I Am the Third-Generation Heir of a Conglomerate - Chapter 424



Only Noblemtl

424. Bait Products (4)

There are two construction companies owned by the current Bumhyun Group.

One was Hyunjae Construction, owned by Hyunjae Automobile Group, and the other was Hyunjae Development, a construction company owned by the younger brother of the late Chairman Jang Young-joo.

“Do you think Chairman Jang will be able to persuade the current family? Rumor has it that their relationship has not been very good since the Prince’s Rebellion.”

“If it’s a family matter, of course I don’t want to see your face. But if it’s a business with a lot of money involved, I don’t mind not seeing your face.”

Money was stickier than blood.

The purpose of a business was to generate profits, and the people who ran such businesses were people who would do anything to generate profits.

“Since both sides are clear about what they want, the current shipping issue will be resolved. However, the problem is Hyunjin Shipping. The Hyunjin family also suffered from the Prince’s Rebellion, just like the current family, and the construction company is held by the second son.”

“The Hyun Jin family is famous for not meeting each other face to face, even in business.”

“Hyundai Heavy Industries Chairman Cho Geun-ho does not even use Hyundai Air when traveling abroad.”

It was something I already knew.

We have been thinking about a solution to this problem since we were designing the real estate PF plan.

“There is no reason to solve the problems of Hyunjin Shipping through the Hyunjin family. Who owns the management rights of Hyunjin Heavy Industries now?”

“… … Management rights were transferred to the creditors early this year.”

“Industrial Bank of Korea holds the largest amount of bonds, just like Hyunjin Shipping.”

“So, from the beginning, you created the real estate PF not to attack Hyunjin Group, but to attack Industrial Bank of Korea?”

The Hyun Jin family was now in a state of total chaos.

Various affiliates, including Hyunjin Shipping and Hyunjin Heavy Industries, were taken over by creditors.

There was even talk that the actual owner of Hyunjin Group was not a member of the Hyunjin family, but the Industrial Bank of Korea.

“If we push the real estate PF to Hyunjin Construction, a subsidiary of Hyunjin Heavy Industries, wouldn’t we be able to get the Industrial Bank of Korea on our side?”

“Wouldn’t the Hyunjin Group object?”

“In the case of Hyunjin Shipping, it has become a company that has no relation to the management. It depends on what decisions the government and the Industrial Bank of Korea make.”

In the case of the current commercial ship, there was a slight possibility of recovery.

However, in the case of Hyunjin Shipping, without government support, there was no answer other than bankruptcy or sale.

“Industrial Bank of Korea Chairman Lee Myung-geol had been requesting a meeting.”

“Try to think carefully. It would be more profitable to merge and then sell Hyunjin Shipping rather than selling its assets after bankruptcy. And there’s also the real estate PF story.”

“Because I had to watch the government’s mood, I couldn’t move properly before the general election, but my stance may have changed now. First, I will meet with them and figure out the situation.”

The Industrial Bank of Korea’s shares were held by the South Korean government.

That is why the Industrial Bank of Korea could not make a decision that was different from the government’s keynote.

However, since the general election results represented the public sentiment, a different choice could have been made.

***

Vice Chairman Han quickly met with Chairman Lee of the Industrial Bank of Korea.

It was quite natural for Vice Chairman Han, who is the head of a financial affiliate, to meet with the Chairman of the Industrial Bank of Korea.

Still, the two met cautiously, and Vice Chairman Han returned with somewhat positive news.

“The Industrial Bank of Korea is positively considering the merger and sale of Hyunjin Shipping and Hyunjae Shipping. In particular, it is said that both companies’ creditors are hoping that Taewoo Group will acquire the shipping company.”

“It’s a natural thing to do, as it’s a way to minimize risk.”

“But the problem is the government. Chairman Lee of the Industrial Bank of Korea said he would personally visit the Blue House to persuade them.”

The decision maker at the Industrial Bank of Korea was supposed to be the President.

Although the Financial Services Commission nominates the appointment, the appointment is ultimately within the President’s authority.

That is why the position of chairman of the Industrial Bank of Korea was usually filled by someone close to the president.

If the person he appointed can be persuaded, wouldn’t the Blue House also be persuaded?

“Things will go smoothly since the Industrial Bank of Korea is taking the lead.”

“The government may not take the lead in driving big deals for shipping companies, but it is unlikely to interfere with them at least.”

But our thoughts completely changed a few days later.

As I was working as usual, the planning manager came rushing in.

The planning director opened the door without even knocking and came in, his face dark and thoughtful.

“The National Tax Service is said to be conducting a tax investigation against Taewoo Corporation!”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden!”

“I am hearing that they will conduct a tax investigation not only on Taewoo Corporation but also on all subsidiaries of Taewoo Group.”

Before the planning director could finish speaking, a call came from Captain Kang.

[Mr. Chairman, we have received an urgent call from the National Tax Service. They say that an order has been given from above to conduct a tax investigation on the Taewoo Group.]

Tax audits were the most powerful weapon the government could wield.

It was a weapon that not only small and medium-sized businesses, but also large corporations could not avoid.

“It seems we have really offended the Blue House.”

“It seems that the Blue House is in a bad mood due to the shipping company big deal issue and the real estate PF.”

Was it a problem that the chairman of the Industrial Bank of Korea visited the Blue House?

It was as if Taewoo Group had recruited its own people to fight against those in power.

“Will there be any problems if a tax audit is conducted?”

“There are no major problems as we strictly manage it through a strict tax management program and audit team. However, as you know, who doesn’t get dust when you clean it? Minor tax disputes can arise.”

“If you say it’s a dispute, then it’s not tax evasion, right?”

“However, depending on the announcement from the government and the National Tax Service, it may be branded as a tax evading company.”

Tax issues were really complicated.

Tax laws were revised every year, and there were cases where even National Tax Service employees did not properly understand the revised tax laws.

That is why Taewoo Group was paying taxes in a way that minimized tax avoidance.

Depending on the interpretation of tax laws, additional taxes may be imposed.

The problem arose because the government and the National Tax Service had enough power to push the issue, which could have ended with a surtax, into tax evasion.

“How long does it take for the IRS to process the data and make an announcement?”

“Announcements are usually made within two weeks at the earliest and within a month at the latest.”

“If we mobilize all of our IRS lines, how much delay can we make?”

“If we mobilize all lines, I think we can buy about two months.”

There was even a saying that bribes to the National Tax Service had an extra zero added to them.

However, Taewoo Group did not bribe the National Tax Service, but instead created a line by joining a legal fund.

It was a fund that produced returns of over 200% every year.

It was a tighter line than other large company lines because it was money that was safe and brought higher returns than bribes given by large companies.

“Two months, time is running out.”

“Even if we delay the matter, the result will not change unless the Blue House issues an order to stop the tax investigation.”

“It seems they have no choice but to create a major issue so that the Blue House cannot pay attention to the tax investigation of Taewoo Group.”

“After the issue is resolved, there may be greater retaliation.”

“We just have to make it so that they don’t know that Taewoo Group has brought up this issue. And since this issue cannot be resolved by the Blue House, retaliation is impossible.”

“Is that okay?”

There has never been an instance of a corporation attacking the government.

Of course, I had no intention of attacking the government.

It was just a plan to bring the historical flow forward a little bit, and to make the information we know available to everyone.

“There is absolutely no problem. We will never attack directly.”

“Okay. Then I will contact the People’s Economy Party and try to inform them of the unfairness of this tax investigation.”

“If the People’s Economy Party also steps in, we might be able to buy more time.”

The People’s Economy Party was a defensive shield for the Taewoo Group.

It was a defensive measure that cost a lot of money to use in times like these, and it was enough to pressure the government into delaying the tax audit.

***

I went straight to Captain Kang’s office.

The office was on high alert, and Captain Kang was using all lines, including the IRS line, to try to prevent a tax audit.

“We are delaying the IRS line as much as possible. We have decided to use methods that omit accounting books and tax data or contaminate information.”

“You’ve had a hard time. I’m asking you to do something that could potentially cause problems for your personal career.”

“I don’t think it will be a big problem. I heard that the National Tax Service is also not happy about this tax investigation.”

Taewoo Group has been selected as an exemplary taxpayer for five consecutive years.

They couldn’t feel at ease because they were conducting tax audits on taxpaying companies selected by the National Tax Service.

“For the sake of the National Tax Service, we need to stop the tax investigation itself.”

“It will be difficult unless the Blue House issues an order to stop.”

“By the way, did you find out who planned this tax investigation?”

“They say the Chief of Staff of the Blue House is leading the way. Everyone was against it, but the Chief of Staff of the Blue House pushed it so hard that they had no choice.”

The power of the Chief of Staff of the Blue House was indeed formidable.

However, that does not mean that they had the power to unilaterally conduct tax investigations of large corporations.

In the end, it meant that the Blue House had given its approval.

That’s why I was able to move without any hesitation.

“Please release the information about the Northwest faction to the press.”

“How much information should we expose?”

“Let’s release all the information we have at once. It would be better to release the information sequentially, but we don’t have time for that right now.”

“Are you talking about all the information? Not only the Beomseobukpa, but also sports stars, entertainers, politicians, and even the Blue House are all involved.”

It was information with enormous ramifications.

Captain Kang and his staff were dispatched directly to Korea and Southeast Asia to collect information.

The information contained a perfect causal relationship through the information collection and analysis program created by Center Director Cheon Min-jeong.

“Just because we release that much information, it doesn’t mean the Blue House will collapse all of a sudden. The situation will change depending on how the media companies act based on the information we release.”

“With this level of information, we can make even the opposition party join forces to attack us!”

“The most important thing is to make sure they don’t know we are information providers.”

“We will use a method that even the National Intelligence Service does not know about. We can use the tracking prevention system that Director Chun created in Southeast Asia.”

When did Director Chun create such a program again?

She was the type of person who always did something helpful first, even without being asked.

“If it’s a program created by Director Chun, then it’s certain.”

“It is said to have been created by combining the encryption program used to create Bitcoin with a VPN system.”

“Let’s get to work today.”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll make sure that the front page of the newspaper is filled with news from the Northwest!”

It was the first time that a rebellion had taken place against the government.

I really didn’t want to do this, but I had no choice.

You might say that an apology to the Blue House would be enough, but if you do that, you could be in trouble when the impeachment situation comes.

An inevitable choice to protect the Taewoo Group.

If we can just get through this crisis, Rep. Choi Jae-seok will take power.

In order to survive until then, we had no choice but to use extreme methods.