Chapter 365 |
Just as I was about to drive off, someone ran up to the car. Ellie quickly opened the back door and got in.
“Is your mother alright?”
“According to CEO Im Soo-mi, it's nothing serious… But how did you find out?”
Taekgyu said.
“I figured you'd be overwhelmed, so I called her.”
Ellie said to me.
“Let's get going.”
I started the car.
Forget self-driving, I floored it and raced towards the Ceylon Hotel.
Mother was lying in bed in the hotel room with an IV drip, and CEO Im Soo-mi was inside with her.
Seeing me, she said.
“The doctor said she just collapsed from shock for a moment, and there won't be any major problems. Don't worry too much.”
CEO Im Soo-mi went outside, and I sat down on the edge of the bed.
“Are you feeling a bit better?”
Mother wiped the corners of her eyes with her hand and said.
“You must be busy with work, why did you come here?”
“You were always nagging me about not visiting.”
Mother's face was a mess with tear tracks. Seeing her like that made my chest tighten.
“Did you see the news articles?”
“Yes, I saw them.”
Mother sat up. Then, sounding wronged, she poured out her words.
“Mom swears, I really had nothing to do with that incident. I only found out something like that happened later from the articles.”
“I know.”
“The gift too. I accepted it because they said it wasn't expensive, but I was shocked when I heard the price later. So for her next birthday, Mom gave her a similar gift. Really.”
“I know.”
She’s the type who hates being indebted to others. And it's not like Mother is someone who lacks for things like Chanel bags or golf clubs.
“I didn't know Ms. Se-yeon was really that kind of person. When she was with me, she was so kind and friendly. If I had known she was like that, I wouldn't have even met her in the first place.”
The assault scene caught on CCTV was already all over the media. Seeing her hurling insults and striking the caddie, she looked like a crazy person.
But even someone like that probably acted kinder and nicer than anyone in front of my mother.
Mother gripped my hand tightly and choked back tears.
“As a mother, I've just caused my son to be criticized. I won't do anything anymore, golf or whatever.”
“Just play. You said you were enjoying it lately, didn't you?”
“I'm going to quit everything now. I'll return all the gifts I received, and I have to leave here too. I'm sorry, Jin-hoo. Mom is sorry.”
“Don't be like that. You haven't done anything wrong, so what are you sorry for?”
“No. It's all Mom's fault.”
As she spoke, Mother seemed overwhelmed by emotion and burst into tears like a child.
“Sob sob! Mom is really sorry.”
Feeling frustrated, I snapped unnecessarily.
“Ah, really! Why are you crying over something like this?”
***
Mother cried herself to sleep, and I talked with CEO Im Soo-mi outside.
“She's very shocked, saying her son is being needlessly criticized because of her.”
“It's not like this is the first or second day I've faced criticism.”
CEO Im Soo-mi gave a bitter smile.
“But still, that's not how a parent's heart works, is it?”
The reason Mother moved her residence to the Ceylon Hotel was because relatives and acquaintances kept visiting her Dongtan home and making life difficult for her.
Originally, she planned to stay only until she moved and found a new house, but she grew close to CEO Im Soo-mi and the staff and ended up living here permanently.
“Once it became known that she was CEO Kang Jin-hoo's mother, naturally, the wives of chaebol families started visiting. That led to them going golfing together. Everyone tried hard to get close to her, but you know the reason, right?”
“Yes.”
“Still, whenever someone brought up business, she would firmly cut them off. She'd say she knew nothing about her son's work, and that her son hadn't listened to his mother like that since he was young.”
A dry laugh escaped me involuntarily. That's exactly how Mother would speak.
CEO Im Soo-mi bowed her head.
“I apologize, CEO Kang. It's my oversight. I should have looked more carefully into the people gathering around your mother.”
“No, it's alright.”
As long as I'm the CEO of OTK Company, people are bound to flock around Mother. Among them, there will be all sorts of people. But it's not like she can live without meeting anyone at all.
“Mother says she's going to leave the hotel immediately, please try to stop her for now.”
CEO Im Soo-mi nodded.
“Don't worry about that. I'd be bored if she left too.”
***
We decided to wait in another guest room until Mother woke up.
Taekgyu kept looking at articles on his phone.
“Who the hell is this Representative Myeong Jin-wook, making such a fuss? And these trash reporters are really getting off on it.”
Representative Myeong Jin-wook kept attacking my mother relentlessly in the National Assembly.
Anyone watching would think my mother was the one abusing her power at the golf course.
Although there was nothing legally or morally wrong, the media diligently reported Representative Myeong Jin-wook's words, churning out articles that stoked anti-chaebol sentiment.
[Kang Jin-hoo's Mother, Ms. Choi, Really Didn't Know About the Golf Course Assault?]
[Assailant Routinely Flaunted Connection with Kang Jin-hoo's Mother]
[The Insular Culture of the Chaebol]
[Growing Public Opinion Demands Kang Jin-hoo Apologize]
[Rep. Myeong Jin-wook: National Assembly Must Hold Hearing...]
[Secret Meetings of Chaebol Wives at Ceylon Hotel. What Really Happened?]
Remembering my mother crying her eyes out, anger surged to the top of my head. I felt like screaming.
Ellie looked at me and said.
“Do you know what your expression looks like right now, Jin-hoo?”
“What does it look like?”
“I've never seen you this angry before.”
“Ah...”
As I tried to force my expression to change, Ellie shook her head.
“It's okay. You can be angrier. Why hold back?”
Taekgyu said.
“You've been too moderate until now. That's why these bastards are acting up like this. Isn't it time to teach them a proper lesson?”
“You're right. This is my fault.”
Until now, I had intentionally kept my distance from politics and the media. I believed it was natural for politics and the media to keep capital in check, and I still believe that.
But I didn't expect them to be unable to distinguish between what's acceptable and what's not.
“Even in online arguments, it's common sense not to bring parents into it. Doing that is basically asking for a real-life fight. What are you going to do? Surely you're not just going to let this slide moderately again?”
I looked at the photo of Representative Myeong Jin-wook in the article and said.
“No. I need to show them exactly what happens when you mess with someone's family.”
***
The Heo Chang-min administration decided to carry out a small cabinet reshuffle as it reached the midpoint of its term.
Including the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, already vacant due to Minister Shin Jeon-mi's dismissal, new ministers were to be appointed for five ministries, including the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Office of Civil Affairs began selecting candidates.
Among these, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy drew the most attention.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is the department responsible for the nation's energy policy and is closely related to the ongoing controversy surrounding the nuclear phase-out.
It could be said that the direction of the government's energy policy would be determined by who became the next minister.
As public attention was focused, the Liberty Korea Party, now in opposition (with roles reversed from the previous administration), vowed to conduct a thorough vetting.
Political circles predicted that a senior ruling party lawmaker would be appointed as the next minister, both to ensure passage through the confirmation hearing and to demonstrate the President's commitment to the nuclear phase-out policy. As expected, Representative Myeong Jin-wook was nominated.
Having returned to politics after winning re-election following his non-candidacy in the last election, he was considered the leader of the pro-Heo faction. He had also been part of Heo Chang-min's presidential campaign and had spearheaded the nuclear phase-out policy.
His name recognition was high, and along with Seoul Mayor Won Sang-hoon, he was consistently mentioned as a potential next presidential candidate for the New Politics Party.
However, as the controversy over the nuclear phase-out grew following the development of TWR, Representative Myeong Jin-wook, who had long advocated for phasing out nuclear power and expanding renewable energy, found himself in an awkward position.
Like most politicians, he didn't have a very favorable view of Kang Jin-hoo.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Korean economy currently moved according to Kang Jin-hoo. It had even reached the point where people said Korea's most powerful person wasn't the President, but Kang Jin-hoo.
Despite having such significant influence, he acted arbitrarily without consulting the government. He triggered the Zhou Auto incident in China and antagonized Japan with the Nishida Securities incident.
As a result, diplomatic relations with China and Japan became extremely strained, and the government had to struggle to find solutions. Complaints erupted from the ruling party that OTK Company reaped the benefits while the government was left to clean up the mess.
On top of that, he pursued the extremely sensitive issue of Russian nuclear power investment without a single word of notification to the government.
Adding to this, Kang Jin-hoo's fame was also a significant burden.
President Ronald sought out Kang Jin-hoo immediately upon visiting Korea, and Korea-China relations shifted to a thawing mode right after Kang Jin-hoo met with Zhang Pinghua.
The opposition, the media, and the public were all pouring criticism on the government, asking what exactly it was doing.
In this situation, the golf course assault incident was a good issue to break Kang Jin-hoo's momentum and deflect from the nuclear phase-out controversy.
As expected, the public reacted very sensitively to the issue of chaebol power abuse.
Representative Myeong Jin-wook, who first
brought up the issue in the National Assembly, continued to shout, presenting data.
“According to data obtained from the golf course, it has been confirmed that Kang Jin-hoo's mother, Ms. Choi, played golf with the assailant two days after the caddie assault incident! The victim lost her job and is suffering in the hospital, yet they brazenly played golf! Does this make any sense? We must thoroughly investigate whether she properly paid for her hotel stay and meals at the Ceylon Hotel, whether she committed any other acts of power abuse towards the staff, and whether there was any quid pro quo for the Chanel bag she received as a gift, and reveal the truth clearly to the public. I believe the National Assembly must hold a hearing regarding this incident! The recurring problem of chaebol power abuse! It must end now!”
***
I held a press conference at the headquarters.
Domestic and foreign reporters swarmed in. As I entered the conference hall, camera shutters clicked incessantly. Some broadcasters aired the press conference live.
I stood at the podium and began to speak.
“What on earth does my mother staying at a hotel or going golfing have to do with the golf course assault incident?”
A reporter asked a question.
“Is it true that your mother received a Chanel bag as a gift from Ms. Kim Se-yeon?”
“It is true. But my mother is neither a journalist nor a politician, so what's the problem with receiving a gift? And the very next month, for Ms. Kim Se-yeon's birthday, she gave her shoes and a wallet from the same brand, a fact conveniently omitted from the articles.”
“Do you think exchanging such expensive gifts, which ordinary people struggle to afford, is acceptable according to social norms?”
I looked at the reporter and asked.
“Then, is every man who gifts a Chanel bag to his girlfriend or wife acting against social norms?”
“W-well...”
“Keep writing articles like that.”
Questions from other reporters followed.
“Did your mother know about the golf course assault incident?”
“Is it true she was personally acquainted with Ms. Kim Se-yeon?”
“Did she receive any specific requests or favors in return?”
I didn't answer each question individually.
“This press conference is not meant for giving explanations. You only explain if you've done something wrong. Since nothing wrong was done, what is there to explain? I called this press conference to make an announcement.”
At the word 'announcement,' the reporters all focused intently on my words.
Since the press conference was being broadcast live, the entire nation was likely watching.
“Someone once told me: Even in online arguments, if you resort to family insults, it means you're ready for a real-life fight. Since Representative Myeong Jin-wook started this, I am prepared to see it through to the end. Effective immediately, I will be accepting tips regarding any corruption related to Representative Myeong Jin-wook. This includes tips related to his wife, children, parents, and other family members.”
The reporters were stunned.
Representative Myeong Jin-wook is a senior lawmaker of the New Politics Party and even mentioned as a potential next presidential candidate. This was tantamount to a declaration of war.
I continued.
“For information on morally problematic issues, I will offer 10 million won. For legally problematic issues, 50 million won. For criminal acts severe enough to warrant removal from office, 100 million won. And for decisive evidence leading to arrest, 1 billion won will be offered as a reward for the tip. I ask for the public's active participation in providing information.”
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