Let's just catch all three
China's sanctions against Zhongwu Group have begun in earnest.
Starting with the suspension of construction and business operations, all branch managers working in China were arrested by the police on charges of bribery.
The South Korean government sent its ambassador to China to protest, but China refuted the claims, saying they were normal investigative procedures.
The Korean business community was anxiously watching to see how far this situation would spread.
It took a week for me to finally get in touch with Wen Jiabao after I contacted him to ask for his help.
- President Kim Moo-hyuk.
"Premier Wen Jiabao. What on earth is going on? Why is it so hard to contact you?"
― There are a lot of eyes watching me. I don't think this call will last long.
It looks like Wen Jiabao is under surveillance.
His words gave me a bit of an idea of the atmosphere within China.
"······Is the situation really bad?"
- Yes. Even President Hu Jintao is at a point where he can't do anything about it. My hands and feet are tied as well.
"Are you sure that the attack on the Zhongwu Group is the work of the Chinese Communist Party?"
―······.
Wen Jiabao did not answer readily.
But rather, silence was a sufficient answer.
"I understand. But it was too much to detain the branch managers of the Jungwoo Group."
― I said that too, but Luo Gan has no intention of listening. The elders, the Shanghai faction, and the Crown Prince all want to make this matter bigger.
"Is this the Crown Prince's Party?"
- Yes. Li Feng met Luo Gan. Since then, Luo Gan has become more aggressive, and there are more eyes watching me. I guess Luo Gan is watching me.
He let out a small sigh when he heard that Luo Gan and Li Feng had met.
It looks like Li Feng is still standing strong after Luo Gan left.
Even a toothless tiger still has claws left?
"All right."
― I have to hang up now. And I won't be able to contact you for a while. Please understand.
"I completely understand. I'll contact you with a smile next time."
Wen Jiabao hung up the phone in a hurry.
I put the phone down and tapped the desk, lost in thought.
'You want to make things bigger. You're not just trying to warn me, are you?'
During an informal conversation with President Yoon Chang-ho, the topic of economic sanctions against large corporations that have advanced into China came up.
The attack on the Jungwoo Group that began immediately thereafter was by no means a coincidence.
There was no way China didn't know that the Zhongwu Group was related to me.
Advertisements
Then it was clear that it would not end with just the Jungwoo Group.
If I backed out here, it would most likely end here.
But if that weren't the case, the Chinese companies I invested in would have been subject to their attacks as well.
'I don't like it, but······.'
Friction between the Chinese and Korean governments is inevitable, but I could not just sit by and watch the attacks directed at me.
At that moment, a knock was heard on the study door.
"Boss, I'm going in."
Director Ma came in.
"Ma Yun wants to connect the call."
"Are you Ma Yun?"
"Yes. What should I do?"
"Please contact us."
Director Ma picked up the phone and made a call.
"Connected, boss."
After a while, Director Ma handed over the receiver, and I put it to my ear.
"Chairman Jack Ma. It's been a while."
- Mr. Kim Mu-hyeok, we're in big trouble.
Ma Yun's voice on the other end of the phone sounded urgent.
Although he didn't say anything when he was suddenly told that something big had happened without even saying hello, Ma Yun continued talking without paying any attention.
― The police just raided our company. And they suddenly arrested our finance director.
"Huh? You arrested the financial director?"
- Yes. They also confiscated all the hard disks.
"Is there any problem?"
Ma Yun answered my question immediately.
― No, it won't be a big problem. But if you decide to start digging, we won't be able to hold out. What should we do? All the high-ranking officials who have contacted us are avoiding contact.
The high-ranking people who had contact with Ma Yun were investors who had invested in Alibaba.
They followed me and invested in Alibaba.
Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao also followed me and invested in Alibaba.
However, they not only conducted a search and seizure against Alibaba, but also arrested its financial director.
It was natural for Ma Yun to be terrified. In China, it was impossible to do business without the backing of the Communist Party.
The reason Jack Ma received my investment was to secure protection from the Communist Party's upper echelons.
"First, calm down and tell me slowly what happened."
Ma Yun slowly explained what happened today.
I was still rambling on and on about how flustered I was, but the gist of it was simple.
The police came in without warning and seized the hard drive and various documents from the computer, as well as the financial director.
Advertisements
"Do you have the warrant?"
― We have not confirmed the arrest warrant for the finance director, but we have confirmed the search and seizure warrant.
"Can you be arrested without an arrest warrant?"
― According to the head of the legal team, it is possible. They say that they can take the person into criminal custody and then hold him for questioning for up to 37 days.
As expected, China is a country that has thrown away human rights.
I just laughed at the thought that they could detain someone for over a month without any evidence or warrant.
― Companies that are doing business with us are also notifying us that they will stop doing business with us and terminate their contracts. They are even charging us a penalty.
Here was the reason why Ma Yun was so anxious.
Although Alibaba has entered the B2C market, its main business is still B2B.
Although B2C later became the main business, it was not structured to generate profits right away.
Because it was a chicken game with eBay in the US.
If even B2B was blocked in the middle of a chicken game that required massive investment, Alibaba would have collapsed.
"How long can you endure this?"
- If things continue like this, it won't be possible to last even 6 months. What should I do?
"I will first come up with a solution. Don't make any hasty moves, and do your best to stabilize the company."
Alibaba growing into a large company was a future that only I knew.
It was clear that if I just held on for now, it would come back bigger.
"If you run out of money, I will continue to support you. However, if things don't go well, I will also have to consider withdrawing my investment and leaving China."
- Sir, if that happens, we will die. You mean we will get our investment back?
"If I get my investment back, everything that's happening at Alibaba right now might go back to normal."
Ma Yun hesitated at my words and then asked cautiously.
―······Are you saying that all of this happened because of the boss?
"Yes, that is highly likely."
―······.
Ma Yun had no answer.
I'm sure your head is in a lot of confusion since you said it happened because of me.
"What should we do? Should I recover your investment and connect you with another investment company?"
- Oh, no.
The answer came quickly, but his voice was slightly trembling.
"Don't push yourself too hard. Think about it carefully and contact me again. This happened because of me, but I can't guarantee that we can solve it. This is something that the Chinese powers are determined to do."
―······There is no investor like you who only invests and does not interfere with the business at all. I have no intention of changing it yet. I can't guarantee anything in the future though.
When I heard the honest answer, I burst into laughter that was out of place in the situation.
"Okay, if you feel like you can't handle it, just let me know. And I'll provide you with operating funds through other channels."
- yes······.
"Then I'll hang up. Let's talk about something better next time. Chairman Ma."
Advertisements
After I finished talking to Ma Yun, I handed the receiver over to Director Ma.
"It looks like you really want to try it out with me."
"Has Alibaba been attacked too?"
I nodded.
It probably won't end with Alibaba alone. It will be all the companies I've invested in.
"Maybe we really need to consider a Chinese withdrawal."
With a deep sigh of distress, he asked Director Ma.
"What about the investigation into Chinese spies within the Blue House?"
"I narrowed it down to three."
"Three people. Do you have the evidence?"
"No. They say they haven't found any evidence yet."
"Who are you?"
The names of three people suspected of being spies came out of Director Ma's mouth.
"Public Relations Chief Kim Gap-su's son is currently studying abroad in China."
The son of Kim Kap-soo, the head of public relations, is currently studying abroad in China, and it is said that he often associates with children of high-ranking Chinese officials.
"Ban Jang-woo, the chief of foreign affairs and security, served as ambassador to China. He is a strong candidate. He also meets frequently with the Chinese ambassador to Korea."
Ban Jang-woo was a person who took off his military uniform during the military regime and became a diplomat.
He served as the Chinese ambassador and said he had many connections in China.
"And lastly, there is Chief of Civil Affairs Woo Young-sik. It is said that he was close friends with the current Chinese Ambassador to Korea during their study abroad days."
As soon as I heard the name Woo Young-sik, I couldn't help but be surprised.
"Woo Young-sik? Isn't he one of the president's closest associates?"
"Yes, I know that."
"But you're suspicious? Are you sure?"
"There is no definitive evidence, but these are the three most suspicious among the senior officials. There are more among the secretaries."
I don't know about the other chiefs, but I'm also a bit reluctant to touch Woo Young-sik.
I asked Director Ma, hoping it wasn't just him.
"What are the chances that it's Woo Young-sik?"
"It's more than 50%."
"Is that an estimate from Black Bear?"
"Yes. They say that while tracing his past activities, they found some suspicious parts. It is presumed that he has had relations with China for quite some time. However, that alone does not guarantee that he is the spy the president mentioned this time."
If the spy was Woo Young-sik, it was impossible to even imagine how much of a shock the president would receive.
The position of Senior Civil Affairs was the seat of the most powerful person in the Blue House.
In this administration, it is an even more important position because it is based on the same family as President Yoon Chang-ho.
When President Yoon Chang-ho's government was launched, there was a lot of talk in the media about who would become the Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs.
And when Woo Young-sik was appointed to that position, people nodded their heads.
Advertisements
The reason why the Senior Civil Affairs Officer had such high authority was because of his special role in handling the affairs of investigative agencies.
The Office of the Senior Civil Affairs Officer is given the authority to inspect major investigative agencies such as the prosecution, police, National Tax Service, and Board of Audit and Inspection.
If Chief Min Jeong was a spy who passed information to China, it was obvious that it would become a huge scandal.
'No, before that, why did the President's friend do that?'
It was an action that even I couldn't understand.
"How long do you think it will take to find the evidence?"
"They say that if the Blue House helps, it can be done quickly. All you have to do is leak information and keep an eye on them."
I shook my head.
It was a request to me by President Yoon Chang-ho, who could not do it himself.
"That would be too much of a burden to the Blue House."
I thought about meeting him separately, but even that information could have been passed on to China.
"Let's just catch all three."
"Is that okay? Still, he is the chief of staff at the Blue House. It could cause problems later."
"I know. But it's hard to catch them with normal methods. In this case, it's better to find them with simple methods. If not, you can reward them accordingly. Catch them all."
"All right."
Sometimes, simple is better.
"After checking the schedule, bring them all at once. The location is······."
I thought of the warehouse in Incheon, but quickly shook my head.
Even if everyone was a spy, I couldn't drag the seniors to a place like that.
"Let's go to the villa in Gyeonggi-do."
"I will do that."
After Director Ma left, I buried myself deep in the sofa and muttered to myself.
"Where do you want to try it?"
If you attack me, I'll return the blow doubled or tripled.
< Let's just catch all three > End
< Don't open your mouth without my permission >