The Shade Will Reveal the Corruption (3)
Impatience.
Isn't it one of the emotions that puts people in the greatest danger?
I confirmed that team leader Lee Siwon was moving swiftly.
It was natural for him to do so.
If the 'Creating Shade' project and the cold product gift promotion started too late, his achievement would decrease.
So he mobilized the entire Business Strategy Team to handle things as quickly as possible.
To what extent did he pressure them?
The usually laid-back members of the Business Strategy Team were now running around as if their feet were on fire.
A post appeared on the in-house anonymous message board.
[Wow... I think this is the first time I've worked this frantically since joining this company.]
[So this is what overtime means. Give me back my work-life balance.]
[Does the Business Strategy Team have something going on lately? Why the panic?]
[There's a rumor from the HR team that the executive vice president will resign. They say team leader Lee Siwon is aiming for the division director spot.]
I leisurely observed his actions from a distance.
The reason I was able to take this stance.
Before asking team leader Lee Siwon for cooperation, I had met with deputy Kang Daehyun from the HR team and team leader Kang Sangsu from the finance team.
I told the two of them.
"I have a plan to get rid of team leader Lee Siwon."
Deputy Kang Daehyun smirked as if amused, while team leader Kang Sangsu looked troubled.
Team leader Kang Sangsu spoke cautiously.
"Heh heh... That's not such an easy task. Do you have a brilliant plan?"
I shared with the two of them the kind of deal I would make with team leader Lee Siwon.
After that, what I said was—
"Whenever the Business Strategy Team conducted large-scale transactions under team leader Lee Siwon's leadership, they always used intermediary companies. That in itself isn't necessarily a problem. However, all three intermediary companies he used went out of business within three years."
At this, team leader Kang Sangsu replied.
"It sounds like division director is suspecting that team leader Lee Siwon intentionally inflated the unit prices through the intermediary companies. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"If those intermediary companies really are connected to team leader Lee Siwon, the fact that they closed down to avoid a Next Planet audit is plausible."
"Team leader, this isn't my area of expertise, so could you explain it in detail?"
"Ah, deputy Kang, that was inconsiderate of me. Sorry. If something is suspicious, the Legal Audit Team goes out to investigate. But if the company has already closed down, you can't get records like the books from that time. So it becomes difficult to confirm whether corruption occurred."
Deputy Kang Daehyun nodded.
I handed to deputy Kang Daehyun the names, addresses, and the first part of the social security numbers of the intermediary company representatives whom team leader Lee Siwon had used.
"The connection between team leader Lee Siwon and the intermediary company reps is certain."
"That's not something you can be sure of by nature... Ah! All the representatives' birth years match team leader Lee Siwon's. And the addresses are all Nonsan."
"So that means they're all former classmates of team leader Lee Siwon, right?"
"That's why you called me, isn't it? You want me to secure evidence that these people are tied to team leader Lee Siwon."
"That's right."
"This is interesting. Feels like I'm a detective now."
Deputy Kang Daehyun seemed to be somehow thrilled.
But simply using an acquaintance's company doesn't prove corruption. It's just a suspicious circumstance.
"Team leader, as far as I know, in the past, when the Business Strategy Team made purchases through intermediary companies, they didn't request additional documentation such as detailed item lists or comparative quotes."
"Yes, that's right. If we didn't just let it slide, the vice CEO or the executive vice president would pressure us, saying, 'What are you doing with such urgency?'"
"This time, please request everything. Detailed breakdowns down to the last won—unit prices by item, commission fees, transportation costs, service fees. Same for comparative quotes."
"Ah... Understood."
"Say, 'Aren't the costs from the intermediary too excessive? There's suspicion of some secret deal between you and them.' If you pressure team leader Lee Siwon like that, he'll naturally try to wriggle out."
"How will he try to squirm out?"
"He'll say they had to pay a premium since they had to buy such a large volume urgently through the intermediary."
"Isn't that a difficult argument to break?"
"It's difficult, but I'm not just going to break it—I'll shatter it to pieces."
For this matter, I put my hidden card, Min Ji-na, to use.
I asked her to check the stock, unit price, and service fees for all the items the Business Strategy Team needed.
The key was that they had to acquire them urgently.
Especially with large parasols and mist fans, they would have to be installed, so from Lee Siwon's perspective, there was no time to wait for manufacturing orders from factories.
There aren't many companies capable of selling large volumes of goods on short notice, so it would be possible to check them all.
Now, all I had to do was wait for Lee Siwon to take the bait and self-destruct.
***
"Hey! Ddungsik!"
Team leader Lee Siwon met up with an old friend. The two chatted over soju.
"Siwon, it was tough scrambling to make the deal. You'll have to take good care of me."
"You greedy bastard. Our people checked out all the companies, and Miran and I did half the legwork ourselves."
"Yeah, but there are always some tough spots."
The two of them giggled, unable to hide their excitement.
Lee Siwon's high school classmate Park Dongsik fed him dried pollack as a drinking snack.
"Guess I'm lucky to have a good friend."
"You know it."
"I was wondering when my turn would come."
"A man has to be loyal. I take care of all my friends any way I can."
"So, is our Siwon finally getting promoted to division director? My friend's going to be a division director?"
The two of them were tipsy when a woman approached.
It was Park Miran, manager in the Business Strategy Team.
She sat down right beside Lee Siwon and wrapped her arm around his.
She spoke.
"How much will you get from this job, oppa? And me?"
"I'll probably get about seventy million. You? Thirty?"
"We're getting our incentive for real."
"You have to take care of your own incentives. How can you survive on just your company salary?"
"True, true."
"Should we use this bonus to travel somewhere, like Bali?"
"Really? You're the best, oppa."
The three drank happily.
Then manager Park Miran spoke.
"But are we really safe? I get worried when I remember what happened when Chuljin oppa got caught. That Hyunmin guy makes me nervous. And apparently, the finance team is requesting paperwork strictly."
"Forget about that. It just gives you wrinkles. This time the justification is rock solid, so Hyunmin can't do anything. He was the one who asked for the goods urgently. How do you get things urgently? Of course you have to spend more money."
"Is that right?"
"Of course."
"Ugh! I really hate the Reform Division. Especially Hyena, that woman."
"Just wait. This time they're asking not to lay off the landscaping staff."
"Ugh! There are too many old, smelly people at the company."
"I'll drag that out until the end and then push to lay them off. Then it'll all be over. Endgame. That'll ruin the relationship between Hyunmin and the Operations Division beyond repair."
"Then that'll be the end for Hyena too. Really, oppa, you have to admire how clever you are."
***
Time passed quickly.
"Wow... It's so hot now. Just stepping outside my office, I start sweating."
Choi Hyena walked in and immediately turned down the air conditioning.
The scorching heat had begun in earnest, and both the Creating Shade project and the cold product gift promotion were proceeding smoothly.
Today was the day for the regular meeting. The vice CEO, all four division directors, and all team leaders would gather.
Normally, one simply gives a status report and leaves. But today would be different.
I checked my watch.
"Hyena-nim, are you ready?"
"Yes! Ugh... I'm so nervous... Division director... I... I can't really breathe."
Choi Hyena was breathing hard, face pale.
I was also trembling inside, though I didn't show it.
Today, I planned to expose team leader Lee Siwon's corruption at the regular meeting.
Pointing the knife at others means risking having it pointed at myself.
If I failed to get rid of team leader Lee Siwon at the regular meeting, I'd be the one who ended up dead.
Why? Because I didn't go through the Legal Audit Team, but brought it up in public.
Suspect the wrong person and cause a scene—who'd want to work with someone like that?
Kim Junho brought strawberry juice to Choi Hyena.
"Drink this and calm your nerves."
"Thank you..."
Instant thought.
Why didn't he bring me any?
I couldn't exactly ask for one now.
"Hyena-nim, let's go."
Kim Junho bowed politely.
"Division director, good luck."
He could have brought me strawberry juice, too...
Feeling a little miffed, I headed to the meeting room with Choi Hyena.
We arrived at the meeting room. As I opened the door, I had the illusion that shards of glass were floating in the air, pricking my skin.
Choi Hyena and I took our seats. Then team leader Lee Siwon and manager Park Miran came in.
Manager Lee Siwon waved at me in greeting, with a cheerful smile. After all, for now it looked like we were working together.
It must have been a gesture of goodwill.
The meeting proceeded as usual.
As the session ended and most people's attention waned and even a few started yawning, executive vice president Kim Sangho, acting as facilitator, spoke.
"So, any other special items?"
At that moment, I raised my hand, and all eyes turned toward me.
Executive vice president Kim Sangho looked startled but, unlike before, didn't look at me as if I were a nuisance.
His voice sounded somewhat feeble.
"Division director Lee Hyunmin... yes... please, if you have something to say, go ahead."
I stood up and looked around.
"I apologize for the sudden interruption, but I have a matter of great importance on which I'd like to speak."
The vice CEO and several others frowned, probably meaning, 'Don't cause trouble again.'
Some people looked intrigued—they knew from experience that big things often happened when I spoke up.
I had to live up to those expectations.
"I was tipped off that, even as the company's losses snowballed, there was someone obsessed only with lining his own pockets."
A flicker of consternation ran across the faces of Lee Siwon and Park Miran.
At this moment, the highest power in the room, vice CEO Choi Younghoon, spoke up.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying someone committed corruption?"
"Yes, that's correct."
I observed the vice CEO's eyes. His pupils swept over his associates.
For a moment, his brow furrowed. He seemed to have realized who'd caused the trouble.
He spoke, barely veiling his displeasure.
"If it was that important, shouldn't you have put it on the agenda? The regular meeting is for pre-set topics only."
"My apologies. But I had to use this public platform to catch the perpetrator for sure."
"Public platform? You seem to always want to stand out with your clever ideas. Don't you realize that stirs up trouble in an organization?"
"I apologize again. But when weighing stamping out corruption and causing a stir, stamping out corruption is far more important."
"That's not a sound argument."
"Causing a stir? If I'm labeled a troublemaker, that's the end of it for me. But corruption threatens the whole company."
The vice CEO shut his mouth tightly. Then he slammed his hand on the table, raising the tension in the room.
"Procedures are procedures. Let's handle the corruption case through the Legal Audit Team as normal. I'll give you all the support I can. Isn't that right, executive vice president Kim?"
"Yes... well... that's right. The process matters, even with important issues like corruption..."
Unlike before, executive vice president Kim Sangho spoke hesitantly.
I raised my voice.
"Corruption is like water sprinkled on parched earth. Miss the timing even slightly, and it vanishes into the air or seeps underground and can't be traced."
"Are you lecturing me?"
"No. I'm trying to solve the problem."
"At the very least, shouldn't you have given me or executive vice president Kim some advance warning? This shakes the very foundations of our organization...."
"Division directors of Operations and the External Business Division, what's your view?"
I cut the vice CEO off, and his eyes visibly wavered.
Everyone else watched our power struggle in silence.
Then Oh Kang-il, director of the Operations Division, raised his hand.
"I have no objections. We should uproot such things immediately. Weeds, if not pulled in time, take over the whole field."
Lee Ji-young, director of the External Business Division, bowed her head.
"If we listen to the Reform Division director, how much time would it take? Surely not that long. I think we should hear it out."
Vice CEO Choi Younghoon started to speak, but then closed his mouth.
Yes, three out of the four division directors had agreed. No matter how much power he had, even the vice CEO couldn't ignore that.
Why did those two side with me so easily, without worrying about how the vice CEO would react?
Did I not anticipate the vice CEO would try to block me? Of course I'd prepared for that.
I looked Lee Siwon straight in the eye.
Now! Let's finish it here.
"To this moment, I will reveal the inappropriate conduct of team leader Lee Siwon of the Business Strategy Team."