Daesung Fire (2)
After the community post went up, it didn't take more than a few hours for Daesung Fire & Marine Insurance to release another statement.
The headline itself was pretty much content-free, so I was wondering what the deal was — then a live broadcast video popped up.
PR staff and executives from Daesung Fire were holding a live press conference, pleading that everything was a smear campaign.
But the reporters, sensing a scoop, raised their hands and fired off questions.
Watching that press conference, I couldn't help but laugh.
"You're a damn good liar. With talent like that, you should be in politics, not running a company."
[Master, an article just came out from the newspaper where Daesung Fire usually places their ads.]
While other media outlets were running all kinds of negative stories, that one newspaper — which had been timidly hanging back — finally dropped an exclusive.
As soon as that newspaper ran a couple of articles, suspicious movements started appearing in the communities too.
"Hmm... I get the newspaper — they got paid, so whatever. But these guys? Something's off."
Based on my internet experience, these were almost definitely paid comment bots.
"Tch. Should I have just blown the whole thing wide open like I did with Cheonmun?"
This time I was taking it slow, only releasing part of the evidence — but the opposition was putting up more resistance than I expected.
"What's the internal reaction like?"
[It's divided. The younger, more conscientious employees and new hires can tell it's their own internal data, so they're buzzing. Meanwhile, upper management is busy trying to shut everyone up.]
"Release the other two. All of them."
It's not like Cheonmun or Black Ridge are connected to this anyway — it's just an anonymous whistleblower created by Athena doing the exposing. There's no risk of getting dragged into a mudslinging match.
"If they'd just said 'sorry' nicely, I would've stopped here. But they're screaming for me to kill them?"
If someone shouts "cut me open," it's only right to oblige.
The post contained only the most conclusive evidence Athena had secured — the kind that would seal the deal.
The incentives employees received for rigging fault ratios and successfully defending those rigged ratios, internal messenger logs, and even files showing unauthorized access to personal information.
And the unauthorized access files even included the names of public figures. The fallout was going to be massive.
"This is pretty brutal, even for me."
The personal information access files included National Assembly members and major celebrities. After this, no one was going to lift a finger to help Daesung.
[What would you like for lunch?]
"Keep it simple. I'll eat while I watch this."
I could probably eat plain rice with no side dishes and it'd go down easy right now.
I ordered a burger, tore open the wrapper, and sat down.
I was eating while watching the situation unfold when a breaking news alert popped up — the stock had hit the daily limit down.
The people sitting in Yeouido are always fighting among themselves, but the moment they realize they've been harmed too, they suddenly show bipartisan unity and go after Daesung.
"No response from Daesung? They should be claiming it's fake news again — that'd make this more fun to watch."
[Unfortunately, no. Now that the political sphere is reacting, they've clammed up and gone quiet.]
"In that case... it'd be a bit much for Black Ridge to handle this. Should Cheonmun do it this time?"
Black Ridge Capital's name had been coming up too often lately. Better to keep a low profile and have Cheonmun make the move.
[I'll time it well. I'll give CEO Han Jeong-woo a heads-up and start preparing for the insurance company launch.]
"Yeah. If a company that does things right appears, the others will straighten up on their own — they won't want to lose customers, right?"
And if they still run their businesses like garbage after all this, they'll lose all their customers to us and shut down.
The exclusive article appeared, and I could see CEO Han Jeong-woo standing at a podium holding a press conference.
Through large-scale donations and swift damage control, Cheonmun's image had recovered to a certain extent.
And now, announcing an entry into the insurance sector — the hottest issue right now — was drawing positive reactions.
They'd been in the middle of restoring the group's image anyway, and this would finish the job.
I finished my meal while watching CEO Han Jeong-woo's press conference, and then Athena shared some interesting news.
[I just got an interesting call from CEO Han. He said the owner family of Daesung Fire reached out — they want to transfer their shares.]
"They're begging for their lives? After swindling 320 billion won?"
[That's essentially it.]
"No way. No damn way. Those bastards need to go eat prison food."
They didn't properly compensate the people harmed by accidents, and now they think they can just slip away scot-free?
"How much would it cost to clean out the owner family, acquire Daesung, rebrand, and do all the other stuff?"
[Approximately 1.4 trillion won. The acquisition cost itself would be around 400 billion won, but under the Insurance Business Act, we need to prove our ability to pay claims — there's something called the solvency margin ratio we have to meet. That part will be expensive.]
I thought it'd be as simple as just clicking "acquire," but the scale was bigger than I expected.
"Wait — Cheonmun has 2 trillion won in free money right now, doesn't it?"
Thanks to a certain generous donor, they had about 2 trillion won donated to them for management purposes.
[That's right. So we can use the slush fund Oh Seong-moon created to secure capital adequacy. It's money that's been sitting idle within the group anyway while we looked for additional investment opportunities, so moving it won't be a problem.]
"But... will CEO Han agree to it?"
The contract stated there would be no interference in management whatsoever, so if CEO Han refused, things would get a bit complicated.
[CEO Han has already agreed. In fact, using the recovered funds was his suggestion.]
Then there's no problem at all.
"Alright, let's proceed with this. Time to make the other insurance companies wake the hell up."
"They look shell-shocked after getting dragged to the parliamentary audit and torn apart."
The National Assembly members, upon realizing that their own and their families' information had been absurdly leaked, launched a fierce offensive. The reactions were so intense that talk of a special counsel investigation was floating around.
With the political world turning against them, they must have realized there was no way out. They were now paying out the unpaid claims in full.
[I'll give the order to start the acquisition process.]
"Yeah. And once we acquire them, let's swap out the company sign first thing."
Just seeing the name "Daesung" made me sick at this point.
A few hours after I authorized the acquisition process, a breaking news alert appeared.
"400 billion won for them to hand over all their shares and give up management rights... Even that feels like too much."
[In any case, almost none of that money will actually end up in their hands. It'll all go to fines and victim compensation. They'll spend the rest of their lives as penniless defendants facing trial.]
"Good. I couldn't stand the thought of them enjoying their retirement with 400 billion won."
The money going out for victim compensation was Daesung's money, but it would be paid out under Cheonmun's name. So we'd just be sitting back and reaping the benefits.
The political sphere, probably finding it difficult to completely destroy Daesung themselves, facilitated the acquisition process with unusual speed.
Once the acquisition was finalized, a cold wind began to blow through the company.
About 80% of Daesung Fire's existing executives were immediately dismissed, and the employees whose names appeared on the list compiled by Athena and Cheonmun's audit team were about to face legal action.
"At this rate... there'll be almost no one left."
Not every employee who participated in illegal activities was going to prison, but after cutting them all out, there was hardly anyone remaining. Aside from some new hires and a few conscientious employees, the rest were people who'd been completely corrupted by Daesung's illegal practices and the rewards that came with them — screwing over customers was their daily routine. Cut them all out, and the company wouldn't even be able to function.
That Kim Cheol-su guy — the deputy manager who tried to threaten me — his name was on the list too. A lawsuit would be filed against him shortly.
I was hoping for a self-cleaning effect across the entire industry. Even if we took an initial accounting hit, operating with integrity would yield huge profits in the long run.
[We're going to need large-scale hiring. The existing managerial-level employees were also problematic, so we need to stabilize the company first.]
"There are a lot of people struggling because they can't find jobs these days. The ones who are suffering should get a chance too."
[What criteria should we use?]
"Hmm... I don't really know. How should we set them?"
Before I ever had to worry about finding a job, my life had already switched to easy mode. I had no idea what criteria to use.
[How about this — fill the managerial positions with people who have good reputations and a conscience from other companies, and for the field-level positions, set the bar low on specs and focus more on character than credentials?]
"Like blind hiring?"
[Yes! Even though we've changed the sign out front, Daesung's legacy still lingers. We need a unique selling point — ethical operations — more than immediate profits right now.]
"I like it. It's not like our large-scale recruitment drive is going to solve the unemployment crisis, but it'd be nice to help people who've been desperately searching for jobs."
If we at least did this much, there was a chance the chaotic insurance industry might improve, even if only a little.