Chapter 240: You Change It

After sipping a drink each, we set our glasses down and continued the conversation.

"How's the position of Secretary-General?"

"Huh…"

Myeong-su frowned and let out a deep sigh, a weighty feeling clinging to his words that he couldn't quite express.

"A freshman representative has never held the Secretary-General position, especially not one from a negotiating party. It's only because the Chairman supports me that my opinions hold any weight. These old-timers are incredibly stubborn."

"Still, you need to have them on a leash. You understand what I mean, right?"

Nodding, Myeong-su poured more alcohol into his glass.

"Got it."

"There's still plenty of time until the election, so take it slow. But when it comes time for the election, you need to secure the power without question."

My repeated advice sounded almost like nagging, prompting Myeong-su to wave his hand dismissively.

"I got it. Thanks. But honestly, I don't understand why so much money goes into politics. It's ridiculous. It's no wonder people hate politics."

I smiled as I watched Myeong-su lapse into his Busan dialect during the conversation. It was nice to see someone reveal their true self around friends.

I poured more liquor into my glass, swirling it to melt the ice as I continued speaking.

"It's a group where individual interests come first. But because of that, you have the chance to seize power, so don't think too negatively. If you use both the carrot and the stick well, you can pull it off perfectly."

Instead of responding, Myeong-su extended his glass. As our glasses clinked together, he spoke.

"I've been gathering information about each person's weaknesses and will pass it on as soon as it's organized. You can use that to gain the upper hand more smoothly."

Not all politicians were greedy for money.

Some possessed enough wealth to resist bribery. Even more troublesome were those who refused money out of principle.

That said, it was a given that anyone in politics would be embroiled in some kind of corruption.

Myeong-su, now a politician himself, caught on easily to what I was saying and nodded slightly. Then he smoothly changed the subject.

"By the way, did you hear about the Japanese ambassador getting into a row with the Foreign Minister? It was a massive ordeal, or so I heard."

"Really?"

Myeong-su moistened his lips with his drink before setting it down.

"It was complete chaos. Honestly, the Japanese shouldn't do that. The way the Foreign Minister was treated was like being looked down on by a subordinate. Yet, he couldn't say a word. Damn, is this a proper country?"

It seemed the Japanese government was trying to pressure me through our own government.

I waited for Myeong-su to finish speaking, listening to the sound of ice melting.

"They pressured for a tax investigation into Future Investment. But isn't it funny? When did Future Investment ever become a Korean investment company? It's based in Hong Kong. The idiots can't say anything to China but act up in our country, what a joke."

After finishing his sentence, Myeong-su downed a shot of strong whiskey, clearly furious about something.

Just moments ago, he was cursing politicians, and now look at him—he's one of them.

"Angry?"

"It just looks ridiculous. Ever since I got into politics, I've realized how weak our country truly is. We're being crushed by China, trampled by Japan, and pushed around by the U.S. We're just tiptoeing around. Meanwhile, the government and politics are busy tearing each other apart."

"You need to change it—to a strong Korea."

My offhand comment prompted Myeong-su to exhale a heavy sigh.

"Do you think I could just up and create that on my own?"

"I'll help you. Did you see that the Russian navy moved into the Kuril Islands?"

"Yeah, I saw. I was shocked. I thought there was going to be a war or something."

Russia's actions had put Korea and its neighbors on high alert.

The conflict between Russia and Japan was destined to escalate beyond just a spat between the two nations.

Korea, China, North Korea, and even the U.S. across the Pacific would all inevitably be affected, making it impossible to lower our guard for even a moment.

"That was all because of me."

"What?"

My careless remark made Myeong-su drop his glass. In the quiet bar, the sound of shattering glass echoed loudly.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the shocked look on Myeong-su's face. Somehow, I felt a bit embarrassed, like I was showing off.

I wanted to act mature, yet I felt especially childish around my close friends.

"Eva was attacked while in Japan. So, she sheltered at the Russian embassy, but the way the Japanese were acting made me uneasy. So, I asked Russia for help, but… I had no idea they would mobilize their military."

"No way, that's crazy. How can that even make sense?"

Even after I explained everything, Myeong-su looked at me in disbelief. He shrugged and called for Manager Ma, who quickly came over.

When he saw the broken glass lying on the floor, he ordered someone to clean it up.

After placing a new glass in front of Myeong-su, he went back outside.

Once all the patrons had left and silence filled the room, Myeong-su finally turned to me, eager for answers.

"So, are you saying that the Russian military moved because of your request, Mu-hyeok?"

I nodded slightly and poured liquor into Myeong-su's new glass.

"Wow, you've really left me speechless. You're playing at a global level now. Are you really my friend, Mu-hyeok?"

Despite his words, the corners of Myeong-su's mouth twitched upwards.

"But why Japan?"

I extended the glass toward him and explained, piece by piece, what transpired with Japan.

After hearing my explanation, Myeong-su let out a sigh and nodded.

"This is tough work, yet you make it look effortless."

"Of course, I knew there'd be sacrifices involved in taking on this task."

"But isn't that still an easy task? You really plan to take them down? Can an individual win against a country?"

Worry showed on Myeong-su's face. Nodding, I replied.

"You can't completely win. No matter how much money matters in this world. Regardless, the Japanese government will eventually have to make a choice: face the humiliation of surrendering to me or risk losing credibility in the international community for going all the way to the end."

"I don't understand. But it's still impressive."

Myeong-su shook his head in disbelief but couldn't hide his admiration.

"Well, I'll handle the situation with Japan myself, so don't worry about that. More importantly, what about the bill?"

I had previously asked Myeong-su for something.

"The bill?"

"Yeah, the shareholders' meeting is coming up soon, right?"

"I think we can pass it by early next year. Considering it's also budget deliberation season, lots of events are packed toward the end of the year."

"There shouldn't be an issue passing through the general meeting, right?"

Suddenly, I recalled Park Young-geun, the Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Service, whom I had met months ago.

Back then, he had passionately championed reforms, but since taking office, he had faced fierce opposition from the Mofia and the vested interests, preventing him from carrying out any changes.

In the end, Park Young-geun came to me.

"Chairman Kim Mu-hyeok, please help us. I ave finally made my decision."

The reformist who ran into the wall of reality ultimately took the bait.

Once he joined hands with me, he wouldn't be able to let go until he could escape before his final breath.

"I've just prepared for the proposal. We can submit it after the shareholders' meeting. Since we control the relevant committee and the legislative committee, it will expedite the process through the judicial committee once it's proposed."

"Only trustworthy people know about this, right?"

Though I already knew Myeong-su was thorough, it never hurts to be cautious. When I asked, Myeong-su nodded.

"Of course. There's no benefit in spreading rumors. Especially in our party, too many people have connections to chaebols. Still, if Chairman Yoon and I push hard enough, passing through the general meeting shouldn't be a problem."

Myeong-su radiated confidence, which was reassuring.

"Then we should wrap everything up next year."

I raised my glass first, inviting Myeong-su to clink his glass with mine. With a cheerful chime, our drinking session continued until dawn.

After a day of rest in Russia, Eva finally returned to Korea through Gimpo Airport.

When Eva arrived at the Myeong-dong office, her face was clouded with worry.

"You did well, Eva."

"I'm so sorry, Boss."

Seeing Eva's strained smile, I shook my head and gently patted her shoulder.

"It was unexpected, but what matters is that you're safe. Let's sit down for now."

I guided Eva to the sofa. She mentioned having received treatment, so thankfully, she didn't appear seriously hurt.

"How's your health?"

"I'm fine."

Sitting down, Eva still looked fragile. I opened my mouth, addressing her with sincerity.

"I know it's hard to forget, Eva. Trauma lingers in such cases. So if you feel troubled, just say so. I'll give you plenty of time to rest."

"I thought I'd forgotten, but it seems my body remembers. Thank you, Boss. I will talk to you if it becomes too difficult."

Just then, Manager Ma entered the office, carrying paperwork.

He handed a thick stack of documents to Eva. She immediately began checking their contents.

"Manager Ma prepared most of this. It seems we won't have any issues acquiring Il-sung Industrial…""

Eva appeared so focused on the documents that it seemed she didn't hear me at all.

I chuckled, shaking my head at her workaholic nature and gave a small sigh.

To give her enough time to check, I sipped my coffee and waited.

How much time passed, I wondered, when Eva finally looked up after thoroughly reviewing every document.

"Manager Ma is quite capable, huh?"

"Really?"

"I thought he was just the secretary following you around, but he's much better than many professionals out there."

I smiled gently at Eva's praise for Manager Ma.

"No need to prepare anything extra. It seems we can secure the management rights while we can immediately replace the management team with our own people afterward."

"This has been prepared for a long time, so there should be no mistakes. I trust you, but please investigate carefully."

Securing management rights of Il-sung Industrial, a keysttone in Il-seong Group's circular investment structure, could shake the entire group.

With that in mind, Il-sung would use every triick in the book to stop me, yet I was confident I would win the share battle.

Even bringing in people who would disrupt the shareholders' meeting would be useless. Of course, I had also anticipated that and made countermeasures.

"In the end, Park Young-geun came looking for me on his own."

"Really? It seems he finally recognized reality."

"He had no choice. No matter how clear the top water looks, the bottom water had gone stagnant and rotten long ago. If one person could make a change, it would have happened already."

Eva didn't seem shocked, perhaps she had anticipated it. Since she had a favorable view of him, she appeared rather welcoming.

"So, I'll help him pass the bill he wants and use him to pressure Il-sung.""

"If the Financial Supervisory Service and Financial Authority join in, things will go more smoothly. But what about the bill? Is it the one we talked about last time?"

At Eva's question, I nodded slightly.

"It's a bill to strengthen the separation of finance and industry while regulating circular investment structures."

"A bill restricting circular investments won't pass easily. While very few chaebols will be affected by separating finance from industry, circular investments involve most of the chaebols."

Most of the major conglomerates in Korea operated on a circular investment basis. They controlled huge groups using small stakes of capital.

Though it has its advantages and disadvantages, the main issue remained its vulnerability to external attacks, especially highlighted during the recent foreign exchange crisis.

Chaebols desperately sought to transition to holding companies, but drastic funding would be necessary, making it unfeasible in the short term.

Thus, if the law were to restrict these practices, it would put enormous pressure on not just Il-sung, but all chaebols aas well.

However, the Jungwoo Group wasn't significantly affected by this law.

Since all its affiliates were unlisted companies and fully transitioned into a holding structure centered around Jungwoo Holdings, they owned nearly 80% of the equity in most of the affiliates.

"Internally, they'll be struck by Il-sung Industrial while exxternally, they'll be hit with the circular investment regulation law. It'll be hard for them to stay composed. And if the separation of finance and industry strengthens, they'll have to liquidate the equity shares held by Il-sung Life and Il-seong CCard completely."

Il-sung could no longer enggage in mutual investments.

Ultimately, Chairman Seo Yong-geon would have to personally fund the restructuring of his management control.

However, no matter how wealthy Seo Yong-geon was, he was still backed into a corner since most of his assets were tied up in stock.

"It's a battle we absolutely cannot lose."

"To that end, we've been supporting the Moderate Party. But remember, it's still being done in secret, so don't go blabbing about it."

As I urged her, Eva responded with a smile, bringing her index finger to her lips.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her playful gesture.

Time flew by.

Han Gyeong-yeong escalated his attacks against Japan.

The Japanese central bank and financial authority were selling their held dollars to defend the yen.

But it was only a matter of time before they unleashed an avalanche of stocks on the market.

In addition, massive short selling of securities began. Japanese government bonds rolled out onto the market in large quantities.

Japan found itself under attack in all areas—foreign exchange, stocks, and bonds, leaving them unable to regain composure.

Then, it arrived—the day of the long-anticipated shareholders' meeting for Il-sung Industrial..