Improper Solicitation (1)
Hanjeong Group threw everything it had into managing public opinion.
First, Director Ju Hyeon-jin stepped down from all his posts and bowed his head, claiming he wanted to meet the chauffeur in person and apologize.
Hanjeong Group drew a line around the matter, framing it as Ju Hyeon-jin’s personal problem, while also announcing that the company would set up an oversight body to make sure nothing like it ever happened again.
At the same time, it sent a flood of materials about the chauffeur to numerous media outlets, asking them to write the story in a way that made Ju Hyeon-jin look like a victim too.
It wasn’t something I was proud of, but among the ten largest conglomerates, there weren’t many that had caused as much trouble as Hanjeong Group’s own family.
They had enough experience with scandals that the whole family taking turns to dominate the headlines had practically become routine. Since they’d already weathered so many crises, they even had a response manual ready to go.
And then, just as Hanjeong Group was about to go on the offensive in the press, another article exploded.
[(Exclusive) Was Blue House Solicitation Hidden in Director Ju Hyeon-min’s Recording?]
(Omitted)
It was reported that Director Ju Hyeon-jin’s recording contained shocking remarks to the effect that Chairman Ju Min-jae had met President Oh Young-hwan in a private audience and asked for the National Pension Service’s support for the merger.
According to Director Ju’s statement, Chairman Ju Min-jae had met President Oh Young-hwan privately at the previous Blue House meeting with business leaders, and there he had asked for the National Pension Service to vote in favor of the merger. He also said they were lobbying lawmakers in every district, regardless of party affiliation.
In response, Elient and KSGI stated, “If that’s true, it would be unconscionable. If the National Pension Service votes in favor of the merger, we will seriously consider filing an ISD, an investor-state dispute.”
Meanwhile, the article asked for the positions of Hanjeong Group and the Blue House on the matter.
Chairman Ju Min-jae was stunned.
“What the hell is this...?”
For a merger, the National Pension Service’s support was essential. Everyone knew there was communication between Hanjeong Group and the political establishment.
But just because everyone knew it didn’t mean they could say it out loud.
The moment you voiced an “assumption” or a “guess,” it became “fact.”
Ju Hyeon-jin’s abuse of power was bad for business, but it wasn’t fatal enough to blow up the merger. This was different.
If they made one wrong move, they could lose the National Pension Service’s support altogether.
The National Pension Service held 9.9 percent of Hanjeong Mulsan’s shares.
If it gave up its voting rights, securing enough votes for the merger would become difficult.
J-just who the hell set this up?
As Chairman Ju stood there in shock, his phone rang.
The caller ID was hidden, but he could guess who it was.
A distorted voice said sharply, as if demanding an explanation.
[What exactly is going on here?]
“I’m sorry.”
The National Pension Service had already decided internally to vote in favor.
And then the recording and the article had broken.
In a situation like this, if the National Pension Service still supported the merger, what would people think? Naturally, they would assume it was because they had been solicited.
[Is there anything else in there?]
“No.”
Fortunately, the recording contained nothing beyond the fact that he had asked for support in a private meeting.
Without evidence, all they could do was deny it.
Even Ju Hyeon-jin himself didn’t know what had been said that day or how any bribe might have been delivered.
[As you understand, if this is exposed as true, it will be very troublesome.]
“You can rest assured that nothing like that will happen.”
[I’ll take your word for it.]
After hanging up, Chairman Ju let out a long breath.
When he had first announced the merger, he had thought it would sail through easily. Then KSGI and Elient had emerged as variables.
Even then, he had been confident he could keep the situation under control.
But this time, the abuse scandal had erupted, small shareholders were turning their backs, and even the National Pension Service’s support was now in jeopardy.
Could that really be a coincidence?
And if it wasn’t...
What if someone’s been pulling the strings behind the scenes? Timing things so they blow up at just the right moment.
After thinking it over for a long time, Chairman Ju gave a bitter smile.
“No way.”
Suspicion was only suspicion.
There was no way to dig anything further out of it.
* * *
Using Ju Hyeon-jin’s remarks as a springboard, the opposition launched an offensive against the Blue House and the ruling party, and Hanjeong Group’s merger proposal had now escalated into a political issue.
With the Primus incident, Cobalt Gate, and now even a solicitation scandal involving the National Pension Service, the Blue House and the ruling party could barely hide their embarrassment.
Hanjeong Group denied the solicitation allegations, and the Federation of Korean Industries came out in support.
“There’s nothing wrong with the government supporting businesses. To call that solicitation or whatever else is simply inappropriate. This kind of anti-business sentiment does nothing to help investment or employment.”
Even so, the controversy would not die down easily, and in the end even the Blue House spokesperson had to step forward and give an explanation.
“At the meeting with business leaders, we only discussed corporate activities. There was absolutely no discussion of the National Pension Service’s voting rights. I want to make it clear that the National Pension Service’s exercise of shareholder rights follows only the decisions of the fiduciary responsibility expert committee, and the Blue House does not issue any instructions whatsoever. We will also respond firmly to baseless rumors.”
No sooner had the spokesperson finished than reporters all raised their hands and fired off questions.
“Then does that mean the National Pension Service won’t exercise its voting rights?”
“What do you think of Macaulay Consulting’s opinion?”
“They’re saying it could damage people’s retirement assets. Are you still going to support it?”
The Blue House spokesperson did not answer.
The internet went insane again.
* * *
K-Culture Foundation.
It had been founded three years earlier.
On paper, its purpose was listed as “contributing to the development of Korean culture and the Korean Wave by realizing a healthy and unified society through culture as a medium.”
“But in reality, you can think of it as a slush fund tied to the president.”
The materials Min Hong-soo had brought were a neat, orderly summary of K-Culture Foundation’s true nature.
Looking through them, Ahn Hyeon-cheol asked, “Are all of these facts?”
“I checked a few things, and it seems to add up. The foundation chairman is Park Sun-hyeok, but he’s just a figurehead. The real power is his sister, Park Sun-ja, who serves as secretary general. She was childhood friends with First Lady Kim Han-suk, and they went to middle school, high school, and university together. Their parents seem to be very close too.”
“That alone doesn’t prove a connection, does it?”
“The foundation was created three years ago, and within a year it received donations worth 70 billion won from the Federation of Korean Industries. So where do you think the Federation got that money?”
“They collected it from the conglomerates.”
Min Hong-soo nodded and went on.
“Exactly. And the approval for the foundation came through just one day after the application was submitted. On top of that, even though it had no track record at all, it received grants from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and even had a promotional video produced. At this point, can we really say it has nothing to do with the Blue House?”
“Probably not.”
Ahn Hyeon-cheol folded his arms and fell into thought.
“But how did the informant even find all this out? Information like this should be impossible to get without an internal whistleblower.”
“Maybe they got it quietly from someone connected to the foundation or the Blue House?”
“Then how? They were just a securities company employee. It’s not like they’d have any connections there.”
“Exactly.”
Min Hong-soo had wondered the same thing. But the informant had kept silent, so there was no way to learn more.
“So you’re not running the article?”
“What are you talking about?”
This was on a completely different level from the usual story.
It was, quite literally, thrusting a dagger at power while it was still alive.
When he’d worked as a KBC reporter, he had seen with his own eyes how tightly the Oh Young-hwan administration controlled the media, and what happened to the outlets that stood up to it.
And now, finally, they had the chance to strike back.