”
[The prosecution and the National Tax Service just came out with a search and seizure of K Company.]It was so absurd that I thought it was a joke for a moment.
“Ah, search and seizure?”
[It’s not just that. Turns out, the NIS has been conducting inspections for quite some time.]“What did you say?”
[In my case, I searched not only the call history but also all the financial transaction details. Not only the company, but all registered employees were also subject to surveillance, so you must have investigated it too.]I said out loud.
“What do you mean?”
Sangyeop senior explained the situation.
K Company, which was entrusted with OTK Company’s work, was running frantically. Everyone was working without even having a proper lunch, when suddenly the prosecution and the National Tax Service came over.
To the bewildered senior Sang-yeop, the prosecutor handed the search and seizure warrant issued by the court.
Now that we’ve got a formal warrant, there’s no way to stop it. They opened the box they had prepared and swept away all the papers and hard disks in the office, as well as calendars and memos, without leaving a single piece of paper.
“Why?”
[Violation of the Foreign Exchange Control Act, the Financial Transaction Act, etc. There are so many that I don’t even know what they are.]Even tax evasion charges were added to this.
“Are you riding?”
[The report came in and there was a special tax investigation.]It is extremely unusual for a company that was founded less than two years ago to undergo a tax audit.
Few companies have paid taxes as faithfully as K Company.
Investments in startups have not yet realized profits, and all other realized profits have been taxed.
But what kind of tax audit are you doing?
[I’m in a situation where I have to go to the prosecution right now and be investigated. I don’t think I can even touch my work for a while.]“how······.”
In Korea, there is a place called the 4 major powers. These are the National Intelligence Service, the Prosecutor’s Office, the National Police Agency, and the National Tax Service. Three of them were aimed at the K Company at the same time!
This is no coincidence. It was clear that something huge was moving behind him.
Sangyeop said, calming his excitement.
[Fortunately, most important data are stored in the cloud.]Only me, Taek-gyu, Hyun-joo noona, and Sang-yeop senior have access to it. As the server is in a foreign country, it is impossible to search and confiscate it without due process.
The problem is the scrapped data. If you just check that, you will find out what kind of relationship K Company and OTK Company have. And our identity too…
Why did you aim at K Company? The K Company has never done anything that could go against the government’s contempt.
if so······?
[I think they are aiming for an OTK company.]“I think so.”
So is my opinion.
[I’ll try to figure out how it works.]“Take care of yourself. If anything happens, please call this number immediately.”
[Okay.]I hung up.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
Hyunjoo noona asked, putting down the documents.
“What’s up?”
I looked around everyone and said.
“We have a serious problem.”
* * *
Everyone who heard me looked shocked and said nothing.
After a while, Henry asked cautiously.
“There’s no evidence, but it’s a search and seizure. Is that possible?”
Taehyung nodded his head and said.
“It is possible in Korea.”
He thought there could be a check. However, the situation was much more serious than expected.
Hyunjoo noona said with her arms crossed.
“The NIS first inspected K Company, and in the process, the relationship with OTK Company must have been revealed. So they immediately moved the prosecution and the National Tax Service to attack K Company.”
I am of the same opinion.
Still, there is something I don’t understand.
“Why did it move so quickly… and at the level of the regime?”
The business world and the political world are originally one body. In particular, this government is very pro-business and pro-chaebol tendencies.
Even so, isn’t it too strange to even conduct a search and seizure in the absence of any evidence?
Hyunjoo noona, who had been thinking for a long time, opened her mouth.
“I think that’s probably true.”
Taek-gyu asked.
“What about that?”
Hyun-joo’s older sister answered briefly.
“PAS.” I noticed right away.
“Ah!”
Taek-gyu, who still did not understand, asked.
“What is PAS?”
“It’s a company that produces plastic parts and airbags for automobiles.”
“But why?”
“Because the president has to do with PAS.”
Not only Taek-gyu, but also Henry and Ellie did not know about PAS, so Hyun-joo’s older sister explained it.
“To understand the story accurately, we have to go back to the Eunsung Group.”
The predecessor of Eunsung Cha Group is Eunsung Group.
Eunsung Group is a giant group founded by the late Chairman Han Young-joo from scratch. Major affiliates include Eunsung Construction, Eunsung Heavy Industries, Eunsung Motors, Eunsung Department Store, and Eunsung Fire & Marine.
President Park Si-hyeong worked at Eunsung Heavy Industries in the past and rose to the position of president with the trust of Chairman Han Young-joo.
Afterwards, Eunsung Motors established PAS with his younger brother Park Si-han with the help of Chairman Han Young-joo in the process of separating the parts companies into separate corporations. It was a company that produced and supplied plastic parts such as dashboards and interior materials for automobiles to Eunsung Motors.
All.
However, after the death of Chairman Han Young-joo, the affiliates were separated due to a dispute over management rights, and his third son, Chairman Han Min-koo, came out of the group with a silver car as his share.
At this time, PAS also broke away from the Eunsung Group and became an independent corporation. He didn’t have any great technology or capital, he was just one of many subcontractors and a small and medium-sized business.
Hyunjoo noona put a cigarette in her mouth.
“But then Park Si-hyung, who got into politics, became the governor of Gyeonggi-do.”
After that, PAS began to grow rapidly. A company with no capital borrowed a huge amount of money from a bank at a low interest rate as a guarantee from Eunsung Motors, and with the money, it acquired several subcontractors and expanded factories.
It was an unreasonable investment, but there was no problem. This is because Eunsung Motors drove the supply volume to PAS.
It is not known whether it was the price, but Eunsung Motors received various privileges from Gyeonggi-do, such as obtaining buses and public office vehicles through private contracts.
“And a few years later I was elected president.”
PAS has also taken over airbag-related companies one after another and expanded its field to include airbags.
As airbags are a part directly related to safety, automakers have a custom of only receiving parts from companies whose technology has been verified.
However, Eunsung Motors canceled the contract with the existing company and pushed all the quantities to PAS. In addition, he actively helped PAS advance into foreign countries.
Thanks to this, PAS has grown into a large-scale parts company with two factories in Korea and 14 factories abroad.
“You mean that PAS is the president?”
“Not on the surface. President Park Si-hyeong doesn’t own a single share of PAS.”
The relationship between Park Si-hyung and PAS became a problem during the primary. However, he revealed that he had already sold all of his shares before running for governor of Gyeonggi Province, and that he was completely out of business. This was also confirmed in the subsequent investigation.
“There is a controversy that President Park Si-hyeong is the real owner, but it is true that the Park Si-hyeong family is running it anyway. His younger brother is the president, and his brother-in-law and son-in-law are directors.”
Hyun-joo’s older sister pressed her finger to her forehead as if in pain.
“PAS relies on silver cars for more than 90 percent of its sales. In fact, it is one body with Eun Sung Cha.”
“·················ogue.”
From the moment I decided to fight Eunseong-cha, did I turn the government into an enemy?
I hadn’t thought of this…
Taegyu said.
“Does the search and seizure of K Company mean a warning against the government?”
Hyun-joo’s older sister exhaled cigarette smoke.
“There may be, but the purpose of delaying the investment is probably greater.”(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
Currently, there are two threats to Eunsung Cha and PAS.
One is for OTK Company to enter the automobile industry, and the other is for Ronald to be elected president.
And these two are closely related. This is because OTK Company is supporting Ronald. If Ronald becomes president, the silver car with a lot of exports will be hit hard. Then, PAS, which is supplied to Eunsung Motors, will also suffer losses.
said Ellie.
“You are trying to take away Ronald’s power by hitting K Company, tying OTK Company’s hands and feet, and delaying investment in Rustbelt.”
Taek-gyu said it as if it was absurd.
“It’s really stupid.”
Ellie asked with a worried expression.
“Is it okay if I go back to Korea in this situation?”
What the chaebol and the government are saying has not changed. It is not uncommon to destroy a decent company in this way.
I said after thinking.
“In a situation like this, I have to go back even more.”
For this investment case, Sangyeop senior and K Company are in charge of considerable work. However, due to the search and seizure, everything has come to a halt. At this rate, the investment plan is bound to be disrupted.
Sang-yeop, the representative, was immediately called to the prosecution’s investigation. Therefore, someone has to take control of K Company.
It’s a fight I started from the beginning anyway. If so, you must be willing to accept it no matter what your opponent turns out to be.
Hyunjoo noona said as she turned off her cigarette.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then I won’t stop.”
Taek-gyu put his hand on my shoulder and said.
“I will be with you, my friend.”
Ellie said goodbye.
“Me too. I’m on Jinhu’s side.”
Henry shrugged his shoulders.
“I will go to Korea. I am now an employee of OTK Company.”
* * *
I spoke to Ronald before I left. He was very busy with the campaign, but the phone was connected quickly.
Upon hearing the news, Ronald expressed concern.
[What do you plan to do?]If the investment is halted now, the residents of Rustvelt will be disappointed, and Ronald’s election will be hit hard.
I reassured him.
“Once I go back to Korea, I will clear up the situation. Things will go without a hitch. We will make the most of our investment before the election.”
[Is there any problem?]Instead of answering, I said:
“I’ll see you after I’ve been elected.”
Ronald burst out laughing.
[I will invite you to the inauguration ceremony, so make sure to attend.]“of course.”
After finishing the call, I got on the plane to Korea with my friends.
