The Final Victor
James had held back that shareholding until the very end, just in case. Since he was already attending the shareholders’ meeting, it was a card he could play whenever he chose.
“Please verify the authenticity of the proxy.”
Thinking that it could not possibly exceed 1.7 percent, Chairman Choi nodded at Park, and Park ordered TY Telecom’s legal team to verify the document.
“We’ll check it.”
And the authenticity of the document was quickly settled.
This... this is a real proxy?
Park walked over to the legal team employee who had confirmed the proxy’s validity.
“Is it valid?”
“...I think I should say it isn’t. If this gets added on top of the others, we’re finished.”
The legal team employee was worrying about the fallout that would follow if he announced the proxy as valid, but Park pointed at the other side’s wall of lawyers and said, “Don’t you see the lawyers over there? The best in the country are standing right there.”
“...But—”
“Just announce what you verified. If you get this wrong, the backlash could hit TY Telecom even harder. Even if we don’t do it, they’ll end up verifying it themselves!”
“Understood.”
When the conversation ended, the legal team employee took the microphone and made the announcement.
“This proxy has been confirmed to be lawful and valid.”
Then the lawyer took the microphone James had been holding and exercised the voting rights directly.
“We vote against it with the proxy covering the 6 percent stake secured by Citi Bank.”
!
A dramatic new proxy had appeared.
“What? 6 percent?”
Even Chairman Choi shot to his feet in shock at the newly revealed stake.
“That proxy pertains to TY Telecom shares held by Citi Bank and was drawn up before ownership was transferred to James Kane here. In addition, James Kane secured those shares as of yesterday. The relevant disclosure will be made within five business days.”
!!
James smiled faintly at the stunned Choi Tae-yeong and took the microphone again.
“The total votes against now stand at 44 percent. That’s well above the 39.7 percent in favor, so this agenda item has failed.”
“......”
The moderator looked troubled, but Park, standing beside him, jabbed his side and urged him on.
“Hurry up and continue the meeting. The stake fight is over now.”
“...Yes.”
With trembling hands, Chairman Im gripped the podium and announced, “Agenda Item 3-1, the appointment of Choi Jeong-pil as a new inside director, has been rejected with 44 percent against and 39.7 percent in favor... I announce...”
Chairman Choi could only stare in disbelief, unable to bring down the gavel.
“Chairman? What are you doing? You need to process the rejected item, now.”
“...Hrk.”
This was a shareholders’ meeting being run by the rules. Failing to swing the gavel would not turn a rejection into approval.
“Agenda Item 3-1 has been rejected.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The next items were already decided by voting power, so they had no meaning at all.
“Agenda Item 3-2, the appointment of Colt Evans as a new inside director is approved.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
As expected, Colt was appointed as a director of TY Telecom, and the inside directors whose terms had expired were rejected one after another.
“Agenda Item 3-3, the reappointment of an inside director has failed by majority opposition...”
“Agenda Item 3-4, the reappointment of an inside director has failed by majority opposition...”
“Agenda Item 3-5, the reappointment of an inside director has failed by majority opposition...”
And what remained was the appointment of new inside directors.
“Agenda Item 3-6, the appointment of a new inside director...”
“Agenda Item 3-7, the appointment of a new inside director...”
“Agenda Item 3-8, the appointment of a new inside director...”
The directors proposed by James, Colt, and the shareholder alliance were approved one after another. The name listed under the final Item 3-8 was James himself.
“Agenda Item 4-4, the appointment of outside directors...”
“Agenda Item 4-5, the appointment of outside directors...”
“Agenda Item 4-6, the appointment of outside directors...”
Outside directors to fill out the board’s headcount were added as well, and
“Agenda Item 5-3, the appointment of part-time audit committee members...”
“Agenda Item 5-4, the appointment of part-time audit committee members...”
even the lawyers from James’s law firm and the accountants from his accounting firm entered TY Telecom at last.
The approval for the final director compensation limit and audit compensation limit passed so quickly no one could even say how it had happened, and every agenda item was settled.
“Then, with that, we will conclude today’s deliberations and close the regular shareholders’ meeting of TY Telecom Co., Ltd.... ngh. The meeting is adjourned...”
The moderator’s declaration announcing the adjournment of the meeting and Chairman Choi’s gavel fell at the same time.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Chairman Choi immediately rose to his feet and tried to leave the auditorium, but the voices could not be stopped.
“We won!”
“Waaahhhh!”
It was the frenzied uproar of the minority shareholders.
Stupid pigs... You’ve just sold out a major domestic conglomerate to foreign hands!
But Chairman Choi’s eyes were still shining.
This isn’t over yet.
Being appointed as an inside director and being chosen as CEO were different matters. Even if the inside directors had been selected at the shareholders’ meeting, the CEO seat still had to pass through TY Telecom’s board of directors.
There are seven people who entered the board today. Our existing directors are...
Including himself, the board was composed of twelve members. Added to the new appointees, that made nineteen directors in total, enough for the board to pass anything he wanted. If he could just keep the CEO seat for now, he believed he could acquire more shares and seize the upper hand at the next shareholders’ meeting.
“Park.”
“...Yes, Chairman.”
“Convene the board as planned. We’ll vote on the CEO today. Put forward an acting CEO as vice president, and get everything ready quickly.”
“Then what about them...”
The people Park pointed to were Colt Evans and the lawyers who had won today’s shareholders’ meeting.
“Of course we’ll call them. It’s the moment we make them realize today’s shareholders’ meeting meant nothing at all.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Park turned and walked toward Colt, then called over one of the strategy office staff nearby.
“Deputy Manager Kang.”
“Yes, Director.”
It was Kang Dong-hwi, the deputy manager who had once been chewed out by Choi Jeong-san in Park’s place when Park had fled with the slush fund.
“The board meeting under the Chairman’s chairmanship will start soon. Make sure the directors understand that clearly again.”
“...So today is the day the heavens turn over.”
Kang Dong-hwi had long since been the kind of man who did not serve the company or Choi Jeong-san, but Park himself.
“If things go well today, Deputy Manager Kang, you’ll be able to carve out a place for yourself too. I already made sure the new major shareholder knows about you.”
“As expected of our Director.”
“Enough talk. Let’s finish this quickly.”
And then the newly appointed inside and outside directors gathered for the board meeting. James, who had just been appointed an inside director today, was one of them.
Is it time for the final counterstrike?
When James saw Chairman Choi sitting in the chairmanship seat, he greeted him.
“We meet again?”
“...Because we can’t leave the company without a CEO.”
“Of course. CEO Choi Jeong-san has stepped down due to the scandals surrounding him, so it would be best to appoint a proper CEO this time.”
James was once again underscoring the fact that Choi Jeong-san had been a problem.
“With that in mind, let us introduce ourselves first, since we are the ones who entered today’s board. We’ll start with Colt Evans, whom we believe should become TY Telecom’s CEO.”
Colt stood and bowed in the Korean style.
“Nice to meet you. It’s a pleasure.”
The directors seemed briefly surprised by his Korean, but soon nodded. They had already heard Colt greet people at the shareholders’ meeting and knew he spoke Korean fluently.
“I’ve spent many years working as a management consultant for several overseas companies, and I’ve proven my abilities through a strong record of results. If you give me the chance, I’ll do everything in my power to win back the hearts of Korean consumers who have been disappointed in TY Telecom and make it a new TY Telecom.”
It was a greeting that proved Colt’s Korean was good enough to communicate without trouble even with the older directors. The next greetings came from the remaining inside and outside directors, including James.
“We’ll skip introducing our side. We can get to know each other slowly after today’s board meeting is over.”
James nodded as if it were nothing.
“As you wish, Chairman.”
Then Park Jin-tae, who had come in with Chairman Choi, distributed the board materials, and Choi Tae-yeong immediately checked attendance and moved on to the agenda.
“Since the company’s CEO, Choi Jeong-san, has resigned at the shareholders’ meeting for personal reasons, and we cannot leave the CEO seat vacant, I propose that we elect a new CEO.”
Then James, who had raised his hand first, spoke immediately without even seeking Chairman Choi’s permission.
“I believe Colt Evans, an inside director who is morally clean and without defects, is suited to the position of CEO.”
“......”
Expressionless, Choi Tae-yeong stared at James, swallowed the resentment boiling inside him, and stated his own proposal.
“The chair of this extraordinary board believes that Vice President Son Jeong-ho, who has worked at TY Telecom for decades and currently serves as vice president, is more suitable than Colt Evans, who has no history of running a company in Korea.”
“Then, Chairman. Can I assume there are two people running for CEO?”
Choi Tae-yeong swept the room with his eyes and nodded, and the directors answered with reassuring expressions of their own.
“There are no others.”
There is a reason for everything the Chairman does.
“It will be decided according to the Chairman’s wishes.”
Our Chairman is acting his heart out.
But they were merely agreeing with the Chairman’s thinking after receiving the wrong information from Park.
“Then, with the consent of the full board, we will narrow the CEO candidates to two. First, those who believe the American Colt Evans is suitable as CEO, please raise your hand. I remind you in advance that without the consent of a majority of the nineteen directors present, a new CEO cannot be appointed.”
Chairman Choi had no doubt that only Colt Evans and his group would raise their hands.
Your side has only seven. We have twelve. A game we can’t lose...
But most of the board members, excluding Chairman Choi himself, had already raised their hands.
!!!
It was utterly unbelievable.
“Oh. Eighteen of the nineteen directors present are in favor of appointing Colt Evans as CEO. Even Vice President Son Jeong-ho, whom you yourself put forward, also agrees?”
“Vice President Son!”
“Yes, Chairman. I believe I am far inferior to candidate Colt Evans, so I will withdraw my candidacy for CEO voluntarily, Chairman.”
“W-what?”
James raised both hands as if it were all over.
“All right. The new face of TY Telecom! Let’s hear the remarks of congratulations from our new CEO, Colt Evans. Everyone, applause!”
At James’s cue, the other directors broke into bright applause, but Chairman Choi still could not even grasp what was happening.
“......”
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
“Haha! Congratulations, CEO.”
“Congratulations on your appointment, CEO Colt!”
The sound of applause and the flood of greetings finally jolted Chairman Choi back to his senses, and he exploded.
“Stop that! What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“......”
“......”
“......”
“......”
The board members looked at him as if they had no idea why he was upset.
“What are you all doing right now...”
Just before Chairman Choi could awaken them to their mistake, James stepped in.
“Come on, Grandpa. Please stop. The directors all know now. You can stop pretending.”
“...What? Grandpa?”
James approached Choi Tae-yeong, grabbed his withered shoulder, and helped him to his feet.
“Ugh.”
“Grandpa, wasn’t this the whole scenario? Hand the company over to your hidden grandson and wipe away all the public issues at once. It’s all over now. There aren’t any reporters here, either.”
What?
Choi Tae-yeong wanted to ask, but all he could do was part his lips wordlessly.
SILENT ACTION
“......”
Why won’t my mouth move...?
Once James’s magic had taken effect, his mouth would not open again.
Shut up and smile. It’s a good day.