Korean TV series: King of Peninsula 1997

Chapter 642: Game under the Dark Tide
On the fourth to last day of the year, it rained in Seoul.

Lu Wuxuan walked out holding an umbrella, and raindrops kept hitting the umbrella, with a dull sound like knocking on the eardrums.

Lu Wuxuan caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the glass. After a few seconds of silence, he held the umbrella handle with one hand and pulled out a brown paper document bag from the inside of his cashmere coat with the other hand.

When the window of the black car was lowered, Li You nodded slightly at him, "Minister Lu arrived a few minutes early."

"There's nothing to do sitting in the office," Lu Wuxuan sighed, "I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do."

Li You's eyes flickered across the documents in his hand, and his voice mixed with the car's aromatherapy overflowed, "Minister Lu has been outside, and it's difficult for us to communicate. Why don't you come up and sit down first."

Lu Wuxuan folded the umbrella very quickly. He felt that he was old and really didn't want to be exposed to the wind and rain outside just for the sake of a little face. After bending down and getting into the car and sitting in another seat in the back seat, he shook the folded umbrella and handed it to the security guard standing outside.

There was a big temperature difference between inside and outside, and the hairs on the back of Lu Wuxuan's neck stood up along the heater vent.

There were some undried water stains on the file bag, but it didn't matter.

Lu Wuxuan handed the document to Li You, "It contains a series of resource allocation and supervision systems that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will implement for Daying Ocean."

Li You tapped his knee with his ring-wearing index finger. "We can't let Jin Jianying get involved anymore. If he continues, Daying Ocean will really become an empty shell. Minister Lu knows better than me how much of a blow the shipping industry will suffer."

"Zhu Mengyuan and Jin Jianying," Lu Wuxuan said angrily, "Zhu Mengyuan didn't care about Daying Ocean's life or death for his own pockets. He sold Daying Ocean's important industries and kept it a secret from shareholders and employees outside. Jin Jianying actually dared to spend money to buy them."

"He knows that Daying Haiyang can't be saved by him," Li You watched the rain running down the car window, "But Minister Lu, is this behavior legal?"

"Of course it's illegal," Lu Wuxuan heard his own voice sound like archival paper soaked by rain.

"Daying Ocean's articles of association stipulate that assets with a value exceeding 5% of net assets are considered major assets, and their disposal requires approval from the board of directors. Even if Zhu Mengyuan is the actual controller of Daying Ocean, his private disposal without a resolution is a violation of Articles 204 and 382 of the Commercial Law."

"Article 382-3 is about the duty of loyalty," said Roh Moo-hyun, who has been a lawyer for many years and still remembers it clearly, "which means that you must not harm the interests of the company for personal gain. If the selling price is significantly lower than the market price or there is profit transfer, it is illegal."

Roh Moo-hyun rubbed the center line of his suit pants with his thumb, "But Jin Jianying and Zhu Mengyuan"

He shook his head. "They will probably do it as a legal procedure. If Zhu Mengyuan has the right to represent the company and it is within the scope of the charter, it may not be illegal."

"But we still need to prove that the transaction is in the interests of the company, right?" Li You chuckled.

Lu Wuxuan was stunned for a moment before he realized that this one completely fits Li You.

Li You enjoys the sole right to represent the Kinmen Group, so it is natural for him to know this.

"So there is another point that Minister Lu may have forgotten," Li You laughed, "If the sale leads to the company's bankruptcy, you can be charged with malfeasance and sentenced to up to ten years in prison.

Even if the transaction has been completed, the contract can be rescinded by the court based on relevant requests.”

Due to various legal controls, the Korean Peninsula clearly divides groups, individuals, and families.

For example, Cho Yang-ho, the chairman of Hanjin Group in Lee You's previous life, was sentenced to three years in prison for breach of trust because he sold the group's real estate to the Cho family foundation at a low price.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhu Mengyuan, although very rich, would not use his money to support Daying Haiyang.

Roh Moo-hyun was of course well aware of this, but the reason he did not bring it up with Lee You first was because he had been fighting against the chaebols for many years and knew very well that these people would not easily reveal their weaknesses and allow others to catch them.

"Can President Li catch them?"

"There's no need to catch the tail of Daying Haiyang's current situation," Li You waved his hand. "Zhu Mengyuan and Jin Jianying played tricks on this matter. Who doesn't know that there's something fishy going on between them?"

"Minister Lu was too focused on evidence and methods, which is why he was caught and had a knife placed on his throat. Other members of Congress have also accepted bribes before, and Cho Tae-seop even received hundreds of billions of won, but has anyone ever been caught?"

"Even if they are caught, it's just a small amount of money, which is not a big deal. It's not a big crime." Li You smiled and said, "Minister Lu still has little experience."

Being pointed at by Li You's words, Lu Wuxuan felt a little embarrassed. He just knew that he had problems with his personal character, but it was extremely difficult to change.

After a while, Lu Wuxuan said goodbye.

Before he left, Li You raised the file bag in his hand and said, "I'll give this to Zhu Mengyong. It shouldn't have any impact on Minister Lu."

"A little bit," Lu Wuxuan hesitated, "but now it seems that the impact is not a big deal."

In fact, leaking government countermeasures in advance is a big deal in formal terms, but the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is not a united department. If it does not do this, these things will be leaked by people participating in internal meetings.

"Then I understand," Li You waved goodbye to Lu Wuxuan who got off the car.

"President Li, take care."

Taking one last look at Roh Moo-hyun in the rearview mirror, Li You put the file bag aside and told Jeon Jae-jun, "Go see Joo Mong-young."

It was the same place where they met last time. Zhu Mengyong was still the first one to arrive. "President Li."

"President Zhu has been waiting for a long time."

After the two sat down, Li You waved his hand. After getting out of the car, Quan Jae-joon, who was holding the document, put it on the table, and Li You pushed it over.

“Strategy of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.”

Zhu Mengyong poured out the documents inside and scanned them quickly.

After a while, he raised his head with a smile on his face, "Thank you, President Li, for doing this."

"But I'm still a little curious," Zhu Mengyong said, "What else will President Li do?"

"Send Chairman Zhu's elder brother to the Procuratorate. What do you think of this? Is it in line with Chairman Zhu's wishes?"

"Send Zhu Mengyuan to the Procuratorate?" Zhu Mengyong's smile widened. "Use him to sell Daying Ocean Industry?"

"I would like to remind President Li that I have studied this matter and have not found any evidence."

"It's impossible for these two parties to do business perfectly," Li You said calmly while drinking hot tea, "Chairman Zhu didn't catch any evidence because the Daying Group didn't have enough information."

Zhu Mengyong's eyes flickered, "Chairman Li, do you have more accurate information in Tianxia Group and Daying Ocean?"

Corporate espionage is not uncommon and exists in every company.

"The development of the Kinmen Group is bound to intersect with them," Li You said frankly: "Without more accurate information, how can we respond?" "..." Zhu Mengyong felt a little speechless. Li You really had nothing to fear on the Korean Peninsula. In just a few words, he put the words "I want to frame Zhu Mengyuan" out in the open. Fortunately, he did not deny that there were commercial spies in Daying Ocean and Tianxia Group. It is estimated that there are also commercial spies in their Daying Group.

But since these frank words came out of Li You's mouth, Zhu Mengyong and the others couldn't do anything to Li You.

"President Zhu, if you were asked to take over Daying Ocean, what would you do?"

Li You looked at him calmly, then continued to sip his tea with his head down.

"President Li, are you asking me about my future development strategy?"

"You can say that," Li You said without any hesitation, "I really want to see how President Zhu can save the dying Daying Haiyang."

"Save Daying Ocean?" Zhu Mengyong curled his lips and shook his head. "To be honest, Daying Ocean's current predicament cannot be saved in a short period of time."

Zhu Mengyong looked at Li You deeply. He knew that Li You had been obstructing him and Jin Jianying's acquisition of Daying Ocean for some time. His purpose was to wait for the situation in Daying Ocean to deteriorate further and make them powerless to recover.

From the current perspective, Li You’s goal has been largely successful.

"The Korean Peninsula cannot escape the shipping industry after all, which is why I want to acquire Daying Ocean," Zhu Mengyong said frankly: "This is also to add a layer of insurance for our Daying Group."

"The shipping industry may enter a trough period in the next ten years, but the Korean Peninsula cannot do without shipping. In this land where most resources have to be imported, Daying Ocean is an essential component for our Daying Group. Only with Daying Ocean can we be considered a giant on the Korean Peninsula."

Only then will I have a chance to arm wrestle with Li You.
Zhu Mengyong didn't say the last sentence, but in fact his previous words had almost made his meaning clear.

Although due to the downturn in the shipping industry in the next ten years, the Daying Group may not be a rival to the Kinmen Group, but if it develops in the future, there will be a chance.

"Speaking of which, I have quite a few people who rely on Daying Haiyang for their meals," Li You said with a smile, "President Zhu should work harder."

Zhu Mengyong's face froze, and he felt uncomfortable when he thought of this.

Li You's influence in Busan is relatively weak, after all, he has no real business there.

But even though there is no upper class, the lower class in Busan is more or less related to Kinmen.

Ports have always been places with the most gangs, and this is also true in Busan.

I don’t know how many people who do manual labor at the bottom of the ocean are part of the underground world.

Most of the underground forces in Busan are from the Kinmen Group, with personnel spread across various ports and docks, including many crew members.

Zhu Mengyong sighed, "I really have no way to deal with President Li's move. When I acquire Daying Ocean, I will still have to use these people to work."

The nature of the work in Daying Ocean, or more precisely the shipping industry, is destined to require a large amount of manpower, and it is impossible to reject these workers who are related to Kinmen.

You can't hire cheap foreigners and risk being scolded by all the people on the peninsula.
Then those who have always believed in the unity of body and land have something to say. You people have been promoting the idea that body and land are one, and have been selling local products at higher and higher prices. But now that everyone is unemployed, you are going to look for cheap workers from abroad?
They support those who have connections with Kinmen, and let them receive wages from the Daying Group. When Kinmen needs them, they will rush to help.
"They are just ordinary people," Li You smiled and 'comforted' him, "Maybe if President Zhu increases their salaries, they might be more inclined towards President Zhu in their hearts."

"Don't try to trick me into giving them a raise," Zhu Mengyong said unhappily, "It's already cost enough to just acquire Daying Ocean. I feel bad when I think that so much of this money will go to my eldest brother."

"We will also try our best to reduce the number of layoffs in the future."

Zhu Mengyong talked about the problems that would arise after the acquisition of Daying Ocean. After a while, he let out a long sigh and felt under great pressure.

"Does President Li have any good suggestions?"

Zhu Mengyong asked this just casually.

"If President Zhu dares to ask, of course I dare to answer," Li You smiled, "But what is President Zhu's first step?"

Zhu Mengyong fell silent for a moment.

Of course he had made plans.

Acquiring and reorganizing Daying Ocean is a task that is bound to take a lot of time.

The first thing to do is to restructure the debt and stop the financial bleeding.

After thinking it over again and again, Zhu Mengyong spoke out his thoughts.

First, convert Daying Ocean's debt of more than 6 trillion won into convertible bonds, and then agree on repayment in installments. It also has to apply for debt protection from the government and suspend creditors' early debt collection to retain Daying Ocean's core business.

Li You must be aware of this kind of thing, so Zhu Mengyong wanted Li You to make suggestions even more, "President Li, just go ahead."

"For example, we can first stop the bleeding through the debt restructuring that Chairman Zhu wants, and then reduce production and increase efficiency, and lobby state capital to endorse it. I think it will be easy to save tens of thousands of direct jobs, and even achieve a 'shock therapy-style rebirth' of Daying Ocean within ten years."

Zhu Mengyong was quite curious, "Lobbying for state capital endorsement? What kind of endorsement does Chairman Li mean? It's not possible now?"

"In Japan, there is a saying that 'national products and national destiny' are the key to success. If legislation is promoted to restrict foreign-funded shipping."

Zhu Mengyong's eyelids twitched. They stipulated that the transportation of goods between domestic ports must be carried out by ships of their own nationality because they have been carrying out this kind of "disguised trade protection". Although their land is not large, they still have resources on the land. If the Korean Peninsula plays like this...
He shuddered and shook his head, "That's not going to work."

"Whatever President Zhu says," Li You shrugged, "It's not me who's going to acquire Daying Ocean anyway."

After leaving this topic, Zhu Mengyong talked about the secrets of Tianxia and Daying Ocean. "Selling non-core assets to cash out, repaying part of the debt and retaining the core business is the normal practice of Daying Ocean now."

"But as the eldest brother, I am secretly selling my core businesses to Tianxia Group to cash out. This is absolutely not feasible."

"Since President Li wants to take action against Zhu Mengyuan, he must be steady, accurate and ruthless. Don't give Jin Jianying a chance to react, otherwise he will definitely help."

Zhu Mengyong and Li You chatted at the tea table for quite a long time. When Li You left early, it was almost evening.

But it was raining, and the sky was a little darker than usual.

Zhu Mengyong stood by the window, watching Li You's blurry figure get into the car and leave.

"National products and national destiny." Zhu Mengyong frowned.

This approach will definitely trigger retaliation from trading partners. Zhu Mengyong is well aware of how great the Korean Peninsula's demand for those strategic materials and resources is.

He let out a breath, feeling that Li You had bad intentions when he said this.

(End of this chapter)