novelraw Chapter 119 : I Cut Out All the Rotten Roots
Chapter 119 : I Cut Out All the Rotten Roots
Chapter 119: I Cut Out All the Rotten Roots
Yoon Sang-hyeon bowed his waist toward me and greeted me.
“Did you call for me, President?”
“Please, have a seat. How are the results?”
Without exchanging any pleasantries, I went straight to the point. As if he had been waiting for it, he set down a thick bundle of document files and reported.
“Twenty-eight headquarters employees who were on the list—every one of them has been dealt with. Seventeen were formally reported to the police based on the secret ledgers, and the remaining eleven submitted their resignation letters without much resistance.”
“Clean.”
“However……”
Yoon Sang-hyeon trailed off for a moment. When I nodded, signaling him to continue, he lowered his head slightly and spoke.
“While cross-checking the materials handed over by former department head Park Won-bae, more than twenty additional corrupt individuals whom I had failed to identify earlier were uncovered. Measures regarding them are currently in progress.”
As I listened to his report, I picked up the file in front of me and opened it.
Inside, the personnel who had already been handled and the progress of their cases were neatly summarized. Reading through it, I formed a satisfied smile.
On the next page were the names, positions, and details of corruption of the newly designated targets. Setting the document down, I asked,
“If all of these are handled, how many people will remain at headquarters?”
“About sixty to seventy.”
“When the company is normalized, will work proceed properly with that number?”
“It’s possible, but……”
“What if the workload increases two or three times compared to before?”
“Two or three times, you say?”
Yoon Sang-hyeon asked with widened eyes. His expression suggested disbelief. I shrugged nonchalantly.
“Right now, the cash flow is completely blocked due to the currency reform. Once that’s lifted, construction sites will be everywhere. What’s the most important thing in construction? Cement. Our Daejin Trading Company currently has facilities capable of handling thirty percent of the nation’s production, and I plan to expand even further.”
Yoon Sang-hyeon glanced at me, gauging my mood.
“Th-then…… didn’t the government issue a directive telling people not to use our cement?”
“I’ll take care of that myself. So, can headquarters run with the remaining personnel?”
“……It will be difficult. What I told you was based on figures from early this year.”
I paused briefly and thought. The misconduct of the additional targets wasn’t serious enough to warrant dismissal or prosecution.
Still, I couldn’t simply let it slide. As the new president, I needed to establish dominance, and this was a perfect opportunity.
I picked up a pen rolling around on the table and began circling names on the list.
“Among the new targets, notify half of them of dismissal, and the other half will receive a six-month salary reduction. The list should be arranged…… like this.”
After finishing everything, I closed the file again. Yoon Sang-hyeon opened it, checked what I had organized, and replied.
“Yes. I’ll proceed accordingly.”
“Good. Has the cleanup on the factory and mine sides also been completed?”
“I’ve been informed that all key figures at the factories and mines have also been dealt with.”
“Good work.”
I answered shortly. At my calm reaction, I saw Yoon Sang-hyeon swallow dryly. He looked like a dog waiting for well-cooked meat to fall into its bowl.
“The inauguration ceremony will be held after the new chief secretary in Busan returns to headquarters, but as of today, you are the head of the newly established Planning and Coordination Office. You’ll be treated at the level of an executive director.”
Yoon Sang-hyeon stood up from his seat and bowed ninety degrees.
“Thank you, President. I’ll do my utmost.”
“Congratulations, Director Yoon.”
When I stood up and lightly patted his shoulder, the ambition suppressed in his eyes began to boil like magma.
“The Planning and Coordination Office is not merely a management department. It must act as my eyes, ears, and brain.”
“Yes, President.”
“It won’t be just Daejin Trading Company. Starting with Daejin Trading Company, I intend to build the greatest corporate group in the Republic of Korea. And as the group grows, the power held by the Planning and Coordination Office will only grow stronger.”
Yoon Sang-hyeon listened to my blueprint without raising a single objection.
“A new board requires new people. The Planning and Coordination Office will not be bound to any specific department—it will hold powerful authority encompassing company-wide personnel matters, planning, and even audits. Can you handle it?”
“Yes. I will do my best to support everything you intend to accomplish, President.”
Smiling faintly, I walked over to the window and looked down at the people bustling about below as I spoke.
“Immediately grasp all assets and liabilities of Daejin Trading Company perfectly, without even a one-won discrepancy. We need to know what we have and what we must discard to draw the next picture. President Cheonsang has organized it to some extent, but this is something you need to know as well.”
“Yes. I’ll make sure to familiarize myself with it.”
“And establish a future business plan. Calculate and report even the scale of funds required for it.”
Faced with the barrage of instructions, Yoon Sang-hyeon swallowed hard. It might have seemed excessive, but it was a necessary process to keep pace with me.
“Lastly, gather all employees in the main conference hall tomorrow. Including those newly added to the cleanup list.”
Without even turning back, I issued my final order.
The next morning, the main conference hall of Daejin Trading Company was filled with heavier air than ever before.
More than eighty employees who had escaped the blade of the purge packed the room so tightly that many couldn’t even sit on chairs. About half of them had to stand, leaning against the walls.
Their faces, looking as if they hadn’t slept all night, were thick with fear of the fate awaiting them.
Everyone held their breath, whispering softly while watching each other’s reactions.
“Assistant Manager Kim, do you think we’ll really be okay? Don’t you think we’ll never see the people dragged out yesterday again?”
“Shh, keep it down. Someone might hear. For now…… we survived. That’s what matters.”
“Is surviving really surviving? I don’t even know if that young president has any intention of saving the company……. At this rate, won’t we all end up on the streets?”
More than relief at having survived, their whispers were steeped in anxiety. As if trying to dispel that unease, the murmuring showed no sign of stopping.
“I never thought Director Yoon was that kind of person. To be so ruthless to people he was facing just yesterday……”
“They say a position makes the person. He must’ve always been like that.”
At the appointed time, the heavy doors of the conference hall opened.
The moment Baek Min-woo and Yoon Sang-hyeon entered, all the noise filling the hall vanished as if by a lie. As if on cue, the employees shut their mouths, and suffocating tension took its place.
Baek Min-woo walked up to the hastily prepared podium and surveyed them without a microphone. Whenever his gaze landed on someone, they unconsciously lowered their heads.
“Hello. I’m Baek Min-woo, the new owner of Daejin Trading Company. It’s an honor to formally greet you like this.”
Without waiting for a response, he went straight to the point.
“Over the past few days since acquiring the company, I’ve come to understand how it ended up in this state. Elderly executives sat on their positions, stuffing their own bellies, while those who should have been handling the actual work below became their hands and feet, shamelessly siphoning off company assets.”
The employees stirred. They never expected the hidden corruption they all knew about to be pointed out so openly. Now everyone gathered in the hall understood why those people had been dragged away like animals.
“You’ve all seen it clearly over the past few days. I’ve cut out all the rotten roots. What remains now is only you, who will open a new era together with me.”
The new president’s voice was cold and firm, yet there was a strange, compelling force within it.
“I will make three promises to you.”
Baek Min-woo paused and met their eyes one by one.
“First, there is no longer any seniority system in Daejin Trading Company. Only ability and competence will prove your worth. If you have the skills, even a rank-and-file employee can be promoted to department head. Conversely, if you lack ability, even a department head can be demoted to an employee.”
The hall erupted in loud murmurs. It was a radical declaration.
“Second, you will be rewarded according to how much you work. Once the company is normalized, I will pay all of you a special bonus. After that, I will not hesitate to give appropriate performance-based compensation to those who produce results. I will ensure that your sweat and effort are never wasted.”
The murmurs gradually turned into anticipation. Just as their hopes swelled, Baek Min-woo infused his voice with icy chill.
“But!”
At his voice, every sound in the auditorium ceased again. He signaled to Yoon Sang-hyeon with his eyes.
Yoon Sang-hyeon stepped forward and began calling out, one by one, the names of the twenty people who had been newly added to the cleanup list the day before.
The faces of those who had never imagined their names would be called turned pale.
“Those whose names are called, step forward to the podium immediately.”
Twenty people, either wearing bewildered expressions or faces full of resentment, stood in front of the podium.
In a clear, deliberate voice, Yoon Sang-hyeon began publicly disclosing their misconduct one by one so that all employees could hear.
“Personnel Team, Assistant Manager Kim Seong-cheol. It has been confirmed that you accepted money and valuables in exchange for granting preferential treatment to specific individuals during promotion evaluations. Because of you, someone must have been deprived of a fair opportunity.”
“General Affairs Department, Supplies Team, Assistant Manager Choi Min-gi. It has been confirmed that you received entertainment from a specific supplier for years and procured supplies at prices higher than market value, pocketing the difference. Because of you, the company incurred unnecessary expenses, and honest suppliers lost opportunities.”
Each time another filthy truth was revealed, pitiful excuses rang out. However, as if he had no intention of listening to them at all, Yoon Sang-hyeon continued reading down the list.
Whenever the petty yet vile corruption that had permeated the company was laid bare, quiet sighs escaped from all corners of the auditorium.
“Accounting Department, Employee Lee Eun-mi. You habitually submitted false claims for travel and transportation expenses. The amount may be small, but it’s an act that erodes the company’s trust.”
“Sales Team 1, Assistant Manager Park Seong-jun. In exchange for prioritizing supply allocations to certain clients, you received money and valuables every holiday season. Those small gifts were the price for selling your conscience.”
With each revelation, the air inside the hall froze colder and colder.
This wasn’t grand embezzlement or breach of trust. It was everyday corruption among those very people who had sighed in relief at surviving—using small bits of authority to gain petty benefits while stealing opportunities from colleagues.
Yoon Sang-hyeon divided them into two groups, then looked at me. Pointing at the ten standing on the left, I said,
“Those ten are dismissed as of today. Pack your personal belongings and leave immediately.”
“P-President!”
Their pleas were ignored. The doors opened, and men with fierce expressions entered, dragging them out like pieces of luggage.
At the judgment delivered before their eyes, the conference hall froze in terror in an instant. Turning to the remaining ten, I delivered the final sentence.
“You are being given one last chance. A 50% pay cut for six months. Any objections?”
No one dared raise an objection. They only bowed their heads, trembling.
Once more, I looked around at all the employees in the auditorium and issued a cold warning.
“Lastly, the third promise. From today onward, anyone in this company who unjustly takes even a single won, anyone who stains the company’s name, will not be forgiven by me. It won’t end with dismissal and prosecution. I will make you pay the price in the most miserable way you can imagine. However, to those who deliver results, I promise treatment more appropriate than anyone else. Etch my words into your minds.”
With that, I stepped down from the podium.
Yoon Sang-hyeon bowed at the waist and greeted me.
“Did you call for me, President.”
“Have a seat. How are the results?”
Without any unnecessary pleasantries, I got straight to the point. As if he’d been waiting, he set down a thick bundle of document files and reported.
“Twenty-eight headquarters staff on the list, I cleaned them all up. Seventeen were filed with the police based on the secret ledgers, and the remaining eleven submitted their resignations without much resistance.”
“Neat.”
“However…….”
Yoon Sang-hyeon trailed off for a moment. When I nodded as if to tell him to continue, Yoon Sang-hyeon dipped his head slightly and said,
“While cross-checking the materials the former department head Park Won-bae handed over, more than twenty corrupt people I hadn’t managed to identify were additionally revealed. Measures for them are currently in progress.”
As I listened to his report, I picked up the file in front of me and opened it.
Inside, the people already dealt with and the handling progress were summarized. As I read through it, I wore a satisfied smile.
On the next page were written the names and positions of the new cleanup targets, along with their corrupt acts. Setting the papers down, I asked,
“If we deal with all of these, how many people will remain at headquarters?”
“About sixty to seventy will remain.”
“When the company is normalized, will work run with that number of people?”
“It’s possible, but…….”
“What if the workload increases two or three times compared to before?”
“Did you say two or three times?”
Yoon Sang-hyeon asked with his eyes widened. It was the kind of look that said, would that really happen? I shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“Right now, the money pipeline is completely blocked because of the currency reform. Once that’s lifted, construction sites will be everywhere. What’s the most important thing in construction? Cement. Our Daejin Trading Company has facilities that can cover 30% of the nation’s production, and I plan to expand even further.”
Yoon Sang-hyeon glanced at me, reading my mood.
“Th-then…… didn’t the government issue a directive saying not to use our cement?”
“I’ll handle that myself. Then can headquarters run with the remaining personnel?”
“……It’ll be hard. What I said was based on early this year.”
I paused and thought. The misconduct of the additional cleanup targets wasn’t something that warranted dismissal or prosecution.
Even so, I couldn’t just let it go. As the new president, I needed to seize the initiative, so it was perfect timing.
I picked up a pen rolling around on the table and started circling names on the list on the document.
“Among the new cleanup targets, notify half of them of dismissal, and make the other half take a six-month pay cut. The list…… organize it like this.”
After finishing everything, I closed the file again. Yoon Sang-hyeon opened it, looked at what I’d organized, and answered.
“Yes. I’ll proceed like this.”
“Good. Has the cleanup on the factory and mine side been completed too?”
“I’ve been reported that all the key figures on the factory and mine side have also been cleaned up.”
“Good work.”
I answered briefly. At my calm reaction, I could see Yoon Sang-hyeon swallow dryly. He wore the expression of a dog waiting for well-boiled meat to drop into its bowl.
“The inauguration will be held after the new chief secretary in Busan returns to headquarters, but as of today, you are the Planning and Coordination Office Director of the newly established Planning and Coordination Office. Your rank will be treated at the executive director level.”
Yoon Sang-hyeon rose from his seat and bowed ninety degrees.
“Thank you, President. I’ll do my best.”
“Congratulations, Director Yoon.”
When I stood up and lightly patted his shoulder, the ambition that had been suppressed in his eyes began to boil like lava.
“The Planning and Coordination Office isn’t a place that simply manages things. It’s a place that must move as my eyes and ears, and my head.”
“Yes, President.”
“It’s not just Daejin Trading Company. Starting with Daejin Trading Company, I intend to create the greatest corporate group in the Republic of Korea. And the bigger the group gets, the greater the power held by the Planning and Coordination Office will become.”
Yoon Sang-hyeon listened to my blueprint without any objection.
“A new board needs new people. The Planning and Coordination Office won’t be tied to any particular department, and it will have powerful authority encompassing the entire company’s personnel, planning, and even audits. Can you handle it?”
“Yes. I will do my best to assist what you are trying to do, President.”
Smiling faintly, I walked to the window and said while looking at the people moving busily,
“Immediately, grasp all of Daejin Trading Company’s assets and liabilities perfectly, without even a 1-won discrepancy. We need to know what we have and what we must throw away to draw the next picture. President Cheonsang has organized it, but it’s something Director Yoon needs to know too.”
“Yes. I’ll make sure to learn it.”
“And establish a future business plan. Calculate and report the scale of funds needed for it as well.”
Faced with the pouring instructions, Yoon Sang-hyeon swallowed his breath. It might seem excessive, but it was a necessary process to keep pace with me.
“Lastly, gather all employees in the main conference hall tomorrow. The people newly added to the cleanup targets as well.”
Without turning back, I issued my last instruction.
The next morning, Daejin Trading Company’s main conference hall was filled with heavier air than ever.
More than eighty employees who had avoided the purge’s blade packed in so tightly they couldn’t even all sit in chairs. Half of them had to stand, leaning against the walls.
Their faces, looking as if they’d spent the night awake, were thick with fear of the fate about to come.
With everyone holding their breath, they whispered softly, only watching each other’s reactions.
“Assistant Manager Kim, are we really going to be okay? Don’t you think we’ll never see the people dragged out yesterday again?”
“Shh, keep it down. Who knows who might hear. For now…… we survived, so that’s enough.”
“Is surviving really surviving? I don’t know if that young president even intends to save the company……. At this rate, I feel like we’ll all end up out on the street.”
In their whispers, there was anxiety deeper than relief at being alive. As if trying to erase that anxiety, the murmuring voices wouldn’t stop.
“I didn’t know Director Yoon was that kind of person. To be so merciless to people he was facing up to yesterday…….”
“They say a position makes the person. He must’ve always been like that.”
When the promised time came, the heavy doors of the conference hall opened.
The moment Baek Min-woo and Yoon Sang-hyeon entered, all the noise filling the hall stopped as if it had been a lie. As if they’d agreed, the employees shut their mouths, and suffocating tension took its place.
Baek Min-woo walked up to the hastily made podium and looked them over without a microphone. Each time his gaze landed, employees lowered their heads without realizing it.
“Hello. I am Baek Min-woo, the new owner of Daejin Trading Company. It is an honor to greet you properly like this.”
He didn’t wait for a greeting and went straight to the point.
“After acquiring the company and looking around for a few days, I could see how it came to this state. Older executives sat there occupying their seats and only fattening their own bellies, and the people who should have been handling the real work below became those executives’ hands and feet and casually siphoned off the company’s assets.”
The employees murmured. To think he’d point out the corruption they all knew about so openly. Everyone gathered in the conference hall understood why those who’d been dragged away like animals had been treated that way.
“You have all seen it clearly over the past few days. I cut out all the rotten roots. Now what remains is only you, who will open a new era together with me.”
The new president’s voice was cold and resolute, but there was a strange pull within it.
“I will promise you three things.”
Baek Min-woo paused and met their eyes one by one.
“First, there is no such thing as seniority in Daejin Trading Company anymore. Only ability and skill will prove your value. If you have ability, even an employee can be promoted to department head, and conversely, if you have no ability, even a department head can be demoted to an employee.”
The hall stirred loudly. It was a shocking declaration.
“Second, you will be compensated as much as you work. As soon as the company is normalized, I will pay all of you a special bonus. Even after that, I will not spare proper performance pay for those who produce results. I will make sure your sweat and effort are never wasted.”
The buzz gradually turned into anticipation. Just when they were swelling with hope, Baek Min-woo laced his voice with a chilling coldness.
“But!”
At his voice, every sound in the auditorium stopped again. He signaled to Yoon Sang-hyeon.
Yoon Sang-hyeon came forward and began calling out, one by one, the names of the twenty people newly added to the cleanup targets yesterday.
The faces of those who had never imagined their names would be called turned pale.
“Those whose names are called, come to the front of the podium immediately.”
Twenty people, either with blank expressions or faces full of dissatisfaction, stood before the podium.
In a clear, crisp voice, Yoon Sang-hyeon began to publicly reveal their wrongdoing one by one so that all employees could hear.
“Personnel Team, Assistant Manager Kim Seong-cheol. It has been confirmed that you accepted money and valuables in exchange for giving preferential treatment to a specific person during promotion reviews. Because of you, someone must have had their rightful opportunity taken away.”
“General Affairs Department Supplies Team, Assistant Manager Choi Min-gi. It has been confirmed that you received entertainment from a specific supplier for years, and that you had supplies delivered at prices higher than the market and pocketed the difference. Because of you, the company had to spend unnecessary costs, and honest suppliers lost opportunities.”
Each time a filthy fact was revealed, pathetic defenses could be heard. But as if he had no intention of listening to their excuses at all, Yoon Sang-hyeon kept reading down the list.
Each time the petty yet vile corruption that had been pervasive among the employees was laid bare, quiet sighs burst out across the auditorium.
“Accounting Department, Employee Lee Eun-mi. You have been habitually making false claims for travel expenses and transportation costs. The amount is small, but it is an act that eats away at the company’s trust.”
“Sales Team 1, Assistant Manager Park Seong-jun. In exchange for prioritizing allocations to clients, you have been receiving money and valuables every holiday. Those small gifts were the price for selling off your conscience.”
Each time wrongdoing was revealed, the air in the auditorium froze even colder.
This wasn’t grand breach of trust or embezzlement. It was the everyday corruption among the very people who had sighed in relief at surviving—using their small authority to pocket petty gains and steal opportunities from colleagues.
Yoon Sang-hyeon separated them into two groups. Then he looked at me. I pointed at the ten standing on the left and said,
“Those ten are fired as of today. Pack your personal belongings and leave immediately.”
“P-President!”
Their pleas were ignored. The door opened, and men with vicious-looking faces came in and dragged them out like luggage.
At the verdict delivered before their eyes, the conference hall froze in terror in an instant. I delivered the final sentence to the remaining ten.
“You are being given a last chance. A 50% pay cut, for six months. Any objections?”
No one dared raise an objection. They only bowed their heads and trembled.
I looked around again at all employees in the auditorium and warned them coldly.
“Lastly, the third. From today onward, anyone in this company who unjustly takes even a single won, anyone who smears the company’s name, will not be forgiven by me. It will not end with dismissal and prosecution. I will make you pay the price in the most miserable way you can imagine. But to those who produce results, I promise treatment more appropriate than anyone. My words—engrave them in your minds.”
With those words, I stepped down from the podium.