Exposing Abuse of Power (3)
Min Hong-soo spoke in a sullen voice.
“Shouldn’t the media be presenting both sides fairly?”
Leaning back in his chair and snacking lazily, Ahn Hyeon-cheol let out a loud laugh.
“Pwahaha! After taking that much ad money, what fairness are you talking about? Newspapers live on the love of advertisers, not subscribers.”
“Still, isn’t it too much not to run a story at all?”
Ahn Hyeon-cheol scratched his beard and replied indifferently.
“Whether the article runs or not, the National Pension Service is going to vote in favor anyway.”
“Even though all the global management consulting firms are opposing it?”
“When has this country ever cared about that? The chaebols want something from the political world, and the political world wants something from the chaebols too. They’ve probably already finished talking.”
Most experts were predicting that the National Pension Service would also vote in favor.
The head of the National Pension Service’s investment division was one of President Oh Young-hwan’s close aides. In other words, the National Pension Service was highly likely to move according to the Blue House’s wishes.
To clear his head for a moment, Min Hong-soo stepped outside and took out a cigarette.
If there really was some kind of understanding between Hanjeong Group and the Blue House, then maybe something was exchanged in return. If I dig into that part, there might be something bigger here.
The instant he put the cigarette to his lips and reached for the lighter, his phone rang.
When he saw the name on the screen, his expression changed in surprise.
The first time he’d learned the name Han Miru was because of the Primus incident. But after that, Han Miru had somehow tracked him down and tipped him off about Cobalt Gate.
Incredibly, every part of the tip had been true. Because of it, the deputy foreign minister and the presidential chief of staff had both lost their jobs.
And I quit too.
He answered the call.
“Hello?”
“Hello, reporter. This is Han Miru.”
“Yes, hello.”
“You’re still working at Jungheung Economic Daily, right?”
“Ah! I’ve actually moved to another outlet now.”
“Which one?”
“News Trigger. You probably wouldn’t know it.”
He was about to explain, but the other man spoke first.
“I know it. That’s the internet media outlet founded by reporter Ahn Hyeon-cheol. You moved to a good place.”
The voice didn’t sound the least bit surprised.
He knows I changed jobs?
“Thank you. But what’s this about?”
“Could we meet once? I have a few things to say.”
He was already swamped trying to cover Hanjeong Group and write the article.
“I’m sorry, but I’m a bit busy these days…”
“It’s about Hanjeong Group.”
“……Pardon?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Min Hong-soo met Han Miru at a café in Gangnam.
“Long time no see.”
“Yes. Have you been well?”
They had met once before, so they exchanged greetings without any awkwardness and took their seats.
Min Hong-soo got straight to the point.
“What is it about Hanjeong Group?”
Instead of answering, Han Miru took out a voice recorder and held it out.
“Could you listen to this first?”
“What is it?”
“You’ll understand if you hear it.”
Min Hong-soo plugged the earbuds into both ears.
The moment he pressed play, a stream of vicious profanity came blasting through. For an instant, he nearly tore the earbuds out in shock. Frowning, he forced himself to keep listening, and then he heard the words “Director Ju Hyeon-jin.”
What? The person cursing is Director Ju Hyeon-jin?
He kept listening to the recording.
Even after editing, it ran for more than five hours. And most of it was swear words.
After fast-forwarding through only the important parts, Min Hong-soo pulled the earbuds from his ears.
“Is this Ju Min-jae’s youngest son, Ju Hyeon-jin?”
“Yes.”
“The person who made the recording is the chauffeur, then.”
“That’s right.”
Min Hong-soo looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“How on earth did you get this recording?”
“I got it directly from the person involved.”
“And why are you tipping me off?”
Han Miru answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Isn’t it the media’s core role to let the world know about the wrongdoing of a conglomerate family?”
Min Hong-soo gave a bitter smile at that.
“It feels a little awkward to say this myself, but News Trigger is a small internet outlet. Compared to major papers like Jungheung Economic Daily, we don’t have much reach.”
“Would that major paper actually run this story?”
Min Hong-soo nodded readily.
“Chaebol families bullying chauffeurs, housekeepers, and employees isn’t anything new. Among them, the Hanjeong Group family’s abuse of power is famous even among reporters. I once wrote a similar piece myself, but in the end it never got published.”
“They probably didn’t want to offend an important advertiser.”
“We don’t worry about that kind of thing, so publishing the article itself isn’t a problem. The issue comes after that. It might make noise for a little while, but there’s a high chance it’ll be brushed aside.”
“What do you think will happen?”
“Hanjeong Group will cut Ju Hyeon-jin loose by firing him. In the process, they’ll smear the victim and try to muddy the waters. This isn’t serious enough to lead to an arrest, so it’ll probably end with a moderate fine or a settlement with the victim. And once the public attention dies down, he’ll quietly return to his post.”
Han Miru nodded admiringly.
“Wow. That’s an incredibly accurate prediction, like you can see the future. Still, Hanjeong Group is about to go through a merger right now. Wouldn’t something like this have a bad effect on that?”
Min Hong-soo thought about it for a moment before answering.
“To be honest, it’ll become an issue, but not enough to damage the merger itself. If Vice Chairman Ju Cheol-jin had done this, maybe, but Director Ju Hyeon-jin’s abuse of power alone isn’t enough to overturn the bigger trend.”
“Then listen to this one too.”
When Min Hong-soo put the earbuds back in, Han Miru hit play on the next audio file. Just like before, Ju Hyeon-jin’s voice flowed through.
But this time, instead of profanity, the recording contained something shocking.
“You’re saying Chairman Ju Min-jae met with the president and asked him to support the National Pension Service vote?”
Han Miru burst out laughing.
“Haha! Asked?”
“Why are you laughing?”
“If you simply ask someone to do something, that’s a request. But if something is exchanged in the process, isn’t that usually called an improper solicitation?”
At those words, the color drained from Min Hong-soo’s face.
“Something was exchanged? What exactly are you saying was exchanged?”
“What if Hanjeong Group donated 10 billion won to the president’s slush fund foundation through a paper company?”
“…….”
Min Hong-soo was speechless.
They took bribes through a foundation in exchange for the National Pension Service voting for the merger?
If that was true, the entire political world would be turned upside down.
But there were several things he still couldn’t understand.
“How did you even know that? All Director Ju Hyeon-jin said was that they met and asked, wasn’t it?”
“I’ll explain that later.”
There was certainty in both his expression and his voice.
If anyone else had said it, I would’ve brushed it off as nonsense. But the person saying it was Han Miru.
He was the one who had sparked the Primus incident and tipped him off about Cobalt Gate. Even then, key figures in the administration had been involved.
Where the hell did he get this information? And what exactly is his connection to Ju Hyeon-jin’s chauffeur? Is he leaking this to sabotage the Hanjeong Group merger? Why?
He thought it over hard, but he couldn’t figure it out.
When I don’t know something, the best thing is not to stew over it alone but to ask the person involved directly.
“Where did you get this information? How did you meet the chauffeur, and why are you tipping me off? Why are you taking an interest in the Hanjeong Group merger?”
“You have a lot of questions.”
Of course he did.
If it was true, it would be the kind of scoop that came once in a lifetime.
Han Miru took out a document envelope.
“I’ve organized all the necessary details and supporting documents in here.”
When Min Hong-soo reached for it, Han Miru pulled it back and said,
“This is a story not just for Korea, but for the world. If you’re the first to run it, it’ll be a huge hit.”
“W-well, yes.”
He was right.
If he wrote it first, the media could attach the labels of “exclusive” and “first report,” but if he was even one second late, all it would become was copied coverage of someone else’s work.
“Foreign outlets would pick it up too. Then the first article to break it would spread all over the world.”
The Hanjeong Group merger plan had become an international issue, with even the American hedge fund Elient involved. And if the Blue House was tangled up in it too?
Of course the whole world would pay attention.
Min Hong-soo swallowed hard.
“What do you want?”
“Can you turn the Ju Hyeon-jin abuse scandal into an article by tonight?”
“Tonight? That’s too fast.”
“We don’t have much time.”
He had no idea why Han Miru was in such a hurry, but the proposal was undeniably tempting.
Setting aside the profanity, if this is an improper solicitation… if it’s true…
Han Miru rose to his feet.
“I’ll give you the recording file, so think it over carefully. Then I’ll be on my way.”
Min Hong-soo hurriedly stopped him.
“W-wait a second.”
“What is it?”
“Aren’t you giving me the materials?”
At the question, Han Miru answered calmly.
“Ah. I’ll see how well you write today’s article first.”
“…….”
There it was again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As I left the café, memories came back to me.
Min Hong-soo had moved from Jungheung Economic Daily to a small outlet called News Trigger.
The reason I knew his name was because, in the future, he would publish a scoop that would turn the Republic of Korea upside down.
That scoop was about the K-Culture Foundation.
While writing an article on the Hanjeong Group holding company merger, Min Hong-soo had confirmed that Hanjeong Group’s slush funds had flowed into a paper company.
He suspected the money had been used as a bribe and dug into it, but he never found much of anything.
Then, three years later.
Secret documents from a law firm in Panama that specialized in paper companies were leaked, and the world was thrown into chaos. The files contained information about the true owners of the paper companies they managed.
Not only world-famous celebrities, but also a flood of Korean chaebol families, politicians, and entertainers had their names exposed, shocking the public.
Among them, the owner of a paper company called ATJ was Yang Ji-sook, none other than Ju Min-jae’s wife and Ju Cheol-jin’s mother.
And just before the Hanjeong Group merger proposal, ATJ had donated 10 billion won to the K-Culture Foundation.
Min Hong-soo wrote the article exposing that fact, and it snowballed into a case of bribery at the level of the administration itself.
There were plenty of related suspicions besides that. But by the time the article came out, the merger had already been finalized and the president had left office.
Since it had happened under the previous administration, it caused a stir for a while, but the public’s attention soon faded.
Corporate bribes were dressed up as voluntary donations for cultural development, and even the prosecution wrapped up its investigation by claiming there had been no quid pro quo.
Of course, nobody believed that.
At any rate, the matter involving the K-Culture Foundation was something he had investigated and uncovered himself, and it would later become the basis for Elient Management’s lawsuit against the government.
In other words, I had handed the future Min Hong-soo’s article to the present Min Hong-soo.
He’ll write the article well enough, won’t he?
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