"Audit? No way. Someone from Oh Sehyun's team will handle it."
"You think they'll keep control of the warehouse keys? Heh heh. Do you really believe those guys who just toyed with calculators can guard the warehouse?"
Damn, why is he so uneasy?
"Do-Jun."
"Yes."
"A guy who can outsmart construction company folks is an artist in itself. Hiring and firing hundreds of day laborers is a piece of cake. It's no big deal to skim around ten million won a day without Oh Se-hyun even noticing."
He isn't joking or trying to make fun of me with his words.
It's not a warning or advice... What is it?
"Do you think that's all? Do you know that you can easily switch out wood worth tens of millions of won with cheap wood? Do you think Oh Se-hyun or his employees would be able to tell the difference? They even tamper with the weight of the reinforced steel, and they've been embezzling cafeteria expenses. Aren't you trembling at the thought of getting caught?"
"Why are you making me so nervous?"
"Don't you still get it? What this old man means?"
I focused all my attention to decipher his meaning while receiving his sharp gaze. I must find the meaning to avoid disappointing him.
"Are you saying that we need to immerse ourselves in the muck to see the real thing?"
The construction industry is the breeding ground for corporate misconduct in South Korea.
Collusion, union leader misconduct, inflating construction costs, subcontractor misconduct, and so on.
The conclusion was to understand all these intricacies.
"If I can manipulate construction company executives as I please, Ive learned how to handle servants. Then those guys will automatically generate the money I need. When I need to use money from an unclear source, there's no safer place than a construction company."
I got about half of it right. Instead of getting dirty in the mud, it means securing a source of off-the-books funds.
Nevertheless, I was relieved to see his approving gaze.
"You mentioned that you'll be reviewing the year-end accounts tomorrow, right?"
"Yes."
"Send a Sunyang Construction audit team with you. Take them along. Oh Sehyun's subpar accountants is nothing compared to them. They're experts who can catch everything, just by roughly skimming through receipts and tax invoices."
"Thank you, Grandfather." I quickly got up and bowed my head.
If I can't swallow Dae-ah Construction whole despite all this help, then I should blame my own incompetence.
"You can thank me later."
"Yes?"
"All of this might be for the benefit of the Sunyang Group. Don't whine and complain after getting a stab in the back from your grandfather. Heh heh."
Oh, really? He's teasing me to the very end.
Seeing my smiling grandfather, I just sighed.
"Do-Jun, who are these people...?"
Oh Se-hyun blinked as he looked at the men who had come with me.
"They are members of the Sunyang Construction accounting audit team. These gentlemen can remember even the product numbers of cement in construction companies. With just a few receipts, they can easily trace embezzlement. So, we should have enough evidence to submit to the prosecutor's office tomorrow."
Oh Se-hyun's expression brightened, as if he had won a great victory.
"Well, I think we should have a good drink tonight. Please take care of it."
"Leave it to us. Before the end of the business day, we'll have stripped everything down to the bone." Seeing the confident audit team members, I felt reassured.
Riding in separate vans, it felt like launching a surprise attack with a special forces unit as we headed to Dae-ah Construction. As we entered the Dae-ah Construction building, Oh Se-hyun took out his mobile phone.
"Oh, Mr. Kang. How did... you find customers willing to buy our shares at a high price?"
"Oh, Mr. Oh. Since we've been diligently asking around, we'll have good news for you soon."
"Oh, I must have misspoken. Or did you misunderstand me? It wasn't until this morning... I mean... Ding! What's that sound...? So, you mean our deal is off?"
"What? What are you saying right now? No, no. Let's meet first. Let's meet and discuss this calmly..."
"Alright, let's do that. We're in the Dae-ah Construction building lobby now. Let's meet in person within 10 minutes to continue our discussion."
Oh Se-hyun gestured to me while holding his mobile phone, and I walked confidently towards the lobby's front desk.
"What floor is the conference room on?"
"It's on the eleventh floor."
With dozens of men in suits taking over the lobby, the female employees at the front desk seemed quite intimidated. I sent a signal indicating the 11th floor on my mobile phone, and Oh Se-hyun spoke into his phone.
"We're heading to the 11th floor right now. We'll see you there."
Closing the flip phone, we entered the elevator. When the elevator stopped on the 11th floor and the doors opened, Kang Mu-jin, the executive vice president, was waiting confidently.
"No, President Oh, what is this? How can you find a buyer overnight? You promised to resolve this today!"
"Hasn't the Vice President in charge not caught on yet? It's over. Now, we're thinking about securing the shareholders' rights."
One of the men who stood right next to Oh Se-hyun spoke up. "Corporate External Audit Act, Article 14. Disclosure and public reporting of audit reports, Paragraph 5. Shareholders or creditors of the company may inspect documents at any time during business hours, and they may request the company to provide the documents by paying the cost set by the company."
After the dry statement was finished, Oh Se-hyun smiled broadly. "Did you hear? Bring all the financial statements and supporting documents from the last two years to this conference room. Shareholders have doubts about the management's capabilities. We need to see what exactly led the company to this point."
Kang Mu-jin, the executive vice president, had to stand there in a daze as he watched the people filing into the conference room without acknowledging him.
"Vice President, do you have time for this? Please quickly bring the documents the shareholders are requesting. If you don't want things to escalate further here, I suggest you act now." I delivered one final blow and entered the conference room.
"Hyung! Those people..."
Kang Mu-jin burst into the Dae-ah Construction CEO's office, throwing the door open. "What? What's going on? Why all the fuss?"
Seeing his younger brother's disheveled state, Kang Mu-seong, the CEO of Dae-ah Construction, sensed that something was amiss.
"Miracle's people have gathered. They've already occupied the conference room, claiming they'll conduct an external audit!"
"What? That's impossible! Didn't we resolve this when we met yesterday?"
"They clearly stated their intention to sell their shares when they left. I can't believe they would pull such a stunt..."
"What the hell is going on?" Kang Mu-seong shouted at his brother and quickly picked up the phone. "Mr. Song... What? They've arrived there too? This is unbelievable!" Kang Mu-seong slammed the phone down forcefully. "They've also crowded into the auditor's office."
"What? This bastard..."
Kang Mu-seong began to pace around his office.
"Why is this guy doing this? Does he really intend to conduct an external audit?"
"Hyung. Could it be a scheme to raise the stock price?"
"What?"
"Isn't it possible? Yesterday, his eyes and expression... It's still vivid in my memory. He's not someone who would engage in such activities unnecessarily. Clearly, his motive is money. Isn't he a securities guy?"
"Is this all a show?"
"Without a doubt. He won't gain anything from an external audit."
"So what? What's the conclusion?" Kang, the CEO, yelled in frustration.
Navigating the thin ice, bickering with professional investors who were practically sharks, meant they couldn't just let these people scrutinize the company.
If this news reached the bondholders, they might demand an audit as well.
"I'll bring Oh Sehyun here. Let's not dilly-dally and send them back."
Reluctant to agree immediately, Kang hesitated, and his younger brother urged him again.
"Hyung, we don't have time to dawdle. We need to resolve this before it gets any louder."
"This guy! It hasn't even been a day since you said it was nothing. Send them away from here? What if things get even worse?"
"We can't just leave it as it is, can we? Before they make a big issue out of shareholder rights..."
"Enough. Bring him here quickly. Damn it, all sorts of trouble is piling up."
"What are you saying? If the CEO has something to say, he should come here. And don't waste time; bring the financial statements quickly."
"Mr. Oh. I have something important to tell you, so please come over. Please don't be too strict..."
Seeing Kang's vice-president's pitiful expression almost made me burst into laughter.
As Oh Se-hyun said, it's because they've all become vice-presidents that they can't seem to catch onto things like this...
"Vice President, you're here to convey that Miracle intends to purchase our held stocks at a high price, but as our CEO mentioned, it's already too late, right? Don't waste your efforts; just bring the documents. We'll wait for 10 minutes." I warned him sharply, and Kang's face turned red and green like he was about to explode, but he understood that now was the time to restrain himself.
Without saying anything, he continued to gauge Oh Se-hyun's reaction. I urged him again. "If you don't bring the requested documents into this meeting room within 10 minutes, we'll proceed to the next step. Our lawyer is currently waiting at the court. If you ignore the legitimate demands of the shareholders, I'll be waiting for your call to apply for a provisional suspension of the Dae-ah Construction management."
As Oh Se-hyun had said, indeed, the law was stronger than words.
When the words "lawyer" and "law" were mentioned, Kang's vice-president seemed to be deep in thought.
At that moment, one of the audit team members who had joined from Sunyang Construction shouted.
"Darn it, it looks like an estimate. It's lousy but damn expensive. Hey, Vice President. Aren't we supposed to get something out of this? Can't we play this out for half a day and determine a fair price for the stocks we hold... or not?"
Although harsh words came from his mouth, his expression was cheerful, and he even gave a sly wink.
Hidden behind his words was the intention to raise the selling price of the stocks. Kang's vice-president still hesitated.
He couldn't be sure if our intentions were truly honest or if this was just a ploy to manipulate the stock price.
"Geez, his decision-making is slow. What if we stir up a commotion? What's in it for us? Is his brain still not functioning properly? It won't work out. Let's call the lawyer. Let's turn things upside down!"
"Okay, wait! If only you had said that earlier..." Kang's vice-president briefly raised his hand to silence us and quickly left the meeting room.
As the people in Yeouido watched the Sunyang Construction employees with curiosity, they laughed insincerely.
"If they're rotten, we'll pretend to be somewhat tarnished as well. In this field, most things can be covered up with slush funds."
"Why did it come to this? Construction projects?" I asked curiously, and they scratched their heads.
"It's because of tight deadlines. Isn't it a surface task to complete the project by a specified date? There's no point in discussing legality or illegality. If you cann't settle it with money, you have to block it. As a result, there's no chance to stick to principles or rules. It becomes ingrained as a practice, and it becomes the habit of the people in this field."
The Yeouido employees also turned their heads.
One side consisted of people who had dealt solely with numbers, while the other side had dealt with rough men.
They didn't seem like a naturally fitting combination, gathered in one place like this.
Observing this peculiar combination, I found myself thinking about people once again when Vice President Kang returned to the meeting room.
"Well, I've got everything. Shareholders, feel free to enjoy your rights, and if you ever want to negotiate, please visit the CEO's office anytime. We'll be waiting."
Following Vice President Kang, Dae-ah Construction employees pushed carts into the room, each cart piled high with boxes of documents.
It was a strategy to bury them in paperwork, a scene reminiscent of a legal drama.
Feeling overwhelmed, I let out a sigh, and one of the Sunyang employees chuckled and said, "Oh my, do you still think this old-fashioned method works these days?"