Carry a Guilty Heart
In the private chamber, Lee Tak-hyeon skimmed the documents Kim Seong-ho had set before him while listening to the younger man’s account.
When Seong-ho finished, the Chairman set the papers down and spoke.
“So what we need to focus on is shipbuilding and semiconductors?”
Seated across from him, Kim Seong-ho glanced at the documents Lee Tak-hyeon had just laid aside and answered.
“If it were up to me, I would take over automobiles, oil refining, aviation, and power generation as well, but…”
“Then the entire country of Korea would end up subordinate to Ilhyeon.”
“Yes. The government clearly would never accept that. They would never allow every industry to sit under Ilhyeon’s umbrella.”
“And you believe they will accept shipbuilding and semiconductors?”
Seong-ho smiled at the question.
“We will make them accept it.”
“Hahaha.”
Lee Tak-hyeon burst into loud laughter at the reply.
“That is the most satisfying answer I have heard in a long time.”
After laughing for a good while, the Chairman fixed his eyes on Seong-ho’s face and spoke in a voice thick with genuine regret.
“If only you had been my son.”
“A son-in-law is still a son, is he not?”
Lee Tak-hyeon waved the remark away and shifted in his seat.
“If you had been my own son, I could have handed everything over without a single worry and stepped back to watch you grow Ilhyeon in comfort… Tch. It is only a pity that it cannot be so.”
From everything he had observed of Kim Seong-ho so far, Lee Tak-hyeon was certain the man would steer the company without giving him cause for concern. He might even guide it better than Lee Tak-hyeon himself and plant the Ilhyeon name across the entire world.
Still, that will not do. There is no precedent for handing a company to a son-in-law. The name Ilhyeon comes from my father’s pen name; the head of Ilhyeon must be of our blood.
Seong-ho had never asked for the company, yet Lee Tak-hyeon’s heart wavered on its own. And Seong-ho knew exactly how the old man’s heart was swaying.
There is no need to waver like that. Everything will end up in my hands eventually anyway.
From the moment he had set foot in this place, Kim Seong-ho had vowed to swallow Ilhyeon whole.
Unaware of that vow, Lee Tak-hyeon continued to wrestle with the thought before finally shaking his head hard. Though he told himself it was impossible, the regret lingered. He forced the subject aside and asked something else.
“So? Did the Blue House say they would begin the tax audits?”
“Yes.”
Seong-ho nodded and continued in a calm voice.
“They informed us that a special tax audit of the five major groups will begin in earnest three days from now. Our targets will be three affiliates: Ilhyeon Construction, Ilhyeon Electronics, and Ilhyeon Trading.”
“Two hundred billion?”
“Yes. We have already set the expected additional tax assessment after the audit at two hundred billion won.”
“You do understand two hundred billion is no small sum?”
Seong-ho nodded again.
“I am well aware. I have already obtained a firm commitment from the Blue House that they will compensate us for the two hundred billion.”
“Verbal promises mean nothing.”
“I know. That is why I have also prepared contingencies in case they fail to keep their word. You need not worry.”
At Seong-ho’s confident tone, a smile formed of its own accord on Lee Tak-hyeon’s lips.
“Very well. I will trust you.”
It was a short statement, yet it carried absolute faith. The depth of Lee Tak-hyeon’s trust in Kim Seong-ho was plain to see.
The Chairman let the smile deepen and muttered to himself.
“Those other four groups, stuffed full of nothing but greed, are going to have quite a headache.”
His mouth and eyes curved as though he could hardly wait to watch the spectacle unfold three days hence. Seong-ho smiled along with him, savoring the moment.
Men in suits carrying large boxes stormed into the Seonwoo Group headquarters.
“Wh-what is going on?”
When a security officer tried to block them, a man who appeared to be their superior flashed his badge.
“National Tax Service.”
“The Tax Service…?”
The security officer stared blankly as the men brushed past him and headed inside.
The man who had shown the badge glanced around and addressed the officer again.
“Call upstairs. Tell them the Second Investigation Bureau of the Seoul Regional Tax Office has come to conduct a special tax audit.”
The Bureau Director watched his staff hurrying in with boxes and barked,
“Move it! We still have KF and Mirae after this—keep your heads on straight!”
He shoved the employees forward, then called over the Section Chief of the Third Division who had accompanied him to Seonwoo.
“What about DN Group?”
“The Second Division boys already secured the documents.”
“The prosecutors’ office must have been a big help.”
“Yes. Because the prosecution obtained warrants from the court, no one could stop them.”
“Good work.”
Satisfied that the DN Group raid was progressing faster than expected, the Bureau Director glanced for a moment at the elevator rising toward the upper floors.
Just then a high-ranking Seonwoo executive came rushing toward him.
“Wh-what is the meaning of this?”
The finance director in charge of Seonwoo’s accounting looked at the tax officials ignoring him and barging inside, then shouted at the Director of the Second Investigation Bureau.
“Just what do you think you are doing?!”
“This is a special tax audit.”
“A special tax audit?”
“Yes.”
The Bureau Director turned to face the finance director and introduced himself.
“I am Kim Mun-yeong, Director of the Second Investigation Bureau of the Seoul Regional Tax Office.”
“The Second Investigation Bureau… what business does it have with Seonwoo…?”
The finance director stared at Director Kim Mun-yeong with a shocked face.
Kim Mun-yeong watched the man’s complexion turn pure white at the mere words “Second Investigation Bureau” and smiled.
“You know the Second Investigation Bureau, so I take it you understand exactly what we do?”
“Are you claiming Seonwoo Group has been committing tax evasion? We are a model company that pays every won of tax in good faith!”
“We will know once we investigate.”
Kim Mun-yeong turned his head and shouted toward the Third Division Section Chief.
“We have the warrants—leave nothing behind. Take every last scrap, understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
At the Section Chief’s reply, the finance director’s face drained as white as paper.
Unlike the First Bureau, which handled ordinary tax audits, or the Third Bureau, which dealt with property taxes, the Second Investigation Bureau specialized in deep, planned audits. It was commonly known as the grim reaper of the corporate world. A corporate tax audit conducted jointly with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office had never once ended well. In most cases the company heads received prison sentences and the companies themselves were carved into pieces and scattered to the wind. The Second Investigation Bureau’s tax audit was called the sharpest blade the president could wield against conglomerates; the only real solution was never to face it at all, for once it began, it never concluded normally.
“Are… are we the only ones being audited?”
Realizing he could not stop the investigation, the finance director quickly changed the direction of his questions.
Kim Mun-yeong, who had been shouting instructions at his staff, turned back and answered.
“All five major groups are under investigation. The former Dongnam Group, which has already changed its name to DN Group, has already begun. KF and Mirae are also subjects of the special tax audit.”
“What about Ilhyeon? Is Ilhyeon included?”
At the finance director’s words, Kim Mun-yeong let out a short snort of laughter.
“You speak as though it would be unfair if Ilhyeon were not audited.”
“It is not a matter of fairness… You said you were auditing the five major groups. Then Ilhyeon should naturally be included as well, should it not?”
“Yes. Ilhyeon should be included as well.”
“Then…”
The finance director swallowed dryly and looked at Kim Mun-yeong.
“The moment the Seonwoo Group search and seizure is finished, I will personally lead my staff straight over to the Ilhyeon Group.”
“You will go in person?”
“Yes. So you need not worry that Ilhyeon will somehow slip through this tax audit. Ilhyeon will not escape it either.”
At the news that Ilhyeon Group would also be audited, cold sweat broke out on the finance director’s back.
This is not an ordinary audit. The president himself is targeting us. It may not end with a simple fine.
He decided he had to see Seonwoo Group Chairman Kim Woo-ha at once. With the National Tax Service’s purpose already clear, drafting countermeasures without a moment’s delay was more important than anything.
Kim Mun-yeong checked that his staff were coming down one by one with boxes full of documents, then offered a parting greeting to the finance director.
“Things seem more or less wrapped up, so I will take my leave.”
“…Are you going to Ilhyeon, as you said?”
“Yes.”
Kim Mun-yeong turned and delivered one last remark over his shoulder.
“Ah, by the way—starting next year the Second Investigation Bureau becomes the Fourth Investigation Bureau. Staffing will increase and we will gain even more independent authority.”
“Why are you telling me that…?”
“I am saying you should consider yourselves lucky rather than unlucky. If we had met after the conversion to the Fourth Bureau next year, you would not even have had time for a conversation like this. Well then…”
The finance director stared blankly for a moment at Kim Mun-yeong’s departing back and at the tax officials carrying boxes stuffed with documents. Then he snapped back to himself.
“This is no time to stand here. I must inform the Chairman at once.”
He turned and pressed the elevator button to head for the chairman’s office.
Did I ever introduce myself to him?
The fact that Kim Mun-yeong had addressed him precisely as the finance director without any introduction suddenly struck him while he waited for the elevator. But he stopped thinking about it and stepped inside. What mattered right now was not that the Director of the Second Investigation Bureau somehow knew him, but that the president had set his mind on gutting the five major groups.
Kim Mun-yeong, Director of the Second Investigation Bureau of the Seoul Regional Tax Office, sat on the sofa and surveyed the office.
“Here you are.”
He looked down at the teacup placed before him and bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
“I am embarrassed that this is all I can offer when the Director of the Second Investigation Bureau has come in person.”
With those words Kim Seong-ho set down his own cup and took his seat. Then he looked at Kim Mun-yeong and smiled.
“Still, the taste should be decent. It is something my mother-in-law prepared exclusively for the Chairman; I quietly took a few packets for myself.”
“Oh. This is the tea the Chairman drinks?”
Kim Mun-yeong half-rose from his seat and lifted the cup with both hands. Then, with a deeply moved expression, he gazed down at it.
“I am not certain I deserve something so precious.”
“No matter how precious it is, it is hardly too good for you, Director. Please try it.”
Seong-ho gestured for him to drink and raised his own cup first. Emboldened by the example, Kim Mun-yeong carefully lifted the cup to his lips. Hot steam tickled his mouth and the tip of his nose.
Just as Seong-ho had done, the Bureau Director pursed his lips and brought them to the rim.
Slurp.
He closed his eyes, intending to savor the aroma. Instead the scalding heat nearly made him cry out. Only the knowledge that he was inside the Ilhyeon Group and sitting across from Kim Seong-ho, Head of the Restructuring Headquarters, gave him the superhuman willpower to swallow the burning liquid down his throat.
“How is it? Good, is it not?”
The roof of Kim Mun-yeong’s mouth had been completely stripped raw, yet he opened his closed eyes, forced a smile, and nodded.
“Yes. It is excellent.”
He had tasted nothing but heat, yet in front of Seong-ho he had no choice but to keep praising the tea. Even the Director of the Second Investigation Bureau—called the grim reaper of corporations—was nothing more than another ambitious civil servant when facing Ilhyeon and Kim Seong-ho.
Seong-ho watched Kim Mun-yeong flounder with the lingering burn in his mouth and smiled as he spoke.
“I thought you might have a hard time organizing the documents you need to take, so we went ahead and prepared them for you for convenience. I hope that is all right?”
“Of course it is all right. In fact I feel almost guilty that you have done our work for us.”
As Kim Mun-yeong made a show of gratitude, Seong-ho set down his cup and spoke in a carefully casual tone.
“I am simply a bit of a worrier, so I have to ask—when I spoke with the Blue House we agreed to settle on two hundred billion… Will that work out?”
“Of course. Two hundred billion is more than enough.”
Still using an overly solicitous voice, Kim Mun-yeong answered.
“Once we write up an additional assessment of two hundred billion, neither the prosecution nor the courts will be able to say a word. Do not worry. We have already prepared the documents to match that figure.”
Even while telling Seong-ho not to worry, the Bureau Director’s expression remained apologetic. The thought of extracting as much as two hundred billion from a collusive tax audit of the Ilhyeon Group weighed on his conscience.
That feeling reached Seong-ho as well.
You must keep feeling that same guilt later, even after you become Commissioner of the National Tax Service.
Kim Seong-ho looked at Kim Mun-yeong’s face, which was thick with remorse, and took another quiet sip of tea.