Chapter 119
Could There Be a Traitor?
In-hyuk had always known that, eventually, someone would ask him to arrange a meeting with Gordon Grimes.
Of course, Baek Ji-woong was also included in the scope of those possible requesters.
Although it happened a bit later than he had anticipated...
"I can't arrange an actual meeting, but I can deliver a message. I'm not directly connected to Gordon Grimes myself, so I can't be sure if it'll even reach him."
After considering for a moment, Baek Ji-woong answered.
"Then, would you just tell him I want to meet? And mention that it would absolutely not be a disadvantage for AMK Partners."
"Understood. Then, is that the only reason the chairman wanted to see me today?"
In-hyuk finished by drinking the water placed beside him. At that, Baek Ji-woong hesitated before asking,
"Are you truly... not thinking of going to KQ?"
"Didn't we already finish that conversation earlier?"
"No matter how much I think about it..."
Knock, knock—
That was when Baek Ji-woong's secretary, Do Jung-geol, poked his face in along with a knock.
"I told you not to interrupt unless it's something serious."
Do Jung-geol bowed his head and approached him.
"I'm sorry. There's been an important call..."
With his answer, Do Jung-geol offered the phone he'd been holding forward. Upon checking its contents, Baek Ji-woong's expression hardened.
"It looks like I'll have to take my leave first today."
"Please go ahead."
"And I hope you make a wise choice."
With those words, Baek Ji-woong left the room with Do Jung-geol.
Left alone in the room, In-hyuk tilted his glass to the floor, and upon hearing the sound of a car starting outside, began to move.
When he entered the parking lot, Baek Si-hwan, who had been waiting in the car, got out.
"Did the conversation go well?"
"More or less."
Baek Si-hwan looked curious, his face full of questions since he hadn't been able to join them inside.
Of course, that might just be an act. However, compared to his previous reactions, this didn't seem like a lie.
'He didn't even seem to know about today's meeting. Did they cut him off from the information so he wouldn't catch on?'
The car In-hyuk entered started to move.
* * *
About two hours earlier.
In the office of National Intelligence Service director Jin Jong-man, the deputy general managers of the First, second, and Third Divisions sat together as they had previously.
The purpose was to receive reports on the tasks previously assigned.
Shin Jin-hong, deputy general manager of the Second Division, spoke first.
"It was discovered that Songchon was involved behind the unauthorized movement incident of the overseas team. Nam Chan-woo, the Asia branch head who has already passed away, was one of them, and ultimately, the one managing it is thought to be Im Seung-hwan, the Deputy Director of the Bureau of External Security Intelligence, who is currently missing."
After hearing this, Jin Jong-man's face twisted into a scowl.
"Are you telling me that the deputy director himself was behind this Songchon place?"
Within the National Intelligence Service, a deputy director wasn't a low rank.
But if he went as far as to use a member of the overseas team under Choo Jae-min's command without permission, it raised questions about whether he had enough strength to do so.
Shin Jin-hong continued with a nervous bead of sweat.
"A burner phone that had been used to communicate with the unauthorized agents was found at Im Seung-hwan's home, and from his computer, we discovered evidence that roughly 50 billion won were used for purchasing cryptocurrency."
"Does that mean he's laundered the funds so there's no trace, and then disappeared?"
"That's how it appears."
"And have you determined where those funds originated?"
At Jin Jong-man's now-sharp question, Shin Jin-hong cleared his throat again.
"Hm... Those are in overseas accounts under borrowed names, so getting cooperation from local authorities will take some time."
"What about the agents who've returned? Did they all follow Im Seung-hwan's orders?"
"They say the orders were delivered via a disguised voice. And their pay was deposited in those alias accounts upon the completion of separate assignments."
Nothing was completely clear.
Frustrated, Jin Jong-man swept his eyes over Shin Jin-hong and the other deputy general managers nearby.
Just then, his cellphone started vibrating.
bzzz— bzzz—
When he checked the message, his face hardened.
"For now, keep all information on Songchon strictly confidential. Deputy General Manager Shin, report to me as soon as you get the account records."
With the first report finished, Jin Jong-man now turned to Im Deok-chang.
"What about the investigation into Notex's Korean staff? Did anything suspicious turn up?"
"They were people who received normal work visas and worked at foreign companies."
"But they were all orphans. How do you explain that?"
It wasn't just one or two—the entire group had the same background.
Notex wasn't even a Korean company, and yet all these orphans got work visas to Portugal, which was odd.
Im Deok-chang hesitated ever so slightly before explaining.
"All five were from an orphanage supported by Seunghwa Foundation. They received both the necessary job training and recommendations there, and that's how they ended up employed at Notex."
The Seunghwa Foundation was one of the top five education foundations in the country.
"So, does that mean Seunghwa Foundation is linked to Notex?"
"From what I found, seunghwa Foundation's parent company, seunghwa Trading, maintains friendship exchanges with many domestic and foreign companies. The Foundation recommends its sponsored individuals for jobs based on that network."
Jin Jong-man let out a shallow sigh.
"So, you're saying there's no issue with the backgrounds of Notex's Korean employees?"
Im Deok-chang responded cautiously, just to confirm:
"Not from anything I could find."
After thinking for a moment, Jin Jong-man spoke up again.
"So, it must be Notex itself that's the problem. What about the investigation deputy general manager Choo led?"
At his question, Choo Jae-min took out documents he had prepared in advance and handed a copy to everyone.
"No suspicious funds have been traced into Notex directly, so we focused on their shipments. We identified shipments with unclear origins, and through backtracking, we found shell companies."
Everyone let their gaze fall upon the materials documented for the shell companies.
【Brighton Solutions】
【Bluehaven Asset】
【Lexford Pacific】
【Silverwood Capital】
.
.
As he reviewed those documents, Im Deok-chang's fingertips trembled slightly.
He never imagined that the investigation into Notex, which he thought had been isolated in the overseas team incident, would be assigned to Choo Jae-min.
Worse, the shell companies used to move funds to Notex had also been traced.
During that, Jin Jong-man pressed, based on what he had just heard:
"Did you identify the owners of these shell companies?"
"You can find that on the next page, but they're all foreigners whose whereabouts are hard to establish. Also, the companies have already filed for closure. We'll need to either officially request information from the local governments or launch our own quiet investigation."
The source of the 1.4 billion dollars discovered in Notex's shipments was being hunted in France, portugal, and several other countries.
There was a high probability that the traces found by Choo Jae-min had also been picked up abroad.
"Everyone's on high alert, so don't expect cooperation. See that this investigation is carried out as quietly as possible."
"I'll mobilize the available Europe team."
"And with Deputy Director Im Seung-hwan missing, the Songchon group is probably still poorly understood. Just in case, put together your own independent team."
"Understood."
With the main parts of the discussion covered, Jin Jong-man looked at the other deputy general managers.
"I've heard things are getting noisy on the prosecution's side these days. You all heard about this?"
Everyone nodded with serious expressions.
Then Choo Jae-min spoke up:
"As far as I have confirmed, the first tip-off went to the Anti-Corruption Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. But instead of investigating, they tried to secure the whistleblower's identity first, which led to trouble."
Choo Jae-min hadn't just heard through the news—being NIS himself, he checked the prosecution's information lines and monitored the situation.
"That's right. Everyone's in an uproar over that. After that, tips went to the Ministry of Justice and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, making things worse."
Im Deok-chang cautiously joined the conversation, since his fellow executive, Jung Yoon-ju, was at the center of that story.
"Why bring up the prosecution now, sir?"
"A shell company surfaced in the Notex incident. Foreign agencies are investigating. If any link to our country surfaces there, what do you think will happen?"
This time, Shin Jin-hong quickly answered:
"Our National Intelligence Service will be the first target of suspicion."
"Exactly. What's more, you never know when the Nam Chan-woo branch incident will catch the wind of public opinion."
At the moment, public outrage was already high over the prosecution corruption scandal as well as the recent attack on the Taeshin Group family in Vladivostok.
If an NIS scandal broke out, everyone here could struggle to keep their posts.
"Are you planning to escalate the prosecution incident?"
Im Deok-chang's careful question was met by a slow nod from Jin Jong-man, who wore a thoughtful expression.
"The prosecution already shot themselves in the foot. Even if we add fuel to the fire, no one will suspect us."
"Is there really any need to make things bigger? If the truth comes out... it could endanger you, director."
He pretended to worry about Jin Jong-man, but in reality, he was concerned that Jung Yoon-ju's involvement could expose the organization.
"We might end up being the finale for the NIS."
"But there's no evidence yet that a Korean company was involved in the Notex affair. If it's Portugal, odds are it's mafia black money."
If you only looked at the surface, Im Deok-chang's opinion was plausible.
But Jin Jong-man kept his stern expression and spoke calmly.
"I'm saying, let's be prepared. So don't assume it'll be nothing and, since Deputy General Manager Im has finished his work, probe the Supreme Prosecutors' Office side as well."
"Me, sir?"
"You completed the investigation into Notex staff without issue, didn't you?"
Ironically, the timing fit too perfectly. But since the matter was related to Jung Yoon-ju, it was also awkward to delegate it elsewhere.
If they were careless, targeting the Supreme Prosecutors' Office as a scapegoat like Jin Jong-man wanted might allow the fire to start from Jung Yoon-ju and spread to the entire organization.
"... Yes, sir. I'll do as you say."
Actually, it would be safest to create a loophole so that Jung Yoon-ju could escape, while sacrificing other prosecutors.
Jin Jong-man, unaware of this hidden intent, nodded.
"That covers everything for now; everyone may go. Oh, deputy General Manager Choo, I need a word with you, please stay behind."
Shin Jin-hong and Im Deok-chang stood up, both wearing uneasy expressions.
Soon, only Jin Jong-man and Choo Jae-min remained in the office.
When the atmosphere quieted, Choo Jae-min stood and used a detector he had prepared in advance to check the surroundings.
"Nothing is bugged this time, either. But do you really think there's a traitor among the deputy general managers?"
In response, Jin Jong-man held his cellphone out to him.
【HERMIT: prosecution scandal, deputy General Prosecutor Jung Yoon-ju, whistleblower tracking, National Intelligence Service.】
"It came in during the conversation earlier."
Choo Jae-min recalled seeing him check his phone mid-discussion.
"This is it? But the contents..."
"This time, it names exactly."
"Is that why you ordered Deputy General Manager Im to probe the Supreme Prosecutors' Office?"
"Exactly. And once again, the National Intelligence Service is included as a keyword. That means someone from the NIS is involved this time as well as last time."
At that, Choo Jae-min's expression darkened sharply.