Eva’s mind raced.
A remark Kim Muhyuk had made in passing resurfaced with startling clarity, as if she had just heard it.
— As ti goes on and internet news outlets spring up like mushrooms after rain, our control over the dia will inevitably weaken. Starting with the younger generation, more and more people will consu news through portal sites rather than print newspapers, and the influence of traditional dia will decline accordingly. It’d be wise to prepare for that to so extent. Koreans can be obsessively persistent—enough to make you click your tongue.
Just as Kim Muhyuk had predicted, internet news outlets began appearing one by one, and now their numbers had grown considerably.
“That’s surprising. I don’t know where you heard such strange rumors, but that isn’t true.”
Eva quickly changed her expression and answered the reporter with a smile.
“We have docunts showing funds flowing from the Virgin Islands into Future Investnt’s accounts in Hong Kong.”
Still smiling, Eva shook her head.
“Oh? If you really have them, then go ahead and release them. I’m confident. But if you publish an article based solely on suspicion without evidence, you’ll be eting our legal team.”
Having delivered her warning with a smile, Eva broke eye contact with the reporter who kept pressing her with questions and looked around at the others.
“With that, the Q&A we agreed on ends here. I’ll be heading into the shareholders’ eting now.”
She gave a slight bow, turned with a smile still on her face, and walked straight into the KS Building.
But once she had left the reporters behind, her face hardened as if she had never smiled at all.
The mont she got into the elevator, she spoke to the head of her security team beside her.
“Team Leader Han.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Look into the outlet called ‘New Fact’ imdiately. When it was founded, who the CEO is, and who their reporters are. Right now. I want the results as soon as the shareholders’ eting is over.”
“I’ll contact headquarters.”
Eva added coldly,
“And... we should also run an internal audit.”
“I’ll prepare it.”
The elevator arrived at the floor where the shareholders’ eting was being held. Eva put on a gentle expression as if nothing had happened and entered the conference hall.
With Eva entering last, the doors closed, and soon the regular shareholders’ eting of KS Co. began.
In front of countless shareholders, the agenda items from Chairman Choi Woosik’s side and the Sovereign fund were presented.
Sovereign demanded the total resignation of KS’s board, restructuring of the irrational governance structure through the sale of multiple affiliates, the resignation of Chairman Choi Woosik and his family, and greater transparency in KS Group’s managent.
“What shareholders want is transparent managent. We are demanding the maximization of shareholder value and the normalization of companies that are being run abnormally. To that end, we propose an andnt to the articles of incorporation that limits the board to no fewer than five and no more than ten directors, and requires that outside directors outnumber inside directors.”
In addition, Sovereign submitted lists of recomnded inside and outside directors, demanding the appointnt of five new directors—fully half of the current board.
They said it in roundabout terms, but the ssage was clear: hand over managent control and get out.
In response, Chairman Choi Woosik’s side presented governance reform and managent improvent asures, including maximizing shareholder value through share buybacks and cancellation, and strengthening shareholder relations.
“To ensure transparent managent at KS Co., we will dismantle the circular shareholding structure and cancel treasury «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» shares to maximize shareholder value.”
Sovereign and KS Co.’s managent clashed fiercely. In the end, all agenda items were put to a vote.
Now, the balance would be decided by the National Pension Service and Future Investnt.
First, the National Pension Service announced that it would abstain from exercising its voting rights.
However, andnts to the articles required approval from two-thirds of the voting shares present, so those proposals were automatically discarded.
At a glance, it looked like Chairman Choi Woosik’s victory—but six of the ten board seats, including the audit position, all of them outside director seats, went to Sovereign and Future Investnt.
Eva counterproposed that the inside directors be reappointed as KS Co. suggested, while the outside director seats be split—four for Sovereign, two for Future Investnt.
Both Chairman Choi Woosik and Sovereign accepted the proposal, and the shareholders’ eting ended with Chairman Choi Woosik retaining managent control.
It was the mont an uneasy coexistence between Chairman Choi Woosik and the Sovereign fund began.
And the party that gained the most from the entire affair was neither Chairman Choi Woosik nor Sovereign, but Future Investnt.
* * *
At the sa ti the shareholders’ eting was taking place,
I was aboard my private jet, heading for Singapore.
Myeongsu and several diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were traveling with .
Leaving the diplomats outside, I was talking with Myeongsu in the jet’s private office.
“The board’s gotten way too big.”
Myeongsu let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“After the inter-Korean summit, we agreed to a trilateral eting with the U.S. Secretary of State. And now China, Russia, and even Japan are all trying to jump in. It’s a complete ss.”
Once word got out, the Chinese and Russian governnts unilaterally notified Seoul that they would attend as well.
That night, President Yoon Changho spoke with President Bush for over twenty minutes, and it was decided that a five-nation eting—including China and Russia—would be held.
From the U.S. perspective, there was no reason to pick fights with China and Russia, and Korea also needed their cooperation to improve relations with North Korea.
“It’s not like we didn’t see this coming.”
North Korea opening up was a major event that would shake East Asia.
We knew China and Russia wouldn’t just sit back. They had already reached out after Yoon Changho’s address to the nation.
I wanted to step back now and let the countries involved hamr out their own compromises, but the U.S. wanted there.
— Charlie. You’re the only one who can wrap this up cleanly. In return, I’ll try to block Japan’s participation.
Japan had tried to insert itself as well, but the Korean governnt rejected the request outright.
There was no room for Japan to intervene in matters concerning Korea and North Korea.
Of course, Japan wasn’t the type to give up so easily. After being rejected by Seoul, they contacted Washington, and lobbyists in D.C. were mobilizing at full force.
“Fine by . Maybe it’s better if all the relevant countries attend. Ah—except Japan.”
At Myeongsu’s remark, I laughed.
“Japan’s probably talking to North Korea separately anyway. They just hate being left out. They’re not the type to miss out on sothing like this.”
“Look at them wagging their tails and running straight to their master. It’s ridiculous.”
“Master?”
“They hand their leash to the U.S. themselves—if that’s not a master, what is?”
I burst out laughing.
“You lunatic. You’re probably the only person who talks about Japan like that.”
It had already been agreed among the other countries that Japan would be completely excluded from this round of talks.
No amount of lobbying in Washington would change that.
Of course, Japan would try to open its own channels with North Korea, but that was North Korea’s problem to deal with.
As we talked, the jet landed at Singapore’s Changi International Airport.
“Let’s split up here.”
After sending Myeongsu and the diplomats ahead, I deliberately exited the airport a bit later.
Once the prearranged car pulled away, Manager Ma turned toward .
“Boss. We’ve received contact from Korea.”
“Eva, right? Tell them I’ll call once I reach the hotel. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll pass it along.”
I nodded and gazed out the window, lost in thought.
With the U.S., China, and Russia all in the mix, could Korea and North Korea really push through their positions?
When I called after arriving at the hotel, Eva picked up before the phone rang a second ti.
“Eva, is the shareholders’ eting over? Good work. It went the way we planned, right?”
I had already t separately with Chairman Choi Woosik and the Chandler brothers to coordinate things in advance. There may have been heated debates, but unless soone betrayed the plan, the outco wouldn’t change.
No—more precisely, even if soone did betray it, the side we backed would still win. Both sides knew that, so betrayal wasn’t an option.
“The eting’s over, Boss. But that’s not what’s important right now. This morning, during the press Q&A we planned—”
Eva’s voice was unusually urgent.
“Eva, calm down and explain slowly. Why are you so agitated—this isn’t like you.”
I heard her take a deep breath on the other end.
“Alright. What happened?”
When she spoke again, she sounded more composed.
— One of the reporters raised suspicions about Future Investnt’s funds. Specifically, they said ‘through paper companies.’
“Really? Which daily?”
— An outlet called ‘New Fact.’ I’d never heard of them before. They said they’re an internet news site, so I had Team Leader Han start digging into them.
I nodded as I replied,
“Good call. I’ll keep it in mind. Call again once the results are in.”
Perhaps because of how calm I sounded, Eva asked anxiously,
— Is it really okay?
Seeing Eva—normally so bold—react like this, it must have rattled her.
I smiled and reassured her.
“It’s not like we didn’t know this would co out eventually. There are already quite a few people who know I’m the owner of Future Investnt. But even if suspicions are raised, no one can find proof that the money ca from . If they had evidence, they wouldn’t be asking questions—they’d already be running the article.”
— Still, even suspicion alone can cause problems. Maybe it was a mistake to take reporters’ questions?
“I’m the one who told you to take questions. If there’s a problem, it’s my responsibility. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Did the shareholders’ eting go according to plan?”
— The articles andnt was rejected, the inside directors—including Chairman Choi Woosik—were retained. Of the outside directors, four were appointed from Sovereign’s recomndations, and two from ours.
Even with the article issue weighing on her, Eva had handled everything exactly as planned.
“How was the atmosphere?”
— Brutal. They were tearing into each other. If I hadn’t known beforehand, I might’ve been fooled myself. Everyone was acting their hearts out. Knowing the truth, it was hard not to laugh.
I wasn’t there, but I could imagine it well enough.
“Alright. Good work. Starting today, you’re back on vacation. I’ll handle the rest.”
— Boss, how can I take a vacation now? There’s a suspicion brewing.
“We can respond after seeing whether they publish anything. This kind of situation is sothing I handle better than you. No matter how many articles an internet paper puts out, if the major outlets don’t pick it up, it’s just a breeze that passes. They don’t have that kind of influence yet. Understood? From today on, you’re on vacation again. That’s an order.”
— Alright, Boss.
Only when I said it was an order did Eva finally agree to go back on vacation.
“Good. Get so rest. I’ll call you later.”
After ending the call, I idly turned my phone in my hand, lost in thought.
Who had leaked that suspicion to an internet outlet?
Whoever it was could simply be made to pay for it.
There was no evidence tying anything back to . That was why I could afford to stay relaxed.
Just then—
“Boss, you have a visitor.”
Manager Ma approached and spoke.
There shouldn’t be anyone coming to see . Who could it be?
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