Becoming a Shareholder of Someone Else's Company (3)
At my firm answer, the tears vanished from Yoon Seung-hyun’s face. “Really?”
“Yes. Once you’ve sorted out your thoughts on custody of your daughter, we’ll file a counterclaim against Jang Mi-ye demanding alimony and property division.”
A counterclaim is a lawsuit filed in response to one brought against you. Color returned to Yoon Seung-hyun’s cheeks. “You’re taking the case without even charging a retainer. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you for entrusting it to me. If you’re willing to concede custody, negotiations will be simpler, but she’s your daughter and you’ve raised her with care. Think it through carefully.”
“I will. Ah, should I pay the consultation fee on my way out?”
Apparently even a mere 200,000 won was a concern. “No need. You can just go. We usually waive the consultation fee when a client retains us immediately after the meeting. You only need to pay the success fee we discussed once the case concludes.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Attorney.”
* * *
After sending Yoon Seung-hyun on his way, I instructed Yeo Eun-ju and Cha Ye-na to compile a report on Jang Mi-ye. She was not a direct descendant of JB Group Chairman Jang Iksu; she was the second daughter of his younger brother, Jang Ik-hyeon. In QS Group terms, her position roughly matched that of Kwon So-hee. Unlike QS, however, JB Group had never suffered a fierce succession struggle, so even a collateral relative like Jang Mi-ye had received a meaningful stake.
The company she managed was M Mart, a JB Group subsidiary. Whether through her own skill or not, M Mart had recently overtaken H-Plus to claim the top spot in the SSM sector despite a sluggish market. That explained how Yoon Seung-hyun could realistically claim hundreds of billions of won in property division. M Mart had experienced explosive growth during their marriage. Yoon Seung-hyun had guessed her assets had risen by two or three hundred billion, but factoring in the surge in M Mart’s share price, her actual increase exceeded one trillion won. Add to that the fact that Yoon Seung-hyun had single-handedly handled all housework and childcare while abandoning his own promising career, and the four-hundred-billion-won figure made perfect sense.
From a lawyer’s perspective on recent precedents, courts have grown slightly more generous toward spouses who contributed through childcare and housework rather than direct income. This usually benefits full-time homemakers, but in this case it works overwhelmingly in my client’s favor. Giving up a decade of idol work to raise a child at home deserves compensation—especially since thirty percent of that compensation will come in the form of Jangbaek Corporation shares that I intend to claim.
The report also highlighted Jang Mi-ye’s father, Jang Ik-hyeon. Whether because he felt his business interests had already been seized by his elder brother or because the siblings had divided the economic and political spheres between them, he had been meeting politicians with increasing frequency. Yeo Eun-ju’s information-gathering ability was once again on full display. Even without being told about the affair, she had attached photographs and profiles of the men Jang Mi-ye had met after simply hearing the words “divorce lawsuit.” I had always prided myself on my own investigative skills, but the material she produced made me wonder where on earth she obtained it. It was fortunate she was on my side; she would have been terrifying as an enemy.
To resolve this case, I needed to target one more person besides Jang Mi-ye.
Knock, knock.
My secretary, Cha Ye-na, opened the door. “Attorney Oh Il-mu is here.”
“Right. Thank you.”
Once she stepped aside, Oh Il-mu entered. “Young master. You asked to see me?”
“Yes. Have a seat.”
Once we were seated, I brought up the divorce case. “Attorney Oh, do you know Attorney Kye Chan-sik?”
“Of course. The former chief judge of the Seoul High Court who stepped down recently?”
“Yes. He’s representing the other side in the new divorce case I’ve taken on. I was hoping you might have some information on him.”
“If it’s him, I know him quite well. We worked at the same district court when I was still a judge. I must say, it’s surprising to see both you and him handling a divorce case.”
“The opposing party is Jang Mi-ye, niece of the JB Group chairman.”
Oh Il-mu nodded in understanding. “So the two of you have met on a narrow bridge. Attorney Kye’s connections are formidable thanks to jeongwan-yeou, regardless of your own skill. Are you certain you want to proceed?”
“That’s why I’m asking you. Is there any way to make him withdraw from this case? If there’s something he wants, I can provide it. If there’s something he dislikes, I can exploit that.”
“Well, Attorney Kye’s likes and dislikes… Most people who rise from judge to court president are the same—they rarely reverse their own rulings. Their pride and desire for honor are strong.”
Something felt off. “Then why would someone like that take on a chaebol divorce case right after retiring?”
“That’s why I found it strange earlier. I suspect he was swayed by the size of the retainer.”
“Does he value money more than honor?”
Oh Il-mu shook his head. “Not necessarily. Many long-serving judges fall into the same trap. They assume that once they leave the bench, the only difference between a judge and a lawyer is the seat they occupy. They’ve never gotten their hands dirty with the kind of work we do, so they don’t realize how foul it can smell.”
Fair point. You only understand how filthy something is after touching it and smelling it yourself. “So if I satisfy his financial appetite while making it clear that this divorce case carries an odor strong enough to stain his reputation, he might drop it?”
“I can’t speak for him personally, but I believe he would. Judges’ greed for money varies, but it’s rarely excessive. They spend decades buried in the courthouse watching their peers succeed as lawyers and accumulate envy and inferiority complexes—‘I was the better student.’ If he truly wanted money, he would have left after becoming a presiding judge and taken lucrative cases. The reason he stayed so long was likely because his promotion to Supreme Court justice fell through and wounded his pride, not because he needed cash.”
At that point, I had a rough idea of how to handle Kye Chan-sik.
* * *
A few days later, while I was drafting the pleadings and laying the groundwork to neutralize Kye Chan-sik, Yoon Seung-hyun called.
“Hello, Attorney.”
“Yes, Mr. Yoon. Have you reached a decision about custody?”
“Ah, that’s actually why I’m calling. I spoke with my daughter…”
“That couldn’t have been easy. Well done. What did she say?”
The line went quiet for a moment before Yoon Seung-hyun’s choked voice returned. “When I told her that Mommy and Daddy might live apart from now on, she didn’t react much. But when I asked how she would feel about living only with Mommy, she couldn’t answer and just burst into tears.”
“I see. That must have been difficult. She’s still young, but a child’s wishes carry weight in custody matters. How did she respond to the idea of living with you?”
“That’s the thing—she accepted it without any fuss. I think she’s always believed that the person she lives with is her dad and that her mom is someone she only sees occasionally. When she asked if she wouldn’t be able to see her mom anymore and I said that wasn’t the case, she asked what would be different from now. Ha…”
The forced laugh at the end only made the sadness more palpable. What kind of wife and mother had Jang Mi-ye been to these two?
“In that case, I can’t ask you to concede custody just to make things easier for me. I’ll finalize the counterclaim with custody going to you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“I should have a draft ready soon. Would you like to come in and review it together? If it’s difficult to leave your daughter alone, feel free to bring her. We don’t have a playroom, but we have plenty of empty rooms and one of my staff can watch her for a while.”
“You work fast. Thank you for even considering my daughter, Attorney.”
“How about four o’clock?”
“Yes, I’ll be there on time.”
Later that afternoon, Yoon Seung-hyun arrived. While Cha Ye-na looked after his daughter, I completed the counterclaim. Listening to more of his stories about the marriage made it clear just how grueling this case would be. Jang Mi-ye had treated her husband and daughter like expensive decorative pieces—objects she owned and nothing more. According to Yoon Seung-hyun, her most frequent remark had been, “Ah, the maintenance costs are really high.”
That raised a question: if she held such contempt for them, why had she filed for divorce first instead of waiting for Yoon Seung-hyun to do it?
The next day, after reviewing the draft with Yoon Seung-hyun, I finalized the counterclaim and submitted it along with evidence of Jang Mi-ye’s affair and recordings of conversations between Yoon Seung-hyun and his daughter. All that remained was to neutralize the influence of former Seoul High Court Chief Judge Kye Chan-sik. Preparations for that were already well underway.