Chapter 1724: Chaos

"I think I need to know your complete plan and intentions."

Lee Boo-jin looked at Zhao Fusheng, her expression serious.

Regardless, this was a collaboration between Samsung and Future Group. As the person in charge of this cooperation, Lee Boo-jin felt she needed to be responsible for her father's trust and also needed to know what Zhao Fusheng was really up to.

Was this guy scheming against Samsung?

Zhao Fusheng laughed upon hearing this, nodded, and laid out his plan. Finally, he said to Lee Boo-jin, "So, what do you think? Is my plan feasible?"

Lee Boo-jin was silent for a long time. After a while, she looked up and asked Zhao Fusheng in confusion, "How can you be sure that Shin Kyuk-ho will act according to your plan?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "He doesn't need to act according to my plan. As long as he goes in the direction I need, then the victor will inevitably be us, won't it?"

Lee Boo-jin remained silent.

She had to admit that after hearing Zhao Fusheng's entire plan, she was tempted.

There was no way around it; the scenario Zhao Fusheng described was too attractive, simply irresistible.

Even Lee Boo-jin herself, upon careful thought, had to admit that if she were the helmsman of Lotte, she would probably make the choices Zhao Fusheng had predicted at this time.

Under these circumstances, it seemed like following Zhao Fusheng's arrangements was a good choice.

After all, before coming, her father had said to cooperate with Zhao Fusheng and follow his lead, so she might as well go along with it.

With that thought, Lee Boo-jin turned to Director Kim, who had been standing beside her, and said, "Director Kim, as Chairman Zhao said, mobilize our media outlets and begin attacking Lotte."

Director Kim nodded, glanced at Zhao Fusheng, and then said to Lee Boo-jin, "As for the materials..."

Clearly, he was asking about the direction of the attack.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Take Jang Ja-yeon and her agency seniors as examples. You can even expand a bit, because the Korean people want to know many truths about this circle, don't they?"

"How ruthless!"

Lee Boo-jin gasped and then looked at Zhao Fusheng. "You're planning to completely humiliate the Shin父子!"

"It doesn't matter."

Zhao Fusheng laughed. "Others may not know how Shin Kyuk-ho got his start, but I don't believe Samsung doesn't. What face does someone like that have left?"

Lee Boo-jin was silent.

Others might not know how Shin Kyuk-ho got his start, but she certainly did.

Despite the Lotte Shin family's current arrogance, everyone knew that Shin Kyuk-ho rose to power by becoming a son-in-law to the Japanese, doing business with the Japanese, and acting as a collaborator during Japan's occupation of Korea.

As for dark histories, all of Korea's major chaebols had them.

So, as Zhao Fusheng said, Shin Kyuk-ho and his son probably didn't care about face.

...

...

The next day, several media outlets controlled by Samsung ran extensive reports on the scandal involving Jang Ja-yeon's agency representative, Kim, who was suspected of providing sexual services. Moreover, the reports also extensively covered content suggesting that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho and his son Shin Dong-ju were involved.

For a time, public opinion was in an uproar!

Koreans have a strong resentment of the rich, probably because they have long been oppressed by the chaebols. Anything related to wealthy people attracts nationwide attention in Korea.

Not to mention this time, it was the chairman of Lotte Group and his son.

Even minor celebrities, when scandals break, attract nationwide attention, let alone a big shot like Shin Kyuk-ho.

"Bastard!"

A thick stack of newspapers was thrown to the ground, and Han Jin-young's legs went weak, immediately dropping to his knees.

"Chairman, please forgive me. I didn't mean to, I..."

Han Jin-young's face was pale as he begged.

"Forgive?"

Shin Kyuk-ho looked coldly at Han Jin-young. "Then can you tell me why this news appeared in the JoongAng Ilbo, and why all Samsung-affiliated media are frantically attacking us?"

"Well..."

Han Jin-young knelt on the ground, hesitating. "I think it should be because after Zhao Fusheng and Lee Boo-jin met, they decided to join forces against us."

"Hmph!"

Shin Kyuk-ho snorted coldly and glanced at Han Jin-young. "At least you haven't become an idiot yet."

If Han Jin-young still couldn't see what was happening, Shin Kyuk-ho would really have to reassess the man's IQ.

"Chairman, should I have someone take care of that Jang Ja-yeon..." Han Jin-young hesitated and then suggested to Shin Kyuk-ho.

In his view, the key to this matter was that woman named Jang Ja-yeon. If she were silenced, the issue might be resolved, and things would calm down before long.

After all, the public's memory of news is not that long. Often, they just like to focus on one thing; once more things happen, they selectively forget.

"Smack!"

A cup was thrown violently, hitting Han Jin-young.

"Are you brainless?"

Shin Kyuk-ho said coldly to Han Jin-young. "At a time like this, you think about going after that woman? Are you trying to tell all of Korea that we have a guilty conscience?"

Han Jin-young's body trembled, but he didn't dare make a sound even after being hit.

Only then did he realize what he had missed yesterday. If he had discovered the collusion between Samsung and Future Group yesterday, there might have been another way out.

Now that things had blown up, Jang Ja-yeon couldn't have an accident.

"Letting the rat go to save the vase"—that was probably the real situation for Lotte now.

"Immediately give orders to counterattack!"

Shin Kyuk-ho said to Han Jin-young. "Use whatever means necessary to make these Chinese get out of Korea!"

Then he smiled and added, "Also, find out exactly how much information that姓 Zhao has on this matter."

"Yes, Chairman." Han Jin-young breathed a silent sigh of relief. He knew he had managed to save his life; otherwise, if Shin Kyuk-ho chose to kill him, it wouldn't have been impossible.

After all, this was a wily old fox who made decisive moves.

"Get rid of that姓 Kim." Shin Kyuk-ho then remembered something and instructed Han Jin-young. "I don't want him leaking information."

He paused and gave Han Jin-young a deep look. "In this world, only the dead truly keep secrets."

Han Jin-young was startled, then understood his boss's meaning and quickly nodded in agreement.

Shin Kyuk-ho's consideration was absolutely right; indeed, only the dead truly keep secrets.

...

...

"What do we do next?"

In the presidential suite of the Shilla Hotel, Wu Sijie asked Zhao Fusheng, "Samsung has already started acting. Lotte will likely counterattack soon. Next step..."

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly. "The next step is to make the water even murkier."

"What?"

Wu Sijie was taken aback.

"Contact Han Shi—the one from SM Entertainment—and ask if he's interested in returning to China to develop. If so, I can help him."

Zhao Fusheng said to Wu Sijie with a smile. "Have Liang Jingyu send someone to approach him discreetly."

"Also, have you contacted Jun Ji-hyun? I think we can start exposing certain dark secrets of the Korean entertainment industry." Zhao Fusheng then said to Park Sun-young, who was beside him.

Park Sun-young nodded repeatedly. "I've already contacted her. But Chairman, if we do this, won't it make SK Group..."

"No, no, no. This news isn't coming from us; it's from Lotte, understand?" Zhao Fusheng smiled at Park Sun-young. "Shin Kyuk-ho will definitely want other news to cover up his own."

Park Sun-young was speechless. Upon careful thought, it was indeed possible.

In fact, just as Zhao Fusheng had said, in the following days, the Korean entertainment industry frequently exploded with bombshells. First, Han Shi announced his withdrawal from the group and return to China, citing a slave contract. Then, an entertainment company under SK Group was exposed for monitoring its actors and their phones. There were even reports that Samsung's eldest son, Lee Jae-yong, and his wife, Lim Se-ryung, were in the midst of divorce litigation.

Chaos!

That was the state of Korea at the time.

"What good luck."

In the Shin family mansion, Shin Kyuk-ho smiled contentedly and said to his son beside him, "I don't know where these news stories came from, but for us, this is a good thing."

Shin Dong-ju hesitated. "Father, I feel a bit uneasy. This..."

"Foolish boy, someone is definitely fanning the flames, but for us, this is the best chance to cover up the previous incident." Shin Kyuk-ho said calmly. "Since someone wants to take the stage, let's give them the opportunity."

Then, in a deep voice, he said, "Begin the blockade against Hanxing Investment and Samsung. I want to see how they counterattack!"

Shin Dong-ju nodded repeatedly and began making phone calls to issue orders.

But before he could finish his calls, Han Jin-young stumbled in, his face deathly pale.

"Chairman, Chairman, something's happened!"

Han Jin-young looked panicked.

"What's going on?"

Shin Kyuk-ho frowned and said in a deep voice, "What's the panic?"

"Well, SK Group has also started to block us. Moreover, the Korean Actors' Association seems to be discussing whether to boycott Lotte's subsidiaries. Also, the President gave a speech today expressing deep concern about the recent exposure of艺人 misconduct, especially the issue of sexual exploitation in the entertainment industry. He has ordered the prosecution to form a special investigation unit to conduct a detailed investigation into this matter!"

Han Jin-young spoke these words with a trembling voice, and then he saw Shin Kyuk-ho's face turn deathly pale in an instant.