Chapter 1737 Probing

Time quickly reached the end of August, and news came from South Korea that Shin Kyuk-ho and his son had been formally arrested by the South Korean prosecution.

When Zhao Fusheng received the news, he was so happy that he sang a song in his office.

"Are you that happy?"

Dong Chenxi, seeing Zhao Fusheng's reaction, was somewhat surprised.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "You don't understand. South Korea has a power structure with separation of powers. The government is mainly composed of three parts: the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, and the courts. Prosecutors belong to the Ministry of Justice within the Executive Yuan, appearing as an external department of the Ministry of Justice. In South Korea, prosecutors enjoy a high degree of independence. The Minister of Justice nominally holds the highest power, but that power is only reflected in administrative means; in specific investigations and case handling, they have no authority to interfere with prosecutors."

"But what does that have to do with us?"

Dong Chenxi frowned, puzzled: "Do you mean that since they've been arrested, Lotte is finished?"

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and waved his hand: "Finished? That's impossible."

As he spoke, he pointed to his head: "Do you think that if I went to prison right now, the Future Group would go completely bankrupt?"

Hearing this, Dong Chenxi was taken aback.

Frowning slightly, she carefully considered Zhao Fusheng's words and finally understood his meaning.

As Zhao Fusheng said, even if its founder went to prison, the Future Group would not go bankrupt; at most, its development would be somewhat affected, and it would still hold considerable value.

By the same logic, Lotte had stood firm in South Korea for many years; even if Shin Kyuk-ho and his son went to prison, that would not be a reason for the company to go bankrupt.

However, the arrest of the Shin father and son signaled that their protective umbrella within the South Korean government could no longer shield them.

South Korea's prosecution system is divided into four levels: the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, equivalent to China's Supreme People's Procuratorate, is mainly responsible for investigating major cases and formulating plans and summaries for lower-level prosecution offices.

High Prosecutors' Offices, equivalent to China's provincial-level procuratorates, have no investigative powers, only supervisory authority over lower-level prosecution offices. There are five High Prosecutors' Offices, located in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, and Gwangju.

District Prosecutors' Offices, equivalent to China's provincial and municipal branch procuratorates, house most prosecutors and are thus the most powerful organs in South Korea's prosecution system, responsible for investigating the majority of cases.

Branch Prosecutors' Offices, equivalent to China's county-level procuratorates, are mainly responsible for directing police investigations.

Zhao Fusheng had previously sent people to investigate. According to South Korean law, the prosecution system follows the principle of a single prosecutor system, meaning each prosecutor constitutes an independent administrative office. Prosecutors independently investigate, judge, and make decisions on cases under their responsibility, and they bear the responsibility themselves.

The entire case process, including prosecution, is carried out in the prosecutor's personal name, not in the name of the prosecution office.

Superiors can only offer suggestions on cases and cannot change the lead prosecutor's decisions.

In South Korea, the police cannot independently handle cases; all cases must go through prosecutors. Prosecutors are also responsible for leading police investigations according to their authority classifications (including various criminal cases).

For criminal cases such as murder and fraud, after receiving a report, prosecutors assign the case to the police for investigation based on the circumstances.

If the case involves serious circumstances or causes massive losses—such as official corruption, environmental pollution, or economic crimes—prosecutors may personally participate in the investigation. The power of prosecutors extends to all aspects of social life, so in South Korea, prosecutors are jokingly called the 'tsars of criminal investigation.'

Most of the time, large chaebols like Lotte and Samsung have deep connections with the prosecution.

South Korean prosecutors have four ranks: Prosecutor General, Senior Prosecutor, Chief Prosecutor, and Prosecutor.

To become a Senior Prosecutor or Chief Prosecutor, a prosecutor must work at a lower rank for at least ten years. To become a prosecutor at a High Prosecutors' Office, a department chief prosecutor, or the head of a District Prosecutors' Office, one must work in the aforementioned departments for over five years. To become Prosecutor General, one must work as a Senior Prosecutor or Chief Prosecutor for over fifteen years. South Korea has one Prosecutor General, eight Senior Prosecutors, thirty Chief Prosecutors, and the rest are prosecutors.

"I estimate that Samsung and SK are now desperately trying to suppress Lotte," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile to Dong Chenxi. "What do you think will happen next?"

Dong Chenxi thought for a moment before replying: "Do you mean this is our opportunity?"

"Not an opportunity."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "It's already a success."

Ah?

Dong Chenxi was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

She finally understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning; it seemed that the Future Group's layout in South Korea had already succeeded.

"Tell me, why is the character for 'person' written this way?"

Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked Dong Chenxi.

Dong Chenxi was taken aback, looking completely puzzled.

Zhao Fusheng didn't wait for her answer but answered his own question: "Because life is too bitter, so one must support oneself with one stroke left and one stroke right."

Dong Chenxi was baffled, completely unable to understand what Zhao Fusheng meant.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head and said nothing more.

He couldn't very well tell Dong Chenxi that Roh Moo-hyun, who had inadvertently helped him this time, would lose his position as South Korean president in a year's time and eventually commit suicide by jumping off a cliff.

Many things in this world cannot be judged solely by right and wrong. Although a person who lives with clear distinctions between right and wrong is indeed admirable, living that way would be exhausting for oneself and hard on those around them.

…

…

"Acquire Lotte's cinema chain," Zhao Fusheng said to Liang Jingyu on the phone. "Not all of it, just about a quarter. Let CJ and SK fight over the rest, let Samsung fight for it. Understand?"

Liang Jingyu naturally understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning and nodded to indicate he knew.

"By the way, Samsung recently proposed a joint investment with us in an entertainment company," Liang Jingyu suddenly said to Zhao Fusheng.

"What?"

Zhao Fusheng was startled, and his brow immediately furrowed.

"It's like this: Lee Jae-yong called me personally, suggesting that Samsung and our Hanxing Investment join forces to acquire several film and music companies and form an entertainment group," Liang Jingyu explained to Zhao Fusheng.

"Hmph," Zhao Fusheng sneered upon hearing this.

Lee Jae-yong had quite the scheme!

Others might not know, but Zhao Fusheng was well aware of the relationship between Samsung and South Korea's new president, Lee Myung-bak, and his successor, Park Geun-hye, over the next ten years.

Even so, Zhao Fusheng had no intention of getting too deeply involved with them.

The reason was simple: Roh Moo-hyun's chief aide was Moon Jae-in.

He was a formidable figure who could endure for ten years and then, in one fell swoop, take revenge and settle all scores with his enemies.

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be on that man's radar.

"Chairman, what do you mean?"

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's prolonged silence on the phone, Liang Jingyu found it strange and cautiously asked.

"Refuse him."

Zhao Fusheng said decisively: "Tell him we have no interest in integrating the South Korean entertainment industry; we only like to invest."

After a pause, he added: "If Lee Jae-yong insists, say he needs to communicate with me personally, as you have no decision-making authority."

Liang Jingyu was taken aback; he rarely saw Zhao Fusheng take such an attitude.

The last time Zhao Fusheng gave him such a firm order was when he instructed him to sell all the land he held.

And now, those lands that were sold had already dropped in price by at least thirty percent.

In other words, if not for the boss's foresight, Hanxing Investment might have lost a huge sum of money.

Thinking of this, Liang Jingyu quickly nodded: "Okay, I understand, Chairman."

Among the middle and senior management of the Future Group, the chairman's status was supreme. They all knew that although he rarely appeared in public, this chairman was by no means an ordinary figure.

Hanging up the phone, a cold smile appeared on Zhao Fusheng's lips.

That old fox Lee Kun-hee sure knew how to play his cards!

As for Lee Jae-yong's probing, Zhao Fusheng didn't believe it at all.

Although all South Koreans knew that Lee Jae-yong was Lee Kun-hee's only heir, Zhao Fusheng was well aware that, under the current circumstances, the true master of Samsung was still that old fox holed up in the Lee family mansion in Cheongdam-dong.