Using Others to Do the Dirty Work (2)
“What the hell did you do to Executive Director Lee Jae-hyuk?”
Kwon Je-gyun’s voice rose, but I answered calmly.
“Do what? You already know, don’t you? As a QS Express shareholder, I simply reported his embezzlement to the prosecution. He came running to me on his own two feet, claiming you ordered it, and spilled everything.”
“That bastard Lee Jae-hyuk! I only told him to use the corporate card within legal limits. When did I ever tell him to embezzle company funds?”
“How should I know? I’m not some carrier pigeon between you and Executive Director Lee Jae-hyuk. If you have something to say, call him yourself. And this might help with your conversation.”
Je-gyun took the document envelope I offered and asked, “What’s this?”
“Evidence that Executive Director Lee Jae-hyuk used the corporate card for illegal cash advances and siphoned off company money. He begged me not to hand it over to the prosecution and even confessed that you’d stuck your nose into my company. Feel free to open it.”
Je-gyun tore open the envelope and flipped through the corporate card records and the cash-advance receipts from entertainment establishments. Then he looked back at me.
“Why are you giving this to me?”
“I thought you’d want it. That’s a copy—the original is still with me, so don’t even think about destroying it.”
“You promised Lee Jae-hyuk you wouldn’t submit it to the prosecution, so now you want me to do it?”
I had only agreed not to submit it to the prosecution. I never promised to keep it secret from Je-gyun. What he did with it was up to him, but right now his intentions were crystal clear.
“You seem pretty angry at Executive Director Lee Jae-hyuk. If you don’t want it, give it back.”
When I reached out as if to take it back, Je-gyun quickly pulled the envelope behind him.
“If you brought it for me, just leave it.”
I chuckled. With this, I had used Je-gyun’s hand to blow my nose. Not only had I avoided the unpleasant task of submitting internal company documents to the prosecution myself, but I could also pin Lee Jae-hyuk down for good. Using one person I disliked to strike another I disliked—this was what they called “using barbarians to control barbarians.”
While Je-gyun put the documents back into the envelope, I stood up and drove in the second reason I had come here.
“I’ll assume your company’s unfair contract with QS Express will be terminated without any fuss. If you need transportation services in the future, negotiate properly through the working-level staff.”
“That… that’s…!”
“If we look into how those unfair contracts were signed, it’ll be obvious that Lee Jae-hyuk pushed them through. Any noise during the termination process will obviously splatter dirt on your face too. How about we take this to the Fair Trade Commission and go through formal dispute mediation?”
Je-gyun nodded with a resigned expression.
“N-no. Fine. I’ll do as you say.”
“And one more thing. I’ll calculate and bill you for all the QS Express services your affiliates have been using for free until now. Make sure you pay in full.”
“Hey! That’s going too far…!”
“Why? That’s off-limits too? Then shall we go to the Fair Trade Commission? I’m confident if we do it legally.”
“Haa… Fine. I won’t reject the payment. We’ll handle the details through the working-level staff.”
As expected, Je-gyun soon located the prosecutor in charge of Lee Jae-hyuk’s case and handed over the embezzlement evidence. The evidence was so solid that even the prosecutor who had been lukewarm after receiving the complaint immediately requested an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-hyuk.
Thanks to Je-gyun, Lee Jae-hyuk was neatly locked away. Now it was time to disinfect the festering wound in QS Express that Lee Jae-hyuk had left behind.
While I dealt with Lee Jae-hyuk, the strike at QS Express had escalated further. Delivery employees directly employed by the company refused to work, forcing more volume onto independent contractors paid per delivery. The company even began outsourcing shipments to other courier firms just to avoid delivery failures.
This process doubled the need for office staff, but to make matters worse, some unionized office workers joined the strike, dumping even more work onto the remaining employees. Grumbling spread among those who hadn’t joined the strike, and the company atmosphere felt like a pot about to boil over.
Of course, enormous costs were piling up and profits were plummeting. On top of that, some striking workers had begun protesting in front of the company, and the media coverage sent the company’s image plummeting further.
The delivery workers were simply exercising their legally guaranteed rights. QS Express had been withholding the money that rightfully belonged to them in order to plug the holes in its coffers—holes so large that the workers had no choice but to act.
Now two major leaks had been plugged: Lee Jae-hyuk’s corporate card and the free services provided to Je-gyun’s affiliate. If we collected the unpaid amounts from Je-gyun’s affiliate, the company would have surplus funds. I planned to use those funds to meet all the striking delivery workers’ demands.
Of course, if they continued striking after that, it would become an illegal strike. In that case, the surplus funds I had secured would be used not to accommodate their demands, but to punish their illegal actions.
Leaving behind President Seong Yun-hwan’s worried face, I stepped out of the office building and stood before the group of striking workers gathered in front. Microphones and speakers had been set up, probably to facilitate the protest. Since the equipment wasn’t meant for me, the union executives only granted me speaking rights after a brief internal discussion.
I took a deep breath. I had never been particularly uncomfortable speaking in front of others, but right now I felt slightly tense. Standing before nearly a hundred people openly radiating hostility toward me was a first for me. Still, I had already decided to push through, so there was no turning back now that I had come this far.
“Hello, QS Express employees. I am Kwon Ho-gyun, son of QS Group Chairman Kwon Byung-do.”
Even though I had only said a single greeting, the reaction from the people sitting in front of me wearing red headbands was far from ordinary.
“What? The group is getting involved directly?”
“Not the chairman himself, but his son? What do they take us for?”
“He looks soft. He’d be better off inside flirting with the office ladies.”
At this rate, no matter how nicely I spoke, my words wouldn’t reach their ears, let alone their brains. I had expected this, so I played the card I had prepared in advance.
“Everyone, it’s lunchtime. Have you eaten?”
The casual question, instead of stiff talk about strike demands, caught them off guard like a pufferfish suddenly inflating. Unlike when I had introduced myself earlier, people began murmuring among themselves and glancing at me.
Right on cue, office staff emerged from the building carrying large boxes, just as I had instructed. Inside those boxes were lunches worth twenty thousand won each. I had spent over five million won preparing meals for the striking workers and the office staff, but to me it was neither a large nor a regrettable sum.
When the office workers began handing out the lunches to the striking delivery workers, the atmosphere at the protest site shifted dramatically. The worker who had called me soft opened his lunch box and gave me a nod of acknowledgment. Some even removed their red headbands and tucked them into their pockets—whether because they were hot or as a sign of surrender, I couldn’t tell.
Thanks to that, I was able to pick up the microphone again in a much more relaxed atmosphere and continue speaking.
“The lunches you just received are a small gesture from my personal funds. I hope you’ll listen to what I have to say while you eat and give it some thought.”
“Listening doesn’t cost money, so we’ll hear you out.”
“Thank you. I’ve been given full authority from the group level to resolve the issues you’ve raised. First, all overdue allowances will be paid in full as soon as the strike ends. Additionally, delivery workers’ wages will be increased by three percent from the current level.”
Coughs and splutters erupted from several people who clearly hadn’t expected such a drastic offer. I continued speaking while calmly meeting their gazes.
“There’s more. We will abolish the practice of holding delivery workers responsible for compensation in cases of damaged or delayed deliveries. Instead, the company will provide compensation first and determine liability afterward.”
At this point, I had essentially agreed to fully respect and resolve every issue the delivery workers had raised. Just as I was about to address the rest breaks for loading and unloading workers—another reason for the strike—several people who had been sitting with stern expressions and unopened lunch boxes exchanged glances and reached into their vest pockets.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Thud, thud, thud.
Damn it. President Seong Yun-hwan’s warning before I came out here had come true. Three raw eggs flew from the crowd and splattered across my clothes, hands, and face. Ow, shit. Getting hit on the cheekbone with an egg actually hurt. At this rate, eggs might actually be able to crack rocks.
I held up my palm to the concerned office staff approaching me, signaling that I was fine, then pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the egg. As I did, I recalled the conversation I had with President Seong Yun-hwan before coming out here.
— Do you really need to go out there yourself? There are people among them whose goal is the strike itself. No matter how good your words are, they’ll try to sabotage it somehow. I don’t even know how many eggs I got hit with during the last strike.
— What’s their purpose?
— I don’t know either. Including Union Chairman Park Chung-geon and a few people around him, they keep insisting we bring Chairman Kwon Byung-do himself. It’s driving me crazy.
— I’ve been given full authority from my father, so they can talk to me.
— Still, please be careful not to get hurt.
Right. The egg-throwing had been entirely expected. I picked up the microphone again, wearing a relaxed smile, and looked out at the crowd.