Chapter 155: Gradually (3)

Dammit… Dammit…

Seo Hyoseok cursed under his breath with his head hung low. It was unproductive behavior for someone facing a crisis, but there wasn’t much else he could do at this point.

“You’ve gotten yourself into quite an interesting situation.” Director Kim Da-hyun finally spoke after letting Seo Hyoseok stew for some time.

They weren’t meeting in her office but rather in a large conference room overlooking Gwanghwamun through its windows. As expected of such a spacious venue, they were not alone. Both Seo Hyoseok’s father and Manager Woo Jiwon had been dragged along as well.

Naturally, there were other representatives from Taehwa Electronics besides Kim Da-hyun, including Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae seated discreetly in one corner of the room.

“I…”

In essence, all parties involved with this matter were present here today. Even Seo Hyoseok, known for his silver tongue, found it difficult to speak freely under these circumstances. Actually, even if only Kim Da-hyun had been present, he likely wouldn’t have fared much better. After all, wasn’t he just another bully who picked on those weaker than him while cowering before stronger individuals?

“It seems you don’t have much to say, so…” Seeing that Seo Hyoseok couldn’t find his voice, Kim Da-hyun turned towards Nam Jiyun, his trusted subordinate soon to be appointed as Director Seo’s successor.

Taking this as her cue, Manager Nam started presenting the PowerPoint slides. As expected of Taehwa Electronics’ headquarters building, everything was state-of-the-art, including the large screen with excellent resolution.

“As you can see, this is a research proposal submitted under the name Woo Jiwon, Head of Resources at Taehwa Bio. It clearly states that five hundred million won is required for research funding. Is that correct, Director Seo?” Manager Nam pointed at the crisp display, ensuring even those with poor eyesight could follow along. With such a high-quality laser pointer, it would be impossible to miss anything indicated on the screen.

Of course, Director Seo felt quite wronged.

“It’s true…but I swear, I had nothing to do with this project. I wasn’t aware of any involvement.”

“You weren’t aware?”

“It’s true.”

“But why is your signature on this document?”

“That’s…” Director Seo inadvertently sighed and looked at Manager Woo.

To others, it might have seemed like he was simply shifting his gaze, but both men knew better. In fact, Manager Woo, somewhat dazed, didn’t even realize that Director Seo was staring at him.

How did…? How did things end up like this…?

No one else knew about their covert operation. Not a single soul, just as Director Seo had mentioned earlier. Only two people were involved: Woo Jiwon himself and Seo Hyoseok.

“You’re not suggesting that someone of your stature entrusted Manager Woo with your seal, right?”

“No, no way. That’s impossible.”

“Then did you sign off on something without knowing all the details?”

“That is…”

“This meeting is being recorded. It would be best to answer truthfully, Director Seo.”

“You…” Director Seo glared at Nam with bloodshot eyes.

Despite his title sounding relatively low-ranking, Director Seo held more power than most CEOs within the group hierarchy. Normally, people cowered under his stare, but Manager Nam calmly met it head-on. This was because the matter at hand was extremely serious—and he had powerful backers behind him.

Moreover, Director Seo had strong backing from influential figures within the company.

“Let’s set aside our concerns for now and move on.”

One of those influential backers, Director Kim Da-hyun, spoke up, much to Director Seo’s chagrin. Manager Nam appeared to heed only her words.

“Yes, ma’am. Next is a proposal document received from the Electronics R&D Department. As you can see, it mirrors the one submitted by BioLife. Upon review, we determined that the research plan was well-developed with significant commercial potential and public benefit. Therefore, we approved the requested budget of five billion won. This approval bears the signatures of Director Hwang Yoon-seok and Manager Kim Sung-wook from the Electronics R&D Department.” Manager Nam continued his presentation in his precise and formal manner.

The next screen displayed a list of wire transfers, including one from the Electronics R&D Department to the Biological Sciences R&D Department for five hundred million won at once. As expected of a large corporation, they didn’t hesitate when it came to spending money once approved.

Based on what was presented so far, there seemed to be no issues with this transaction.

“But…what exactly is the problem here?” Lee Yoowon, current chairman of Taehwa Group and former president of Taehwa Electronics, turned to Vice President Kim Bumjoon.

Although Kim Bumjoon wasn’t directly involved in this matter, he was Director Kim Da-hyun’s father, which suggested that he might have some knowledge about it. Moreover, Vice President Kim himself had insisted on attending this meeting despite its seemingly minor nature.

Despite being over seventy years old, Kim Bumjoon was still actively involved in company affairs and had a strong sense of duty. He seemed more interested in advancing his daughter’s career than asserting himself directly on any matter.

“That… You should ask Executive Director Kim about it, sir.”

This response might have come across as dismissive to some, but given that Kim Bumjoon had been with the company since its inception, he held enough clout to speak freely without fear of rebuke from the chairman. Lee Yoowon acknowledged this fact and accepted Vice President Kim’s input.

He turned to Kim Da-hyun. “Yes, Mr. Chairman. As you said, there is no issue at present. In other words, communication between the Life Sciences R&D department and the Electronics R&D department has been smooth.”

“However?”

“The problem occurred between Life R&D and Taehwa Medical Center. Please see this document first. This is the original proposal submitted by the medical center.”

Following Kim Da-hyun’s words, Manager Nam immediately changed the screen.

It displayed the proposal submitted without any errors by Shin Hyun-tae, Lee Suhyuk, and the other professors. The seals of Shin Hyun-tae and Lee Hyunjong were also visible on it.

“As you can see…the requested amount for this research plan was 200 million won.”

“Not 500 million won?”

“No, it is definitely 200 million won.”

“Did your funding plans change after submitting the research proposal?” Chairman Lee Yoowon turned her gaze towards Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae. Her voice might sound smooth, but she wasn’t someone to be trifled with. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Lee Yoowon had single-handedly built the current Taehwa Group.

During the reorganization of Taehwa Group, it was rumored that several people lost their jobs for challenging him. At least, Lee Hyunjong and Shin Hyun-tae had witnessed such incidents firsthand from the sidelines.

“Eek.” The relatively timid Shin Hyun-tae inadvertently let out a strange sound.

“No sir, Chairman Lee. It never happened,” replied Lee Hyunjong firmly, as he wasn’t one to bow down easily to authority.

He discreetly elbowed Shin Hyun-tae in the ribs. Despite the sharp pain, Shin Hyun-tae dared not groan.

“Then what’s going on here?” Lee Yoowon’s voice rose sharply at the sight of the empty balance sheet showing three billion won missing.

Considering Taehwa Group generated over 100 trillion won annually, three billion might seem insignificant. However, overlooking such discrepancies could never sustain a corporation of this magnitude.

“I will explain further with the next document.” Manager Nam tried to avoid Lee Yoowon’s gaze as he spoke. Even if the situation was justified, it was difficult for him to look directly into the angry eyes of the chairman.

Naturally, Seo Hyoseok, Woo Jiwon, and Director Seo bowed their heads even lower.

“This shows the actual amount transferred from Life & Science R&D to Dr. Shin Hyun-tae, Head of Internal Medicine at the medical center, for research purposes.”

“It’s only two hundred million won. That still leaves three hundred million unaccounted for. Was there any other transfer?”

“The remaining three hundred million…went into this account.”

It wasn’t easy running a corporation smoothly. With billions being exchanged regularly, it was challenging to keep transactions completely off the record.

Of course, if they hadn’t been caught by auditors, no one would have known about these transactions. However, tracing money transfers was quite straightforward.

“The account holder is Woo Jiwon. Didn’t you say he’s Manager Woo?” Lee Yoowon turned to look at the owner of said account.

Woo Jiwon couldn’t bring himself to meet his eyes and kept his head bowed low. His receding hairline from years of working in this cutthroat industry elicited some sympathy, but it did little to quell Yoowon’s anger over the empty account balance.

“Did you embezzle that amount? Look me in the eye and answer.” It wasn’t a request or persuasion; it was a command.

Woo Jiwon had no choice but to raise his head, only to come face-to-face with Lee Yoowon, who looked like a ferocious tiger.

Had he not known Lee Yoowon’s history, he might have thought of another animal, but given his knowledge of how she had built her empire, it was difficult to come up with any creature other than a tiger.

“It’s—”

Yet, despite this, Woo Jiwon hesitated due to what Director Seo and Seo Hyoseok had told him before entering the conference room.

If you turn on them, I’ll secure your position here and take care of your livelihood.

This could land him in jail, but hearing that Director Seo would handle everything gave him pause. Having worked closely with Director Seo, Woo Jiwon knew just how wealthy he was, which made things even more complicated.

I guess turning against them…would be better for me, right?

Regardless of the outcome, at least he’d ensure some form of financial security.

It would be better to go down with Director Seo than to sink alone like a shipwreck. Besides, Woo Jiwon had transaction records from Seo’s personal bank account, which could serve as blackmail material if needed.

Just as he was about to decide on this course of action, Lee Yoowon spoke up again.

“Answer me honestly now. Embezzling three billion won is certainly a serious crime, but lying to me is an even greater offense. Whether it’s by law or not, that’s my judgment.”

“Oh.”

After hearing those words, Woo Jiwon couldn’t bring himself to betray her anymore.

That’s right… Laws mean nothing to her…

If she decided to ruin someone’s life, it would spell disaster for them. They wouldn’t be able to live comfortably anywhere in South Korea, and likely not abroad either, given how Taehwa Group operated globally thanks to Lee Yoowon’s efforts.

Lee Yoowon had built Taehwa Group into a global conglomerate from scratch.

“I’m sorry.” Ultimately, Manager Woo Jiwon looked at both Director Seo and Seo Hyoseok before blurting out, “I-I can’t keep quiet anymore!”

Seeing his expression, Director Seo hastily tried to stop him but was unsuccessful.

“Quiet down over there!” Lee Yoowon’s bellow silenced Director Seo.

Despite being one of the most powerful men in Korea, even Director Seo couldn’t dare confront Lee Yoowon head-on, so Woo Jiwon decided to spill everything he’d been harboring inside.

“The three hundred million… I sent it to Professor Seo Hyoseok. He said no one would find out if we paid it back later… Honestly, I never intended to embezzle any funds. Please believe me.”

“Professor Seo Hyoseok?”

Lee Yoowon glanced at Seo Hyoseok still standing before him. To be honest, this was their first encounter. Despite being a renowned professor within the hospital, he held little influence over the entire group. Director Seo would have been another story, but even then, it wouldn’t change much. And here was this nobody trying to play games with his group.

“Yes, well… Let’s hear why you did what you did.” Lee Yoowon smiled benevolently, as if showing mercy before tearing someone apart.

Kim Bumjoon, fully aware of Lee Yoowon’s long-standing habit, turned away, fearing what might come next. Instead, he gazed out the window and admired the refreshing view of Gwanghwamun Plaza.

“Yes, sir.” In contrast, Seo Hyoseok, who knew very little about Lee Yoowon, mistook the smile for goodwill and eagerly began explaining himself.