Chapter 32: I told you I would regret it, didn’t I?
—
“Didn’t I say we need to be prepared?”
Preparation to deceive both the enemy and our own allies, just in case.
If we had arrived a little earlier, Chairman Lee Hwan-geon and Executive Director Lee Min-ho wouldn’t have had those smiles on their faces.
“CEO Lee Jeong-seok?”
CEO Im Kang-min was the first to recognize him.
It was only natural—he had been in charge of security.
“Sir, could it be that you’re from Singapore’s Dream Company…?”
Attorney Kang Mu-song was the first to catch on.
I simply nodded.
The moderator looked at Senior Lee Jeong-seok and spoke.
[The voting has already begun, so this will be difficult.]
At that, Attorney Kang Mu-song stood up.
“A shareholder is requesting to vote, and you’re saying it’s difficult? That would be stripping them of their rights as a shareholder. This is a legal issue.”
Since Attorney Kang Mu-song had announced this as a legal representative, everyone was aware that he was a lawyer.
The moderator looked troubled.
[Hmm… But we have already completed the verification of the shareholder registry…]
Senior Lee Jeong-seok raised a document and shouted.
“I was delayed while filing a report on changes.”
The moderator looked toward Chairman Lee Hwan-geon and Executive Director Lee Min-ho.
I, too, turned to them, curious about how they would respond.
Senior Lee Jeong-seok had to be allowed to vote.
Then, Attorney Kang Mu-song shouted again.
“If you refuse to allow the vote now, we will request an emergency shareholders’ meeting. More shareholders will support it then.”
Since this included the shares that Senior Lee Jeong-seok had brought, they couldn’t refuse.
Legally, it was guaranteed.
And this statement was meant for Samdo Group to hear.
Glancing at them, I saw Executive Director Lee Min-ho whispering something to Chairman Lee Hwan-geon.
Then, Executive Director Lee Min-ho nodded.
[In that case, we will verify the shareholder registry before proceeding.]
Senior Lee Jeong-seok smirked at me before heading off to the verification process.
Once the verification was completed, the moderator announced:
[Singapore’s Dream Company holds 27,000,000 shares. That is 14.55%.]
Senior Lee Jeong-seok returned to my side and asked,
“How do I vote?”
“Raise your hand, state the number of shares, and say whether you are in favor.”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok seemed to think he had to enter a separate voting booth.
“That’s all?”
“Yes, it’s a named vote.”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok raised his hand.
Chairman Lee Hwan-geon and Executive Director Lee Min-ho’s expressions twisted.
They hadn’t expected Senior Lee Jeong-seok to bring in 14.55%.
“27,000,000 shares. I vote in favor.”
The moderator calculated the numbers, looking troubled.
It was clear they were hesitant to announce it.
But with no other choice, the moderator spoke.
[87,000,000 shares in favor. That is 46.88%.]
Samdo Group: 37%.
Us: 46.88%.
We won by 9.88%.
The moderator, looking anxious, hastily asked,
[Are there any more shareholders who wish to vote?]
Someone raised their hand.
[Yes, please speak.]
If their shares exceeded 9.88%…
And if they were on Samdo Group’s side…
“9,280,000 shares against.”
It was a representative of an institutional investor aligned with Samdo Group.
9,280,000 shares equated to 5%.
The moderator’s expression darkened.
[That brings the opposition to 77,952,000 shares. That is 41%. Any more votes against…? I mean, any more shareholders who wish to vote?]
No one raised their hand.
“Sir! We won.”
“Seon-su!”
The people around me began offering their congratulations.
[Is there no one else? If there are no more votes, we will conclude the voting.]
Now, it was official.
“Wait a moment!”
It was Executive Director Lee Min-ho.
[Yes, Executive Director?]
“You said Singapore’s Dream Company holds 14.55% of the shares, correct?”
[That is correct.]
“Then Dream Company’s vote is invalid.”
[Invalid?]
“Foreign investors cannot hold more than 10% of shares in a domestic company.”
Since Dream Company was based in Singapore, it was natural for them to think that way.
And they were deliberately trying to nullify the vote.
Even if only 10% of Dream Company’s shares were recognized, our approval would still be 42%.
That was exactly 1% more than Samdo Group’s 41%.
[I see…]
The moderator was a Samdo Group employee. They were merely acting as a facilitator.
The moderator didn’t fully understand what Executive Director Lee Min-ho had pointed out.
[In that case, I will declare this vote invalid due to election fraud.]
The atmosphere shifted again.
But they had overlooked one crucial fact.
“Senior.”
“Yeah?”
Senior Lee Jeong-seok stood up.
“Dream Company has not violated the law.”
Executive Director Lee Min-ho shouted.
“They hold more than 10%!”
“Check the shareholder registry properly, and you’ll see.”
Executive Director Lee Min-ho yelled at the moderator.
“Check the shareholder registry!”
The moderator checked the registry.
Then, their expression became even more troubled.
“If you’ve checked it, say something!”
[Uh… Well… Dream Company holds 9%.]
“Then what about the remaining shares?”
[B.B. Industry holds 5.55%. Dream Company has been delegated voting rights from B.B. Industry.]
Executive Director Lee Min-ho rushed to where the shareholder registry was.
He checked it himself.
But it was exactly as the moderator had stated.
In frustration, Executive Director Lee Min-ho grabbed the moderator by the collar.
[What were you doing without properly checking?!]
Executive Director Lee Min-ho’s voice echoed through the microphone.
[I-I thought I only needed to check the total share count…]
Attorney Kang Mu-song stood up.
“You shouldn’t be treating the moderator like that. The shareholders’ meeting isn’t over yet.”
It was over.
Samdo Group had no moves left.
How could I be so sure?
Because Chairman Lee Hwan-geon was getting up and leaving the meeting.
“Attorney Kang.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Please take care of the shareholders’ meeting.”
“Where are you going?”
“To check if someone is crying. Proceed as planned.”
“Understood.”
Attorney Kang Mu-song is the representative of Dream General Construction.
He knows what to do.
I quickly got up and went to Chairman Lee Hwan-geon.
I caught up with him just before he left the shareholder meeting hall.
“Chairman?”
Lee Hwan-geon didn’t stop.
Instead, his secretary blocked my way.
“The chairman is busy.”
I ignored the secretary.
“Shouldn’t we at least check if you’re crying or laughing? Keep your word since you spoke so confidently.”
He stopped in his tracks.
Then, he turned around.
“Do we really need to go this far?”
If I had lost, wouldn’t you have done much worse?
“At least you’re not crying.”
“You’re shameless.”
Seeing Lee Seon-su say this without even changing his expression, he found it ridiculous.
I wasn’t even angry anymore.
“It’s best to stop engaging with you.”
Lee Hwan-geon turned away again.
“Chairman, this isn’t over yet. Let’s have a private conversation.”
He hesitated mid-step.
“Why should I?”
“Are you just going to hold onto your shares in Samdo General Construction?”
Samdo Group still holds 21% of the shares.
If we include other shares from institutions and banks, the total is about 32%.
I need to confirm what they plan to do with those shares.
That way, I can decide how to respond going forward.
“That’s my business.”
Judging by his reaction, he has no intention of selling.
I understand.
He must be furious.
That means he’s going to hold onto the shares and continue interfering.
“Do your best. Let’s see how well you do.”
How petty, throwing curses until the end.
“We’ll do just fine.”
This time, I didn’t stop him from leaving.
I had learned enough about his intentions.
[Since the current executives are set to step down, we will now proceed with electing a new CEO and executive team.]
I heard the moderator’s voice.
I also saw Executive Director Lee Min-ho approaching.
He walked past me with a stiff expression.
I had no reason to stop him.
I had already gotten everything I needed from Chairman Lee Hwan-geon.
[Shall we take nominations?]
The moderator hesitated.
He was even sweating.
He clearly hadn’t prepared for this outcome.
Attorney Kang Mu-song approached the moderator.
They exchanged a few words in hushed tones.
The moderator’s face brightened.
[Alright, we will now take nominations. First, we will accept nominations for the position of CEO.]
Senior Lee Jeong-seok raised his hand.
[Please speak.]
“I nominate CEO Lee Seon-su of Dream General Construction.”
[CEO Lee Seon-su has been nominated.]
Me?
I had given Attorney Kang Mu-song a list of candidates for the CEO and executive team.
They were the few people in Samdo General Construction who still had a good reputation.
I had confirmed they were still working there.
I glanced at Attorney Kang Mu-song.
But he was busy talking with Senior Lee Jeong-seok and wasn’t looking at me.
I walked over to them.
Only then did Attorney Kang Mu-song look at me.
“Attorney.”
“It seems like Senior Lee is right about this.”
[Are there any other nominations?]
Of course, there weren’t.
Our side held 46.88% of the shares.
Samdo Group had already walked out.
The institutional investors and bank representatives who were hesitating seemed unwilling to nominate anyone.
[If there are no other nominations, we will proceed with appointing CEO Lee Seon-su as the new head of Samdo General Construction.]
Before I could say anything, the moderator finalized the appointment.
Just a while ago, he seemed unsure, but now he was rushing the process.
Wasn’t he Kim Dong-su, a manager from the Corporate Support Department?
The moderator was also a Samdo General Construction employee.
Come to think of it, the remaining executives had left with Executive Director Lee Min-ho.
Now that no one was left to monitor him, was he moving quickly?
[If any shareholders object, please raise your hand.]
It wasn’t over yet.
A hand—
“Sit down for a moment.”
“Senior.”
Senior Lee grabbed both my arms and pulled me into a chair.
I couldn’t raise my hand.
“You’re from construction. That’s why you’re the best person for this.”
[If there are no objections, CEO Lee Seon-su is officially declared the new head of Samdo General Construction.]
“Senior, wait a moment. Can’t we just pick someone else—”
[Next, we will confirm the new executive team. We have received a list of recommendations.]
“Congratulations, CEO Lee Seon-su.”
“Advisor Kim…”
“Congratulations, CEO.”
Even CEO Im Kang-min?
[The new Executive Director is Go Jeong-min, currently the head of the Planning and Development Department at Samdo General Construction. The new Managing Directors are…]
Since the entire executive board was dismissed, promoting department heads to executive positions made sense.
Department Head Go Jeong-min had been at Samdo General Construction the longest among them.
The other newly appointed executives were also current department heads.
They were diligent, hardworking employees who had never been promoted to executive positions and had only been waiting for retirement.
[That concludes the nominations. Since the recommended executives are not currently present, we will announce their acceptance later. If any shareholders object, please raise your hand.]
No one raised their hand.
Even if they did, they knew it wouldn’t change anything.
[Now, we will hear CEO Lee Seon-su’s acceptance speech.]
Senior Lee Jeong-seok turned to me.
“Let me have a junior who’s a major company CEO.”
Technically, Samdo General Construction was a major company.
Even though things weren’t looking great.
Advisor Kim Seong-woong also chimed in.
“With you as CEO, Samdo General Construction will finally be run properly.”
Attorney Kang Mu-song added,
“I’ve never worked for a major corporation before. Thanks to you, I’ll get to be a corporate lawyer for the first time.”
They were all pushing me into this.
Even CEO Im Kang-min?
“A construction site needs security guards too, right? I’m thinking of hiring more.”
So, basically, they were all telling me to do it.
“You’re all going to regret pushing me into this.”
No one looked like they regretted it.
Senior Lee Jeong-seok even physically pushed me forward.
“What are you waiting for? Go give your acceptance speech.”
“Fine.”
I walked to the podium.
The moderator respectfully handed me the microphone.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
I took the microphone and looked around the room.
The only outsiders present were the institutional and bank investors.
[Thank you for nominating me as CEO of Samdo General Construction.]
Senior Lee Jeong-seok started clapping.
[I won’t speak for long. I formally accept the position of CEO of Samdo General Construction.]
Senior Lee clapped even louder.
CEO Im Kang-min even cheered.
[From now on, Samdo General Construction will change. With me as the new CEO and a new executive team, I assure you—]
They were in for a big surprise.
[Right here, I will propose a motion for a shareholder vote.]
The attendees looked puzzled.
No one saw this coming.
[The motion I am submitting for a vote is the sale of Samdo General Construction.]
I told you, you’d regret it, didn’t i?
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