CH128 | VOC

The investigation began with the explosive news report.

Terms like “defective semiconductors” and “shredders” were unfamiliar to the general public, but the 1 trillion won figure was enough to capture their attention.

Kim In-ha and his brothers were the first to be investigated.

Reporters bombarded Kim In-ha with questions at the prosecution’s photo line.

“Is it true that you stole defective semiconductors using a shredder?”

“Who was the mastermind behind this 1 trillion won scheme?”

Kim In-ha smirked and said, “I don’t know.”

Next up was Lee Young-soo, CEO of Hanyoung Tech.

“Is it true that you colluded with the shredding company and stole semiconductors?”

“What do you think about the claim that the defective semiconductors sold to China have damaged Korea’s competitiveness?”

Lee Young-soo said with a tearful expression, “No! It’s not true! This is a setup! I didn’t do anything like that!”

A reporter’s eyes gleamed. “So you’re saying you did do something?”

“…I’m being framed!”

“Prosecutor! I’m being framed!”

The prosecutor chuckled. “Mr. Lee, everyone claims to be innocent.”

“This is driving me crazy!”

The prosecutor ignored his outburst and said, looking at the documents, “Mr. Lee, from now on, answer my questions with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Understand?”

“…Yes.”

“First, you bought defective semiconductors from the shredding company run by Kim In-ha, correct?”

“Well, I did buy some, but it was…”

The prosecutor slammed his hand on the table. “Yes or no! Did you buy defective Saseong semiconductors from the shredding company?”

“…Yes.”

“Second, you sold them to a Chinese buyer named Woo-hyuk, correct?”

There was overwhelming evidence against him. He couldn’t deny it.

He answered the prosecutor’s questions with a series of “yeses.”

“Yes…”

“And you received hundreds of billions of won in payment, correct?”

“That’s not true!” He shouted, his face red, “I only sold about 10 billion won worth! The figures in the news are all exaggerated!”

“Then what about the 300 billion won in your account?”

He was speechless.

“Isn’t that the payment for the semiconductors? And only 10 billion won worth? We have evidence that millions of defective chips have been circulating in China. Don’t lie.”

“I don’t know where that 300 billion won came from! I just found it in my account one day!”

The prosecutor scoffed. “Mr. Lee, you don’t seem to understand the situation. The Chinese authorities have confirmed that the 300 billion won was sent by Woo-hyuk, the Chinese buyer.”

Lee Young-soo’s eyes wavered at the shocking revelation. “Woo-hyuk sent the money?”

He immediately suspected a setup.

Someone had lured him with defective semiconductors, had a large sum of money deposited into his account, and then framed him as the mastermind.

But who?

Why would anyone spend 300 billion won to ruin him?

He was just the CEO of a small electronic scrap company, aiming for 10 billion won in annual sales.

They could have just bought his company with that kind of money. Why bother setting up such an elaborate trap?

Then it hit him. He shouted, “Chunha Trading!”

The prosecutor tilted his head. “Why would Chunha Trading be involved?”

“It has to be them!”

They had the money and the motive.

Park Sol of Chunha Trading was known for his ruthlessness, although most people outside the industry weren’t aware of it.

Of course, it wasn’t enough to explain a 300 billion won investment, but he desperately needed someone to blame.

“Prosecutor! This is a conspiracy by Park Sol of Chunha Trading! They were the ones stealing the semiconductors, and now they’re using me and Hanyoung Tech as scapegoats! They’re colluding with others to frame me!”

His desperate accusations, although based on flimsy evidence, were surprisingly close to the truth.

But the prosecutor just looked at him with a pitying expression. “Are you talking about the Park Sol who donated his casino winnings to the gold collection campaign?”

“Yes! That’s him! He has a grudge against me! This is his revenge!”

The prosecutor wrote it down in his notes. “So you’re saying CEO Park started the semiconductor smuggling operation and then sent you 300 billion won to take the fall?”

Lee Young-soo said excitedly, “That’s right!”

The prosecutor clicked his tongue. “Does that make sense? That man donated 500 billion won to charity. Why would he risk everything for a few hundred billion won? Does that sound logical?”

The estimated value of the smuggled semiconductors was 1 trillion won, but considering the profit margins and distribution costs, Chunha Trading’s share would be only a few hundred billion won, even if everything Lee Young-soo said was true.

“And if he sent you 300 billion won, what would Chunha Trading gain from this?”

Lee Young-soo said, flustered, “He… he has a grudge against me, so he wanted to ruin me…”

Even as he was saying it, he realized how weak his argument was.

“And Mr. Lee…” The prosecutor tossed a document at him. “Kim In-ha, the owner of the shredding company, has already confessed. He said you’re the mastermind.”

Lee Young-soo trembled. “That’s not true! I’ve barely met that man!”

“All the evidence and circumstances point to you, Mr. Lee. Give up. But…”

The prosecutor smiled. “Is there someone else behind you?”

“…Behind me?”

“Is there someone who instructed you to do this? With all due respect, your past record doesn’t suggest you’re capable of orchestrating such a large-scale operation.”

Lee Young-soo nodded vigorously despite the insult. “That’s right! I would never do something like this on my own!”

“That’s why I suspect there’s someone else involved. Mr. Lee, we can reduce your sentence if you tell us the truth.”

Lee Young-soo’s eyes widened. “R-reduce my sentence?”

“Kim In-ha initially refused to cooperate, but he changed his mind when we offered him a deal. We can do the same for you.”

Lee Young-soo’s mind raced.

‘Chunha Trading doesn’t make sense, and the prosecutor isn’t even considering them. But if I name someone else, I’m admitting my guilt. And I can’t claim innocence with all this evidence against me. Damn it.’

“You could even get parole with good behavior. It’s not a bad deal, is it?”

“P-parole?”

“The mastermind always gets the harshest sentence. If you continue to deny it, you’ll get ten years for sure. Is that what you want?”

“Is there… a chance of getting parole?”

“Of course. I promise you, on my honor as a prosecutor.”

Lee Young-soo hesitated and then said,

‘I’m sorry, Mr. Han.’

“There’s a… Mr. Han, a loan shark in Myeongdong, who funds my business.”

The news of the semiconductor smuggling operation, a scandal involving a global corporation like Saseong, spread beyond Korea and reached the international community.

One of the purposes of publicizing such crimes was to deter others, but electronic scrap dealers around the world focused on the price of the defective chips, not on Hanyoung Tech’s fate.

100,000 won per chip. A handful of those tiny 10g chips was worth 10 million won.

And with the Shenzhen department store as a guaranteed buyer, inquiries poured in.

“Do you buy Toshiba chips?” a Japanese electronic scrap dealer asked.

The retailer at the department store smiled. “As long as you can get them.”

I watched them from afar and smiled at Li Yang. “Everything is going smoothly.”

“Yes, Haixin Group is buying everything we can supply, and other electronics manufacturers are starting to show interest. The market is wide open.”

With a stable sales channel, the growth of the defective semiconductor market was inevitable.

There were greedy people everywhere, willing to do anything for money.

Even the electronic scrap business was essentially a type of junkyard, dealing with electronic components.

And what were junkyard owners? People willing to scavenge through trash for profit, a job most people avoided.

“Hehehe, once the market matures, we’ll have to negotiate directly with the semiconductor companies.”

No matter how tight their security was, it was impossible for semiconductor companies to prevent all leaks.

And when that happened, I could make deals with their executives, offering them slush funds in exchange for defective chips. The possibilities were endless.

“How’s Woo-hyuk doing?”

Li Yang smiled. “He’s being investigated by the Public Security Bureau, but he’ll likely get away with a fine.”

He was a foreigner, just a middleman, not the one who stole the chips. The charges against him were minor.

Saseong was lobbying for a harsher punishment, but he had me and Haixin Group behind him.

“We made about 300 billion won from this, after all the expenses, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

I nodded. “Give him 3 billion won through an untraceable account when he gets out.”

Li Yang’s eyes widened. “300 million won would be more than enough. 3 billion won is too much.”

“If someone makes 10 for me, they get to keep 1. It’s my motto and my principle. Woo-hyuk deserves it.”

10% of 300 billion won was 30 billion won, but I had come up with the plan, and he had just executed it, so 3 billion won was a reasonable reward.

Li Yang hesitated. 3 billion won was 30 million yuan, 5,000 years’ worth of an average worker’s salary in China.

I chuckled. “What? Do you disapprove?”

“No, it’s just that the amount is too large. It could create resentment among the other employees…”

He was talking about the heihaizi.

I nudged him playfully. “Are you jealous, Li Yang?”

He said in alarm, “No, sir! Of course not!”

“Don’t be jealous. Is Woo-hyuk the only one who’s loyal to me? Wouldn’t you have done the same? What about the others?”

He said firmly, “We’re willing to do anything you ask, sir.”

“That’s the attitude I want. There are always opportunities for my people. Our relationship is simple. You give me loyalty, and I reward you. Isn’t that right?”

“I’m already more than compensated, sir.”

I shook my head. “No, you should strive to earn more. I…”

I smiled. “I enjoy rewarding my people. You know why? Because it strengthens our bond.”

The more I rewarded them, the more indebted they became to me.

And if they refused my rewards, I would become suspicious and hesitate to entrust them with important tasks.

Refusing money meant they had ulterior motives.

I only trusted relationships built on money.

Of course, there was no need to explain all this to Li Yang.

“So, Li Yang, try to earn more of my money. There are plenty of opportunities. Got it?”