That means all business has stopped.
After Yoon Chang-ho left with the chief secretary, I was lost in thought for a moment.
'There's a Chinese spy among the seniors? Things are going more interesting than I thought.'
At that moment, cheers and applause could be heard from outside as the President began to make his entrance.
"Sir, let's go out soon."
"Yes, boss."
I left the room and entered the convention hall.
When I entered, the president was already seated and voting had begun.
I sat down in silence, closed my eyes, and gathered my thoughts again.
As soon as the voting was over, a celebratory performance followed, and the event ended with a congratulatory speech from the president.
It was finally time for the leadership to make their announcement.
There was no change. Not only did the pro-Yoon faction take most of the supreme council positions, but they also produced a representative supreme council member.
As promised, he gave one of the highest committee positions to Han Ji-ho's faction, but it had no effect on the overall situation.
After the merger of the Centrist Party and the Conservative Party, the leadership of the party, which had gone to the Conservative Party, returned to Yoon Chang-ho.
However, since Yoon Chang-ho could not exert direct influence on the party, Myeong-su's importance was bound to grow.
That's why I noticed people flocking to Myeongsu rather than the president, who was difficult to approach.
"The ants are already swarming."
A laugh escaped me without me knowing.
After looking at the sight for a moment, I got up from my seat.
"Let's go back. We have a lot of work to do."
"You're not meeting the Secretary General?"
In response to Director Ma's question, he looked in Myeongsu's direction and shook his head.
"Probably no one in South Korea is busier than him right now?"
Just because the convention is over doesn't mean it's over.
From now on, key party officials had to be newly elected, and the positions were limited.
Even if the new leadership exercises most of the power to appoint personnel, several key party posts will likely be assigned to Myung-soo as well.
Until the main party personnel changes were completed, Myeongsu had to meet people every day.
"See you next time, okay? I know why you called me today. I think the President thought asking Myeongsu would be the safest option."
He looked around at Myeongsu, who seemed to be looking for someone, then turned around and left the convention hall.
* * *
I arrived at the Myeongdong office. As soon as I sat down, I gave an order to Director Ma.
"Director, first, bring me the list of all the senior officials and secretaries."
If the chief was a Chinese spy, it was only natural that there would be sympathizers among the secretaries under him.
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If the secretaries and aides deliberately hid information, the president would be blind and deaf and would only be exposed to selected information.
The Blue House is a place where the president's trust is tantamount to power.
Of course, there was such a thing as door knocker power.
During the military regime, there were even instances where a secretary trusted by the president would yell at a minister.
The military regime collapsed, and although its status was diminished, the power of the senior officials who could speak directly to the president remained strong.
So, the president tends to appoint people he trusts to senior positions.
But even the mere assumption that there is a spy among them would make Yun Chang-ho quite upset.
"Boss, here is the information you were referring to."
Director Ma brought a bundle of documents.
The well-organized data included information on the chief secretaries and secretaries of the Blue House, including the chief of staff.
I checked the list and then gave instructions.
"Watch all these people. First of all, look at those who have held positions related to China, and filter out those who have contacts with China. Begin special surveillance on these people today. We need to know who they meet, who they talk to."
"Are you sending it by express?"
"Yes. It would be hard to find them unless they are special. They won't act clumsily and won't leave behind any evidence. However, as humans, there will eventually be a loophole. Find it."
I closed the document after seeing Director Ma bow his head with an answer.
"Eating the country's taxes while spying for China······. I don't know who that is, but he really is a big shot."
If Yoon Chang-ho met me outside the Blue House, it meant there were more than one or two Chinese spies.
I had to filter it out as much as possible to get to the truth.
"By the way, how is the takeover of the companies that will be handed over to the Church of Heaven going?"
"I was contacted to say that work will begin today."
I thought about it for a moment and then said to Director Ma.
"I left it to Yoon & Jang, so they'll take care of it. They're more specialized in corporate acquisitions than we are."
I could have met with Han Hyun-soo and dealt with it, but I had no intention of meeting him anymore.
So I gave the list of companies to be taken over to Yoon & Jang.
Now that the work was done, it was time to harvest.
* * *
Yoon & Jang's partner attorney Min Seong-ho arrived at the headquarters of the Church of Heaven with senior attorneys.
"Hello. This is Min Seong-ho."
"This is Han Hyun-soo."
The two shook hands and sat down.
"Here is a list of companies to be handed over."
Han Hyun-soo received the list that Min Seong-ho had given him and read it.
His face changed from moment to moment as he checked the list.
Soon, Han Hyun-soo's face turned pale and he threw the documents hard on the table.
"Isn't this too much? Handing over all the good guys? Are you telling us to perish?"
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Despite Han Hyun-soo's lament, Min Seong-ho responded in a monotonous voice, almost like a machine.
"We just take the contract and go through the process. We don't know the details. We don't want to know. Just do as per the contract."
"······Look here. You said you were Attorney Min Seong-ho, right? If we hand over all of this, our group will collapse into a mid-sized company."
"VIP told us to take it all. There is nothing we can do. We can only convey the VIP's opinion."
Min Seong-ho didn't even blink at Han Hyeon-su's complaints.
He started taking other documents out of his bag.
"This is the acquisition contract. Please review it and then sign it."
Han Hyun-soo furrowed his brows as he looked at the contract, which was more than ten pages long.
"Please contact President Kim Mu-hyeok."
Han Hyun-soo spoke to the mercenary captain standing behind him, but he did nothing.
"What are you doing? I told you to call me."
"He said there was no reason to contact me anymore. Just sign the contract as promised."
"what?"
As Han Hyun-soo blinked blankly, the mercenary captain twisted his lips.
Han Hyun-soo cringed at the sneer that appeared on his fierce face.
"Make no mistake. I am not your subordinate. I was given orders from above, and I was there to protect you in order to carry out your mission. It was our job to protect you and make sure you signed that contract. Now that everything is over, it is time for us to return."
"Come on, wouldn't you like to work under me? I think we'd be a good fit."
"Enough of the nonsense. Let's end it quickly. If you break your promise, I have orders to kill you, but I don't really want to go that far. So let's wrap things up and go our separate ways."
Han Hyun-soo flinched at the dry words of the mercenary captain.
"I will! I will do it. I was going to talk to you before······."
"Do it moderately. If you helped me this much, I would have nothing to say even if you gave me all your assets. If not, you would already be dead."
"I know! Stop talking."
As Han Hyun-soo nervously countered, the mercenary captain shrugged his shoulders and said.
"So sign quickly."
Under the mercenary captain's orders, Han Hyun-soo began to review the takeover contract.
Han Hyun-soo, who had been reviewing the acquisition contract for quite some time, sighed deeply and said.
"I will review it again with my lawyer and then sign it. But why are the names of the acquirers different?"
"I don't know anything about that. Just sign now. I'll give you a reasonable price, right?"
As Han Hyun-soo hesitated, Min Seong-ho spoke in a stiff voice.
"Would our Yoon & Jang be fooling around? There is no mistake in VIP-related matters. So trust and sign. The money will be deposited as soon as you sign. We were instructed to finish everything today. If we continue like this, I cannot guarantee Han Hyun-soo's safety. If you don't mind, I will get up."
"What! Are you threatening me now? I'm Han Hyun-soo, Han Hyun-soo."
"I know, Mr. Han Hyun-soo. Please sign."
Although Han Hyun-soo shouted, Min Seong-ho did not respond and simply put the fountain pen down in front of him.
"Please sign."
Han Hyun-soo looked around, but there was no one on his side.
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The mercenary captain looked down at him with indifferent eyes, while Min Seong-ho pressured him with sharp eyes.
Behind Min Seong-ho, senior lawyers stood smiling.
Han Hyun-soo had no choice but to start signing the acquisition contract.
Min Seong-ho carefully checked the contract and then made a phone call.
"Sir, the contract has been completed."
- Really? Tell him to deposit it right away.
"Yes, I will wait."
Min Seong-ho put the contract back in the paperwork room.
A moment later, the phone rang briefly.
[Deposit completed.]
Min Seong-ho checked the text and spoke indifferently.
"I heard you deposited the money."
Min Seong-ho got up from his seat without any hesitation.
"And the media outlets are not handed over, but the condition is that they write the articles that VIPs want. You know that too, right?"
"I know. I know. Just go back."
Han Hyun-soo was annoyed and didn't even use formal language anymore.
Min Seong-ho smiled faintly and placed the business card on the table.
"Please contact us anytime you need anything. We will be happy to help you."
Min Seong-ho led the senior lawyers.
The mercenary captain, who was watching the scene, opened his mouth.
"Then let's go back now."
"What? Now?"
Han Hyun-soo reacted more violently to the news that the mercenary leader was leaving than to the news that the companies were being handed over.
"The contract is over, so there is no reason for us to keep you."
"her······."
The mercenary captain led all the mercenaries away.
Han Hyun-soo was left alone in the office.
* * *
A few days passed.
Kim Byung-woo, chairman of the Jungwoo Group, visited Pyeongchang-dong.
"Chairman Kim Byung-woo. It's been a while."
I greeted him warmly in the study.
"Yes, boss. It's been a while."
After finishing the greetings, we sat down. As soon as we sat down, Kim Byeong-woo opened his mouth with a gloomy expression.
"The reason I asked you to meet me today is······."
Chairman Kim Byeong-woo continued his story in a whisper.
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After hearing everything he said, I unconsciously furrowed my brow.
"So, you're saying that all business in China has been halted right now?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Why?"
"They are giving ridiculous reasons. At the factory construction site, they ordered a halt to construction, citing safety violations."
The reason given by Chairman Kim Byung-woo was absurd.
"Are you sure you didn't follow the safety rules?"
"No. We applied safety rules more strictly than when we were building in Korea. We never had an accident in China, and we continued to lobby our superiors. But then they suddenly barged in and ordered us to stop construction."
I thought about it for a moment and then called Director Ma.
Director Ma opened the door to the study and came in.
"I heard that all of Zhongwu Group's Chinese operations have been ordered to cease. Find out what's going on immediately and contact Wen Jiabao to speak to him."
"yes."
Director Ma left the study again, and I asked Chairman Kim Byeong-woo.
"What about other companies?"
"Except for the Jungwoo Group, other large corporations have no problems at all."
"They're saying that they only touched the Jungwoo Group."
"Yes, that's right."
Sanctions were only imposed on companies associated with me.
There may be many reasons, but it felt like a reward for the warning I gave to Lee Fung.
"It looks like you want to do it with me. So what about the damage to the Jungwoo Group?"
"First of all, all exports have been blocked. Ships that have already arrived in China are not even able to unload containers. In addition, the longer the business is delayed, the greater the damage will be."
"What if we withdraw from China?"
Kim Byeong-woo shook his head without even thinking about it.
"China is a market with huge potential. Just withdrawing from it will reduce our growth momentum."
"Is business with North Korea and Russia not enough?"
"It may not be a good choice right now, but it is not a good choice in the long run."
Chairman Kim Byung-woo also knew the potential of the Chinese market.
"Have you tried contacting the higher-ups?"
Each group had connections to high-ranking Chinese officials.
It was the minimum requirement for doing business in China.
Without that, we would not have been able to enter China at all.
"Everyone is avoiding our contact. Those who have contacted us have told us not to contact them again. They just said that it was an order from the highest levels."
They're the highest level. It looks like even the elders are in agreement with the sanctions.
"We will try to resolve it somehow. For now, please wait while further strengthening your North Korea business and cooperative relationship with Russia."
"All right."
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Since then, we have continued our conversation while listening to the progress of Jungwoo Group's business.
Except for the China business, everything was smooth sailing.
< All business has stopped > End