Chapter 91
What are you so proud of?
Taeshin Electronics was swept away by a wave of plunging stock prices after the sudden news article reported a loss of approximately 500 billion won.
Taeshin Electronics tried to respond immediately, but actual proof for fact-checking could not be provided right away.
As a result, the articles just kept coming, each one following the last.
However, the stock chart did not just freefall. Instead, it moved in strange patterns as decline and rebound repeated themselves.
Still, it was no time to be relieved, so Taeshin Electronics gathered only the executives for a countermeasure meeting.
"How is it possible that we still haven't found where the information about Taeshin Next leaked?"
"......"
The executives remained silent at the outcry that sought the cause, not emergency countermeasures.
Of course, they hadn't just been doing nothing, either.
But the Taeshin Next incident was already a well-known loss among anyone involved with the company's finance and accounting staff.
"And the inquiry disclosure—has that come out yet?"
At the question, Tae Seok-hyun's female secretary, standing in the back, pushed up her glasses and stepped forward.
"I submitted it right away this morning, so it should come out soon."
"Just where are these articles coming from...?"
Tae Seok-hyun was no fool.
Article bombardment and plunging stock prices—such a combination meant someone was targeting Taeshin Electronics' shares from somewhere.
Not long after, someone entered from outside. The awaited result of the disclosure inquiry had arrived.
"What's the change?"
"I'll display it right away."
Jang In-sook, Tae Seok-hyun's secretary, displayed the result on the conference room screen.
【Orbis Investment ― 63,500,000 shares (1.27%)】
【Lumen Holdings ― 81,500,000 shares (1.63%)】
【Redboar Technology ― 6,000,000 shares (0.12%)】
【Mirage International ― 4,000,000 shares (0.08%)】
.
.
Everyone's expression hardened as they saw the numbers.
In just a day since the stock fell, over 1.1 trillion shares' worth had moved to various companies.
"Incredible players have jumped in..."
In particular, orbis Investment and Lumen Holdings were investment firms that had started to make their name in the Middle East and Europe, respectively.
Such companies had not missed the window as Taeshin Electronics' price dove and jumped right in.
About 1 trillion won worth of shares had changed hands that way.
As the intentions didn't seem good, the atmosphere inevitably turned grim.
Bang—
Suddenly, the front door of the conference room burst open.
While everyone was startled, the chairman of Taeshin Group, Tae Gun-seung, entered along with In-hyuk.
"Ch-chairman! How did you...?"
The executives, sitting dazed, leapt to their feet.
Tae Gun-seung, glaring as if to say how pathetic, finally spoke.
"Tsk! Is this somewhere I shouldn't be?"
No one dared raise their heads, only glancing around for a read on the mood.
Tae Seok-hyun then cautiously approached Tae Gun-seung.
"I didn't expect you to come."
"Why? Am I supposed to report when I visit my own company?"
"It's not that..."
Tae Gun-seung's gaze shifted to the conference room screen displaying the changed shareholder register.
"The trading volume shot up—I suppose over three percent must have changed hands."
"......"
Silence followed.
With the mood already heavy, Tae Gun-seung sat in the chair Tae Seok-hyun had occupied.
As Tae Seok-hyun had nowhere to sit, his secretary brought another chair from the side, causing a mild commotion as people shuffled around.
"Why do you think this happened?"
Tae Gun-seung's sharply-voiced question silenced everyone.
"Is that what matters right now? Is shares the real problem?"
As he asked again, Tae Gun-seung extended his hand toward Tae Seok-hyun.
"... Pardon?"
"Hand it over."
"I'm not sure I follow...?"
"The report on the loss amount, I mean!"
After hesitating a moment, Tae Seok-hyun looked at his secretary, Jang In-sook.
After nervously glancing around, she slowly handed over the file she was holding.
Tae Gun-seung took it and handed it to In-hyuk, standing behind him.
"Kang, take a look. Figure out where the problems are and what can be done to solve this fiasco."
The executives were even more flustered now than when Tae Gun-seung had entered with In-hyuk.
And at hearing him addressed as "Kang" (implying a familial closeness), they were shocked again.
Tae Gun-seung had never addressed anyone so warmly in such an official setting before.
Furthermore, due to a massive recent personnel shakeup, Kang In-hyuk, director of Taeshin Asset Management, had earned the nickname "the Grim Reaper" internally.
With the report now in In-hyuk's hands, even those uninvolved looked terrified of where blame might fall.
"Some articles say it's 400 billion, others 500 billion... but from what I see, it's even more than that."
People felt as though their hearts had dropped to their stomachs.
Tae Gun-seung shot a sharp look at In-hyuk.
"Didn't you spot this from the TF division?"
The sudden shift in blame didn't seem to faze In-hyuk, who simply gave a faint smile.
"How could I not? I was aware you were covering it up by feigning capital movement through Taeshin Next, chairman. The only reason I didn't catch the loss size in time was that, during the TF division's personnel reform, the figures were just so immense. I was conducting a separate investigation."
Unlike Tae Gun-seung, In-hyuk called him in a familiar manner, though with a completely different intent.
Tae Gun-seung's eyes widened.
"How much, precisely?"
"As far as I've investigated: about 825 billion won. Thirty percent of that comes from mistakes in selecting suppliers for the U25 and T14 parts manufacturing, the rest are investment losses."
"Investment? With Taeshin Next?"
Publicly, it was believed that about 300 billion won spent on Taeshin Next was the issue.
"No. That entity just acted as a channel from the start. According to documents, Taeshin Next purchased high-end test equipment and materials, but the real prices were inflated by about 230%."
In-hyuk paused and looked around. Several executives' faces turned pale.
"About 300 billion won of kickbacks were generated from the price difference. I confirmed that those funds were routed through a shell company and then invested in a cryptocurrency called Aegon. By the way, that crypto has now crashed, so recovering the money is impossible."
When he finished, Tae Gun-seung suppressed his trembling body and glared at Tae Seok-hyun.
"What about the supplier selection mishap?"
Fixing his gaze on Tae Seok-hyun, Tae Gun-seung returned the question to In-hyuk.
"With increased production, instead of raising orders from existing partners, an additional contract was made with a firm in China called Swentech. Their contract terms were about 30% cheaper than usual, but once the deposit was paid, the company disappeared."
"You mean Taeshin Electronics was scammed by a subcontractor?"
At that moment, Tae Seok-hyun intervened.
"We've already found and dealt with the person responsible for that...!"
"The money?"
"... Pardon?"
"Did you report it to the authorities?"
"Not yet... I was investigating discreetly, so as not to further impact the stock price."
Bang—
Tae Gun-seung slammed his wrinkled fist down on the desk.
The sound startled almost everyone, making their shoulders jolt.
"Is Taeshin Electronics still standing?! Why is nobody answering me? I asked if the company is still afloat!"
His angry voice echoed throughout the conference room.
"......"
And yet, no one dared to answer, sitting completely still.
"Is this company full of fools? CEO Tae Seok-hyun."
"Y-yes... yes, chairman."
"Didn't I gather you all to discuss solutions?"
"Th-that's correct."
"Then, has anything come up yet?"
"That's..."
As his frustration grew, the wrinkles on Tae Gun-seung's brow deepened.
"So, in the end, you dithered until things were this far gone?"
"......"
Tae Gun-seung let out a long sigh, then looked at In-hyuk again.
"Kang, what's your opinion? If you've investigated until recently, surely you've considered countermeasures."
In-hyuk coolly surveyed the executives.
"At the moment, defending ourselves is more important than finding a solution."
"Defend? Is there more?"
"I'm talking about what I just reported. The source of the information spread to the press is still unknown. If this was intentional, there will be more articles."
The room murmured, Tae Gun-seung's brow furrowing deeper.
"You mean the Swentech scandal will also break?"
"It began with only vague articles about 'losses.' Since it was tricky to deny, Taeshin Electronics' response was delayed."
"So, you're saying the next article will have all the concrete details."
"Exactly. The moment Taeshin Electronics is painted as a victim of corporate fraud, the situation will be even worse than now."
The mood grew even heavier.
In that weighty silence, Tae Gun-seung could only sigh.
"So, you're saying it's going to break anyway... is there a way to stop it?"
"The best defense here is to contain things. If we address the losses and make a clear announcement about future plans, even the shareholders can be persuaded."
"That's the problem, isn't it?"
The losses totaled over 800 billion won. With the media in a frenzy, using bank channels to resolve it was obviously out of the question.
In the end, it meant they'd have to cover it with internal funds—but Taeshin Electronics simply didn't have the liquidity.
"Apparently, the Swentech associates who absconded were apprehended by Interpol in Thailand about two weeks ago."
The statement surprised everyone.
Even Tae Gun-seung, who'd been unaware, was shocked.
"Is that true?"
"Yes, though they were caught on other charges. Until recently, they were hiding in Laos, which hadn't signed an extradition treaty."
"So why wasn't that made known?"
"They committed the same crime against Chinese firms before Taeshin Electronics. So Interpol was already on the case. In fact, there was an article through the authorities' official media channels."
Tae Gun-seung's gaze at Tae Seok-hyun and the executives grew even sharper, as if rebuking them for neglecting even this basic check.
But now, he had to keep listening to In-hyuk's explanation.
"So, what's the status?"
"They also used coins to move the funds and evade tracking. They got caught when they returned to Thailand to retrieve the money, so the funds should be safe. Though it will take some time to recover them."
Even if it was criminal profit, they would need the help of the exchange in order to recover the funds.
"Well, that's some relief. But making the incident public is inevitable if we want the money back."
"If we keep quiet, the backlash could be even worse."
Even if their image would not be fully restored, this at least offset the damage somewhat.
To one side came the sound of Tae Seok-hyun sighing.
"What are you so proud of that you're relieved?!"
"S-sorry."
Tae Seok-hyun bowed his head even lower.
Watching him, Tae Gun-seung's exasperated sighs wouldn't end.
"It's good we can at least contain things a bit even if it gets noisy. The remaining issue is the loss involving Taeshin Next, right? Who's involved? Do you have anything from the TF division?"
After a moment's thought, In-hyuk came closer and quietly switched off the microphone to ask:
"Are you sure about this?"
"I didn't know you were someone who could worry, Kang."
"It's more concern for balance than worry."
"I never thought you'd consider things like that. But whatever needs to be done, must be done. I can't watch maggots crawl all over my company anymore."
Tae Gun-seung's determination was firm.
Soon, In-hyuk produced a USB from inside his jacket.
"This is the list you asked for. If this becomes public, Taeshin Electronics will shake again."
"Shares will be targeted again, but my decision won't change. If the company can't withstand that, then no matter how big it is, I should pull out quickly."
The list was handed to Song Tae-ho, the secretary standing beside Baek Si-hwan.
It was connected to the conference room computer, and several names appeared on the screen.
At the same time, the faces of those present turned as pale as the screen's background.