The Meaning of "People"
Signiel Residence, the 300-pyeong super penthouse. The absolute pinnacle, with only two units in the prime location. And among them, the one spanning floors 70 and 71.
"The Elder... wished for you to live higher than anyone else."
Those words fit perfectly. Shin Jaewoo gave an awkward smile.
'Never imagined it'd be this extreme...'
From the moment he stepped inside, the soaring ceiling height hit him. Shin Jaewoo had scored a pretty nice place himself. His home was in Seongbuk-dong, one of Korea's premier upscale neighborhoods. But that mansion was clearly divided across floors—an enclosed structure, not open-concept.
'Whoa.'
The overwhelming sense of openness. Signiel Residence Super Penthouse. That's what struck him the instant he entered. And then, the breathtaking panoramic view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
'I thought the view from my house was great...'
This was on another level entirely. The vibe was different. His own place felt grounded, like he'd become lord of a castle. But here?
'The whole world feels so small.'
Everything seemed miniaturized. A dizzying vista. As he took it in, Lee Jinmyeong spoke up.
"If you head right, you'll find the master zone."
Master zone. There was a separate sliding door leading to it. He slid it open smoothly, revealing the hallway and the interior beyond.
"Right leads to the dressing room and bathroom, left to the study and bedroom areas. We've decorated it roughly along those lines."
Shin Jaewoo inspected it. The study and bedroom had an on-off setup, separated by a door—another sliding one. He was starting to appreciate these sliding doors. Close it, and the spaces divided; open it, and they merged into one vast area. The study felt perfectly like a study, complete with a sofa and reception table for meeting people.
'Not bad at all.'
He gave it a once-over and moved on. Stepping back out revealed a grand spectacle: the living room. Past that was a narrow central hallway, with the main kitchen to one side and two small rooms flanking it. Then another living room.
"...This feels more like a normal home living room?"
The space in front of the master room he'd passed earlier was like a grand living room. This was the smaller one. The central table even doubled as a kitchen island.
'Could do dishes or simple cooking here.'
Beyond that, more rooms.
"These are guest rooms. If you ever invite another woman over, Chairman, you can have her stay here."
"...You sure that's okay?"
"Yes. No issues whatsoever."
Plenty of issues from where I'm standing, he thought. Wasn't this a foundation-owned property, not personal?
"Ah, technically, it's on a monthly lease."
That was unexpected. Given his image of Grandpa, he'd assumed it'd be outright purchased.
"It's worth about 300 billion won... From the foundation's perspective, holding such assets is actually a loss."
"A loss?"
"We have to spend at least 5% of our assets on public welfare activities each year. Owning this just racks up maintenance fees and bloats our assets, which is tough for the foundation."
Shin Jaewoo nodded as Lee Jinmyeong explained. But the man added,
"No need to worry. The foundation covers the rent and management fees."
He hadn't really been worrying about that. But what came next was even more absurd.
"Right next to here is the staircase to the second floor."
Shin Jaewoo climbed the stairs to what amounted to the 71st floor. Surprisingly, for Signiel Residence, the second floor felt narrow. And oddly complex—not quite one room, not quite two or three. A tricky layout. It was furnished with various items, too.
"This is the foundation's office."
"...And the first floor?"
"That's your residence, Chairman."
"I thought you bought this place for the foundation's office?"
Shin Jaewoo shot Lee Jinmyeong a baffled look. The man replied casually,
"Yes, that's correct."
"But this is...?"
"Yes. This is the foundation office."
Logic beyond imagination. As Shin Jaewoo reeled, Lee Jinmyeong elaborated,
"Actually... both floors are registered as foundation offices, at least on paper."
"On paper?"
"You can reconfigure them freely going forward, Chairman."
Use the first floor as your personal residence. Invite guests—even overnight ones that aren't foundation business. The foundation just uses this one room-sized space on the second floor as its office.
"Is this really okay?"
He kept asking, over and over. Lee Jinmyeong's answer never wavered.
"No problem at all."
Fine, then. Was this a testament to brilliant American law, or to Grandpa and Lee Jinmyeong's ingenuity?
Or maybe I'm just the one with the wrong idea of 'normal'...'
Was it commonplace for a foundation chairman to use foundation funds like this?
"Mm. Best not to think of it as standard practice."
Lee Jinmyeong shot down his musing this time.
"...But you said no problem?"
"Yes. No problem."
A famous phrase flashed through his mind.
—If you don't get caught, it's art. If you do...
'Yeah, they probably can't send inspectors all the way to Korea.'
Was that the gist?
"It's been in use without issue for years. Any potential problems have been preemptively resolved."
Fair enough. Lee Jinmyeong continued,
"Well... nominally, it can't be used for non-foundation purposes..."
Realization dawned as he listened.
'See? There is a problem.'
But Lee Jinmyeong was firm.
"No issues whatsoever. Use it without worry."
The tour wrapped up. Shin Jaewoo let out a sigh.
"Haa."
His office—his office—was suddenly in a place like this.
'Never thought it'd happen this fast.'
Bigger shocks than even his visit to Panta Bank. Then, the foundation's scale crossed his mind.
'A 12-trillion-won foundation...'
The net assets listed in the books. Lee Jinmyeong spoke.
Legally, 5% of the foundation's net assets had to go to public welfare annually.
'How much is that?'
He calculated. 10% of 12 trillion was 1.2 trillion won. 5% was half that—600 billion.
'Gulp.'
His pupils shook at the sheer scale, even in thought.
'Is this even possible?'
He could run public welfare projects with nearly 600 billion a year. Assuming the assets stayed constant, of course.
"No need to worry. The foundation's assets have only grown year after year, never shrunk—unless the Elder specifically ordered a reduction."
Hearing that, Shin Jaewoo pondered the staggering sum. A new fact emerged.
"That entire amount... if you wish, Chairman, you can use it anywhere in Korea."
"What did Grandpa do with it?"
Shin Jaewoo asked Lee Jinmyeong first. The man paused thoughtfully, then seemed to decide it was time.
"It went to orphans, famine relief, and the impoverished across various countries and races."
Shin Jaewoo looked mildly surprised. Lee Jinmyeong gave a wry smile and continued,
"On the surface, that is."
On the surface. That word sparked something in Shin Jaewoo's mind. The thing every chaebol had. Yeah, with trillions—hell, even after taxes, over 10 trillion in assets—Grandpa wouldn't lack it.
Lee Jinmyeong said,
"It all flowed back to the Elder."
"...Slush funds?"
"You could call it that. Money leaves the foundation, goes into nominee accounts linked to the Elder, then to so-called paper companies, and back to the foundation or the Elder."
Where the Elder—Shin Jaewoo's grandfather—needed it. Shin Jaewoo let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha, haha... What a guy."
He could picture the fund flow Grandpa had engineered. Earn money, donate to the foundation to cut taxes.
'Then it loops back through nominee accounts and shells.'
Classic tax evasion. As Shin Jaewoo marveled, Lee Jinmyeong smiled wryly.
'Better not mention the rest.'
Those nominee accounts and paper companies had perks. Stock manipulation, for one. With such vast sums, fragmented across seemingly unrelated entities...
They could pump or dump stocks at will. Financial markets were their playground. That's why Lee Jinmyeong had confidently stated the assets only grew.
"Don't tell me Grandpa's inheritance—the 'people'—means...?"
"Those nominee accounts are all yours now, Chairman."
"..."
Now he was curious.
"...How much?"
"Even I can't pin it down exactly. Safe to say it's more than the foundation's assets."
Shin Jaewoo smiled wryly. A twinge of guilt—could he accept this? But he decided to embrace it.
'I'll take it.'
From now on, he'd do real public good and reinvest properly. Public welfare was something he wanted to try anyway. Then, a realization hit.
"Wait... does that mean this place?"
"Of course. This residence is yours now."
On paper, someone else's name. In truth, his. Shin Jaewoo chuckled dryly.