Chapter 367 |
The National Assembly is a legislative body, and the laws proposed by its members directly impact corporate activities. While the direct exchange of bribes, as in the past, has largely disappeared, the methods have merely changed; politicians still granted special favors to companies and reaped rewards in return.
This included asking for their children's employment, or after their term ended, joining the company in question as an outside director or advisor and receiving a substantial salary.
If all these issues were to be thoroughly investigated and exposed, what politician would remain unscathed?
When word spread that Kang Jin-hoo was digging into the New Politics Party's corruption, many assembly members with guilty consciences couldn't hide their dismay.
Immediately, a meeting was convened at the New Politics Party headquarters. Cigarette smoke filled the cramped meeting room.
The expressions of the gathered assembly members were stern. Everyone was thinking the same thing.
'What on earth did we do wrong?'
It was Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook alone who had erred, yet the entire party was poised to suffer the consequences.
This wasn't the first time Kang Jin-hoo had clashed with a politician from the New Politics Party. He had even engaged in a public debate with Seoul Mayor Won Sang-hoon over the issue of dormitory construction.
Mayor Won Sang-hoon had only suffered a blow to his image; there wasn't much of an issue morally or legally. But Kang Jin-hoo was now determined to expose Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook's corruption.
Furthermore, while Mayor Won Sang-hoon belonged to a non-mainstream faction, Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook was a key figure within the party, considered a leader of the pro-Heo faction. The prevailing interpretation was that his decision not to run for party leadership or take up key positions was in preparation for the next presidential election.
Naturally, the political clout of the two men was vastly different.
In terms of sheer numbers, the non-mainstream factions outnumbered the mainstream, but the mainstream pro-Heo faction held control over party leadership and key posts. If Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook were to be defeated or step down, the influence of the pro-Heo faction within the party would be significantly weakened. Consequently, the sense of crisis felt by the New Politics Party leadership was particularly acute.
Public opinion was split between those calling for Kang Jin-hoo's punishment and those demanding an apology from Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook.
Fortunately for the New Politics Party, the voices condemning Kang Jin-hoo were louder. This was hardly surprising, given he had openly declared his intent to use illicit methods to investigate a prominent politician and his family.
The media highlighted the ethical issues, and civic groups staged protests in front of OTK Company's headquarters.
The problem was that while Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook had to be mindful of public opinion, Kang Jin-hoo didn't particularly need to.
Inevitably, in such a fight, the party with more to lose is at a disadvantage.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon recalled his first encounter with Kang Jin-hoo. He had made a special request at the time, but Kang Jin-hoo, sparing neither the ruling nor opposition parties, had exposed the corruption of hearing committee members, throwing the hearing into chaos before departing.
To stir up trouble again after such an ordeal, one couldn't blame others for saying he lacked the ability to learn.
The public sometimes witnesses politicians making absurd statements or behaving preposterously.
When confronted about land speculation, they'd claim they bought the land out of an overwhelming love for nature. When caught assaulting a guide on an overseas trip for demanding to be taken to a karaoke bar with hostesses, they'd insist their night vision was poor, they needed someone to read the songbook, and they'd accidentally brushed the back of the guide's head while raising their hand. Or they'd declare to reporters that the public are like "dogs and pigs."
Such incidents occur because their vantage point is different. The higher a person's position, the more they tend to believe they can control everything.
While the public wonders why on earth they behave that way, politicians genuinely believe their actions will be deemed acceptable.
This current incident was no different.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon let out a sigh along with a puff of smoke.
'To think they'd target Kang Jin-hoo's mother, of all people, just to bury the nuclear phase-out controversy.'
In any case, now that the situation had escalated, someone had to step forward and manage the fallout.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon extinguished his cigarette and spoke.
"I'll go and meet Kang Jin-hoo for now."
***
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon personally visited the OTK Company headquarters. In front of the building, supporters of the New Politics Party and various civic groups had gathered to protest.
"Stop the surveillance of politicians!"
"Protect Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook!"
"Kang Jin-hoo, apologize!"
Reporters were stationed all around, ready to cover the events.
For so many busy people to abandon their tasks and gather like this was no small matter. The sheer chaos stemming from a single press conference clearly indicated the extent of Kang Jin-hoo's influence.
The car he was in slipped unnoticed into the underground parking garage. He had been worried Kang Jin-hoo might refuse to see him, but fortunately, Kang Jin-hoo came down to the meeting room.
Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon greeted him warmly.
"A pleasure to see you, CEO Kang."
"Hello."
"Haha, have you been well?"
"Yes. It's been a while. What brings you all the way here?"
After the pleasantries, Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon hesitantly broached the subject.
"I heard you've been contacting companies in connection with the New Politics Party."
Kang Jin-hoo didn't try to evade or deny it; he simply nodded.
"Has word already spread?"
"Isn't this a bit excessive?"
"When trying to create a clean country, free from the collusive ties between politics and business, what can be considered 'excessive'?"
"Is there a particular reason you're going this far?"
"Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook is part of the New Politics Party, so they must bear collective responsibility."
"But this isn't some system of guilt by association... Isn't demanding collective responsibility just because they're in the same party going too far?"
At his protest, Kang Jin-hoo tilted his head.
"That's odd. Then why was my mother held collectively responsible merely for being in the same golf group?"
"..."
Kang Jin-hoo continued.
"And if Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook hadn't been a member of the New Politics Party, would they have been able to do such a thing?"
Recently, the ruling party had found itself in an awkward position due to Kang Jin-hoo, and dissatisfaction with him was high. Thus, it was true that many assembly members, far from trying to stop it, had actually condoned it.
Even so, they had never imagined he would go as far as to demand collective responsibility in this way.
"Isn't there an old saying that one cannot live under the same sky as their parents' enemy? If my mother had committed some sin, that would be one thing. But she did nothing wrong, yet she became a target of criticism in the political sphere and was publicly pilloried by the media. If I were to just stand by and watch such a thing, wouldn't that be unfilial?"
Floor Leader Jang did his utmost to persuade him.
"As someone who also cares for an elderly mother, I completely understand your anger, CEO Kang. We will resolve this from our end somehow, so please give us a little time. As you know, what you announced at the press conference carries a significant risk of illegality."
Thinking about it, it was indeed a preposterous situation.
Politicians surveilling civilians had happened countless times. But a civilian investigating a politician, and doing so openly, was unprecedented.
Kang Jin-hoo smiled.
"If I intended to do this moderately and then back down, I wouldn't have started it in the first place. If there's an issue with my actions, I will gladly accept the punishment. Of course, before that, I must see things through with Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook. That way, no one will ever think of messing with the people around me again. If you don't want to get caught in the crossfire, you should step aside."
His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were ice-cold.
Seeing that expression, Floor Leader Jang Hyun-joon was rendered speechless. There was no room for compromise; further attempts at persuasion would be futile.
In the end, he turned away empty-handed.
***
More money means more enemies.
The chaebols, knowing this well, cultivate relationships with the media and political circles and control them through various means.
As if giving milk to a crying child to quiet it, they provide advertising to media companies and offer donations to politicians or invest in their constituencies.
But that's not my style.
Taek-gyu nodded.
"Exactly. Giving milk to a crying child only spoils them."
Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook himself was a former lawyer, and his wife was currently a music professor. They had a son and a daughter.
The daughter was in the U.S. majoring in violin, and the son was currently fulfilling his military service.
Sang-yeop sunbae commented while reviewing the related documents.
"It's mostly clean. Nothing major to get hung up on."
"If there had been any major issues, he would've been thoroughly vetted by the previous administration long ago."
Based on what's been revealed, there don't seem to be any major problems, but...
"If we dig hard enough, won't something turn up?"
After the press conference, tips poured in from all directions. Most were useless information or pranks, but there were a few worthwhile ones among them.
Among the emails that arrived from Boston was one stating that Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook's daughter, Myeong Na-hee, drove a Porsche 911.
Sang-yeop sunbae asked.
"What's wrong with driving a Porsche?"
"It's not wrong, per se. Still, if his daughter, studying abroad in America, is driving an expensive imported car, wouldn't that look bad in the eyes of the public?"
Taek-gyu nodded at my words.
"Indeed. In a world where even being in the same golf group is considered problematic, anything can become an issue if you frame it that way."
Sang-yeop sunbae asked.
"The tips aren't guaranteed to be 100% accurate, are they? What if some information is wrong?"
I let out a smirk.
"It's just raising allegations anyway. If it's not true, so be it."
Taek-gyu, beside me, kept nodding.
"Exactly. Politicians spew nonsense all the time and then just shrug it off with an 'if not, oh well.' There's no reason we can't do the same."
A tip isn't validated by words alone; evidence is needed. However, we decided to pay out the reward money as soon as a certain degree of factual basis was confirmed.
The effect of paying rewards, even for minor tips, was immediate.
-Wow! My friend reported something and got 5 million won!
-Wasn't it 10 million won?
-For family members, it's half off. They give out reward money even for trivial stuff! For real!
-I went to the same high school as Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook's daughter. We cheated together in our sophomore year. Can I report this?
-I'm an employee at the local community center. A woman who says she's Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook's mother comes in and bosses around the public service workers, demanding they do this and that for her because her son is an assemblyman.
-Just report anything. If you get paid, it's free money, isn't it?
-I'm a junior soldier to Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook's son. I want to reveal all the hazing I've endured from him and make a bit of cash, but my remaining military life won't get complicated, will it?
-Take it from your hyung: report it before another junior does. The one who gets the reward money first is the winner!
-Isn't there anything that could get Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook arrested? 10 billion won would be a jackpot~
-Winning first prize in the lottery these days only gets you about 1 billion won. 10 billion means your life changes in an instant.
-If you get reward money, who pays the taxes? Will Kang Jin-hoo pay the taxes for us too?
-Declare it as 'other income.'
***
As rumors spread far and wide about people receiving reward money, tips flooded into OTK Company. And OTK Company, ostensibly to prevent duplicate submissions, immediately publicized the tips for which rewards had been paid.
The son smoked in high school, verbally abused and gave unjust orders to his juniors in the military, frequented clubs, and had arranged dates with women. The daughter was living a life of luxury in the United States, had received preferential treatment for her music school admission, and had forged records of volunteer work she never did for her study abroad application, and so on.
When reporters pressed him about these allegations, Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook responded irritably.
"What on earth is problematic about my daughter driving a Porsche while studying abroad?"
Then the reporter who asked the question followed up.
"But didn't you, Assemblyman, make an issue of the fact that CEO Kang Jin-hoo's mother was in the same golf group as Ms. Kim Se-yeon?"
"What?"
"What did you consider problematic about that, that made you act as you did?"
"...I will not answer any further."
Assemblyman Myeong Jin-wook posted on Facenote, appealing for public support.
[This is blatant surveillance of a politician, oppression, and an old-fashioned attempt to destroy the progressive party! This is an act that completely disregards the nation and its people, something that is utterly unacceptable in a country governed by the rule of law!]
Public reaction was mixed.
-Harassing a ruling party politician like this is absurd!
-Arrest Kang Jin-hoo immediately and stop the oppression of the progressive party!
-LOL, 'destroy the progressive party,' you love saying that, don't you.
-Kang Jin-hoo is a pro-North leftist, what are you talking about?
-These bastards still haven't suffered enough. If you had any conscience, you'd remember what the Free People's Party has gone through!
-That's right. To call this 'destroying the progressive party' – haven't conservative parties been overly attacked all this time?
-His Excellency is in prison right now, you scoundrels!!!
-Release President Park Si-hyeong, the most incorruptible president in history!
Various civic groups and supporters of the New Politics Party filed complaints against Kang Jin-hoo with the prosecutor's office for charges including aggravated intimidation, obstruction of business, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
As the allegations were substantial and the matter serious, the prosecution immediately issued a summons for Kang Jin-hoo.