Chapter 153
Chapter 153
153.
A Mad X Worse Than a Mad Tiger
Since Joo Ho-yeon's arrival as the CFO, a storm had been raging through the finance, accounting, and treasury departments of MH Distribution.
As the department head positions at MH Distribution were still vacant, existing deputy department heads, or section chiefs if their superiors had been demoted, gathered in Joo Ho-yeon's office.
"In the finance department, do you simply approve budget requests from the logistics center as they come in? Did you check last year's usage records, proof of expenditure, or any potential issues? Even one of them?"
"......"
"And the treasury department. How long are you going to keep approving corporate card statements without verification? Especially the card payment details coming from the logistics center – are you approving them with your eyes closed? Haven't you just seen the company nearly collapse? Do you want to go through that again?!"
"......"
"Lastly, the accounting department. Didn't we essentially save the company this time? Then shouldn't you be managing the cleaned-up accounting records even more meticulously from the ground up? If you received the compiled data, you should organize it, not just pile it up! Are you planning to cram it all in at the last minute when the quarterly audit season arrives?"
"......"
Joo Ho-yeon, who had risen to the rank of Senior Manager at the accounting firm Kwangho, had participated in or led audits for countless companies.
Naturally, he knew the ways of corporate employees better than anyone.
His subordinates couldn't utter a single word. They could understand why someone from the accounting firm Kwangho was called a mad tiger.
"If there's another instance of approval without verification, the person who submitted it and the person who approved it will both be audited!"
With that shout, the assistant managers and management staff under the MH Distribution Finance Department left.
As the next group came up, the waiting managers stepped forward.
Joo Ho-yeon, wondering what other troublesome approval items awaited him, took the file without even looking at the person presenting it.
"Investment approval... RD Electronics in the US? Investment amount of 40 million dollars?"
It was an approval request to invest funds equivalent to approximately 53 billion Korean won.
Startled, Joo Ho-yeon's head shot up. He then made awkward eye contact with Jang Man-soo, who stood before him with a sheepish expression.
"Director Jang Man-soo... why are you here...?"
"I heard that executives and management below that level at MH Distribution and MH Future Security were to bring approvals directly to the CFO's office."
"Ah—!"
That was a directive Joo Ho-yeon had given earlier. It was the reason the deputy managers from MH Distribution's finance-related departments had just been thoroughly reprimanded.
Naturally, Jang Man-soo was included among those management staff, so he had come in response to the summons.
"The supporting documents regarding investment feasibility and risks are attached. However, as it is a significant investment, it falls under the category of an Operations Room Zero project, so I need the direct signature of the CFO."
Operations Room Zero was the department within MH Future Security that Jang Man-soo directly managed, responsible for large-scale projects.
It was so renowned that rumors circulated that over 90% of operating profit came from Operations Room Zero.
Of course, Joo Ho-yeon had heard these rumors and couldn't help but be interested.
"I see."
"As the matter is important, please maintain absolute confidentiality regarding this content."
At Jang Man-soo's serious tone, Joo Ho-yeon felt a slight tension as he reviewed the documents.
RD Electronics, selected as the investment target, was a small to medium-sized enterprise headquartered and operating factories in Virginia, USA, primarily supplying semiconductor components.
Its financial statements and corporate operations were unremarkable. Based on superficial figures alone, there was no immediate sign of significant growth potential.
However, such assumptions were shaken as soon as he moved on to the documents explaining the investment rationale.
"I'm not very familiar with semiconductor technology, but based on this, RD Electronics has succeeded in developing a new method for chiplet technology production processes."
"MH Future Security has been investing in them for a long time. This is the third round."
The documents continued to pass through Joo Ho-yeon's hands.
"Sigh... If the market size is projected to expand to 150 billion dollars by 2028..."
Approximately 200 trillion Korean won. Of course, existing chiplet technology was already largely commercialized.
It was a technology that allowed for the production of semiconductors with the same performance at a lower cost. But RD Electronics had succeeded in increasing efficiency further, reducing production costs while simultaneously improving performance.
Admittedly, during the development process, long-term instability had occurred, preventing it from being recognized.
However, MH Future Security's periodic investments had guided it to completion.
"We could potentially monopolize that market."
"Do you expect it to succeed in development?"
"Because there was a possibility."
Jang Man-soo specialized in understanding the future of companies.
"Honestly, if this were the first investment, I would have been skeptical too, but with the current results, it's certainly something to look forward to."
With his reply, Joo Ho-yeon signed the document.
"Thank you for the prompt signature."
"The data was more robust than I expected. I wish other employees would submit things like this."
Jang Man-soo felt pleased by his praise.
"I'm quite good, aren't I?"
"It's no wonder CEO Baek Shin-woo keeps Director Jang Man-soo by his side."
"The same goes for you, CFO. That's why the Ceo recruited you."
For a moment, Jang Man-soo almost called him "Boss" as usual but quickly corrected himself.
"I just work my way. The CEO said he needed it."
"Then that's all that matters."
After their conversation, Jang Man-soo returned to his office.
Meanwhile, Joo Ho-yeon began to re-examine the financial statements. They contained not only MH Distribution's data but also extensive materials on projects MH Future Security had undertaken.
Since the previous audit only covered MH Distribution, his review workload had increased again.
"This is truly a terrifying investment strategy. One might say they came from the future."
Most of the initial investment documents were processed without basic data. For a typical investment company, funds would never have been allocated based on such materials alone.
However, every company Shinwoo touched had developed successfully, while those he didn't, or those from which he divested shares within a certain period, collapsed without exception.
"The prosecution saw this... it's understandable they'd suspect insider trading."
The timing of entry and exit was also impeccable. However, MH Future Security was not the one that profited the most.
The actual designer of that stock manipulation was another company. Joo Ho-yeon could match some of them because he had encountered them during his accounting audits.
"I'm certainly looking forward to how much greater this company will become..."
Shinwoo had promised Joo Ho-yeon a company free of corruption. While he hadn't explicitly stated it, Joo Ho-yeon's recruitment as CFO itself carried the same meaning.
For starters, the financial statements of MH Future Security, along with MH Distribution's, were far cleaner than he had expected.
Frankly, he never thought such a place could truly exist in the world.
With that, Joo Ho-yeon smiled slightly and continued to review the documents.
A villa on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
It was late at night. There, Myung In-chul met Kwak Chi-young for the first time in nearly two weeks.
"It seems difficult to see your face, Director Kwak."
"I've been swamped with various matters. Even after coming to Korea, there was a considerable backlog of work."
His overly calm response caused Myung In-chul's face to contort from the outset.
"What are you planning to do about the work? Aren't you just letting things slide?"
If Kwak Chi-young's plan had succeeded, TSF should have secured a significant portion of MH Electronics and MH Foods' shares by now.
But with the events that were expected to proceed without a hitch now concluded, the momentum had stalled, leaving Myung In-chul frustrated.
"I admit my mistakes. But aren't you doing nothing at all, President Myung In-chul?"
At the provocative question, Myung In-chul's face hardened further.
"Don't you know whose fault it is that I can't exert my influence? If you had given me even the slightest hint beforehand, I would have taken measures to prevent me from stepping down from MH Electronics."
"If I had told you in advance, you wouldn't have agreed to the plan from the start."
Myung In-chul couldn't deny that point.
MH Electronics was the core affiliate responsible for the present and future of MH Group.
Any instability in that foundation would not have been beneficial to Myung In-chul, who aimed for the chairman's seat.
"...I won't deny it. But if you've taken such a drastic measure, there must be results. Or, if not, use a sure method now!"
"A sure method... does that mean pushing Chairman Myung Joong-hwan out, even if it leaves traces? Is that what you mean?"
Myung In-chul, perhaps realizing belatedly that his plan was reckless, showed a flicker of unease in his eyes.
"At this point, isn't there any other way?"
"It would be easier for us to resolve matters that way too. But are you aware that Chairman Myung Joong-hwan met quietly with Lawyer Hwang recently?"
At that moment, Myung In-chul's expression stiffened.
He knew from Kwak Chi-young that Hwang Bong-joon was handling Myung Joong-hwan's will.
Of course, he had also been monitoring Hwang Bong-joon until recently.
However, with the plan to deal with Myung Joong-hwan having failed, he had held back to avoid arousing unnecessary suspicion.
"Could it be...?"
"There's only one reason to meet Lawyer Hwang. Despite the various circumstances before, he didn't seem to suspect anything. Was there perhaps a mistake I'm unaware of?"
Even when his illegitimate daughter, Im Hee-yeon, joined MH Group and managed the company, achieving considerable results, the will had not been changed.
This was because Myung Joong-hwan had an unspoken certainty that he would pass the company down to his eldest son, Myung In-chul. The fact that he had appointed him president of MH Electronics, MH Construction, and MH Group was no exaggeration.
"I don't know either. Why would he suddenly act like that..."
"It's not 100% certain, but it's highly likely the contents of the will have been changed. In such a situation, dealing with Chairman Myung Joong-hwan? It could actually put President Myung In-chul's position at risk."
Ultimately, it was a battle for shares.
Of course, Myung In-chul had gradually acquired shares in MH Electronics, Construction, and the holding company, Holdings, using funds he had siphoned off.
However, Myung Joong-hwan's personal shares and the nominee shares for the next heir were the issue.
TSF was also acquiring shares, but the available market volume was insufficient to surpass Myung Joong-hwan's holdings.
"Are there no other methods?"
"For now, it seems we need to devise other methods. Besides, I have urgent matters to attend to myself."
"What could be more urgent than this?"
Kwak Chi-young, unable to bring down MH Group as planned, had failed to replenish the funds for the Black Ground Project in Korea.
While China was also in turmoil, he had received intelligence that Dorothy McDaniel, along with the Seven Circle Society, had organized their subordinate management companies, indicating a certain level of preparation.
If things continued like this, he might not only fail the Black Ground Project but also risk his position as Korea's director.
"It's an internal matter. If that's not resolved, it will be difficult for me to assist President Myung In-chul further."
"Are you really going to act like this?"
Kwak Chi-young's expression suddenly turned cold.
"If not like this, what do you intend to do?"
Myung In-chul swallowed, taken aback by the sudden shift in atmosphere.
"Ah, no... that's not what I meant..."
"Do you want to make a misstep by rushing and drag us all down together? No. Honestly, would we die together? It's President Myung In-chul who would be in immediate danger, not me."
On the surface, Kwak Chi-young had left almost no trace of his actions.
Conversely, Myung In-chul had several points of contact remaining from when MH Group was in turmoil, along with lawyer Jeon Hyeong-beom.
Furthermore, Kwak Chi-young had separately linked traces from nominee accounts to Myung In-chul to shift the blame for the technology leak and design incident later.
So that he would bear all the responsibility if something blew up...
"Then are you telling me to do nothing?"
"You're welcome to try and handle it yourself."
"Grrr..."
Within MH Group, Myung In-chul was the one facing immediate peril.
While Kwak Chi-young was also in a precarious situation, he couldn't show it in front of Myung In-chul, who was also a target of his machinations.
With that, Kwak Chi-young, having concluded their meeting, patted Myung In-chul on the shoulder and left first.