[Daegu Subway Arson Nearly Led to a Major Disaster]
[Passengers Saved Thanks to Chairman Park Seok-won's Swift Response at the Scene]
[Arsonist Purchased 2 Liters of Gasoline Before Boarding the Subway, Indicating Premeditation]
[Indiscriminate Crime Targeting Random Individuals—Anyone Could Have Been a Victim]
[Chairman Park Seok-won stated, "This incident is not a simple case of arson but a planned act of terrorism intended for mass murder," and called for severe punishment]
↳ If you want to die, go alone—why the hell are you setting fire on a subway?
↳ There are so many crazy people these days, it's terrifying just to live.
↳ If he brought 2 liters of gasoline on board, that bastard clearly intended to kill everyone in that carriage.
↳ It was Kyemyung University's graduation day, so the place must have been packed… that was dangerously close to a catastrophe.
↳ I would've just run for my life, but Chairman Park is seriously amazing.
↳ But why was Chairman Park there in the first place?
↳ Apparently, he donated his own money last year to replace all the carriage interiors with fire-resistant materials and install fire extinguishers. He went there to check on it and got caught up in the incident.
↳ And the fire was put out using the extinguisher he donated, too… damn.
↳ Wow, then if that hadn't been there, the fire could've spread instantly? That's seriously chilling.
↳ Now that I think about it… that's actually true….
↳ At this point, doesn't it feel like he somehow knew and prepared in advance?
↳ That's going a bit too far, lol.
↳ But looking at Chairman Park's investments, it's almost believable that he's regressed or something.
↳ Ugh, here come the idiots spreading weird rumors again.
↳ It's just insane timing lining up perfectly, that's all.
↳ But seriously, can't they do something about these lunatics?
↳ There was that daycare stabbing incident not long ago, and now this again… how are we supposed to live without fear?
↳ Stop going easy on them with things like diminished responsibility and actually punish them properly.
The Daegu subway arson incident, already shocking in itself, caused an even greater stir as it involved Seok-won, a well-known public figure. The case was reported not only across the country but also by international media, creating widespread repercussions.
On top of that, under Seok-won's direction, the group's public relations office moved aggressively, further intensifying public criticism toward the arsonist. At the same time, calls for stronger measures against indiscriminate crimes spread rapidly.
Meanwhile, Seok-won, who had flown up to Seoul using a private helicopter, boarded the rear seat of a Maybach that had been waiting outside the landing area.
As he leaned back into the soft leather seat, Assistant Manager Han Ji-sung, seated in the passenger seat, turned around and spoke.
"We will take you straight to the main residence."
At Seok-won's slight nod, Joo Geun-seong, who was behind the wheel, gently pressed the accelerator, setting the Maybach in motion.
After leaving the airport grounds and merging onto the road heading into the city, Seok-won felt a vibration from within his coat and took out his phone.
On the screen was the name Choi Bok-rak—a former Financial Supervisory Service official who had become a ruling party lawmaker in his second term with Seok-won's help.
[It's me.]
At the bright voice, Seok-won slightly turned his head and spoke while gazing at the scenery passing by outside the car window.
"Sounds like you've got some good news."
At that, Assemblyman Choi Bok-rak let out a laugh.
[Hahaha. As expected, you're quick to catch on.]
Soon after, Choi Bok-rak cleared his throat and continued in a noticeably more serious tone.
[Together with my fellow lawmakers, we plan to propose a bill to prevent indiscriminate crimes at the National Assembly tomorrow.]
Hearing this, Seok-won's eyes gleamed.
"Honestly, I expected it to take a bit longer, but it's moving faster than I thought."
[It's a major incident drawing attention not only domestically but also overseas. Perhaps because of that, everyone is eager to have their names included on the bill, so we were able to quickly secure the number of lawmakers required to propose it.]
Seok-won let out a faint chuckle as he looked out the window.
"So since it's a high-profile issue, they all want to co-sponsor it and make an impression on the public while they're at it."
[There's a saying that for politicians, it's good to be in the media no matter what—except for their obituary. After all, members of the National Assembly rely on gaining voters' attention to win votes, and with an incident like this that has the entire nation watching, they'd want to get involved one way or another.]
"Come to think of it, they say silence is even scarier than malicious comments."
[I've never heard that before, but it's a perfect analogy.]
Seok-won continued speaking in a calm tone.
"There may be nearly 300 members of the National Assembly, but aside from those representing your own district, there are only a handful whose names people actually recognize. So not only first-term lawmakers, but even multi-term ones who've worn the badge several times have no choice but to try their best just to get even a single line in the news."
[That's right.]
Assemblyman Choi Bok-rak nodded along, then soon spoke again in a subtle tone.
[The materials you provided were also a great help in getting the bill proposed quickly.]
"Glad to hear it helped."
In truth, the bill to prevent indiscriminate crimes that Assemblyman Choi Bok-rak proposed was something Seok-won had already prepared in advance through the group's legal team and simply handed over for him to submit under his own name.
'At this rate, even if a disaster is prevented, the arsonist would be released again before long. I can't just stand by and let that happen.'
Regardless of the methods he used to ensure the harshest punishment, the limitations of the current law were clear.
After much deliberation, what he came up with was simple: if it were difficult to make criminals properly pay for their crimes under the existing legal framework, then he would create an entirely new law.
'Power exists for moments like this.'
Seok-won did not want to see innocent people lose their lives meaninglessly to indiscriminate crimes ever again, nor did he want to witness others forced to live in lifelong suffering. So he mobilized everything at his disposal—Assemblyman Choi Bok-rak, the network of connections he had built over time, and his financial resources—to influence not only the media but also the political sphere.
And thus, the law to prevent indiscriminate crimes was created.
[As you may know, once this bill is passed and implemented, indiscriminate crimes targeting multiple individuals will be defined as acts of terrorism, allowing for sentences of up to life imprisonment.]
If it were up to him, he would have ensured the death penalty could be handed down. However, since South Korea had effectively abolished capital punishment, life imprisonment was, in practice, the maximum possible sentence.
[And as you requested, we've included a special clause to allow retroactive application to the Daegu subway arson incident that occurred yesterday.]
Seok-won replied with a satisfied expression.
"Good work."
[Not at all. Thanks to you, I've gained an opportunity to firmly make my name known to the voters, so it benefits me as well.]
Then Assemblyman Choi Bok-rak added confidently,
[Given the level of public interest in this case, it shouldn't be difficult for the bill to pass both the standing committee and the plenary session.]
"I'll provide as much support as possible to ensure the bill is enacted quickly, so please continue putting in your effort as well, Assemblyman."
[We'll wrap it up within this session at the latest, so there's no need to worry.]
Hearing the confidence in his voice, Seok-won held his phone and allowed a faint smile to form on his lips.
"With the general election coming up next year, you'll have a lot of expenses here and there. I'll be sending over a box of apples soon, so use it wherever it's needed."
At that, Assemblyman Choi Bok-rak reacted with obvious delight, his excitement palpable even through the phone.
[Thank you, as always.]
"Don't mention it. There's no need for that between us."
Choi Bok-rak replied with a laugh.
[Then I'll contact you again once there's progress.]
After ending the call, Seok-won slipped his phone back into his inner pocket, his eyes flashing coldly.
"I'll make sure you never see the light of day again."
His expression was so cold that it felt as if the surrounding temperature had dropped by several degrees.
At that moment, Assistant Manager Han Ji-sung, who was seated in the passenger seat, carefully took out his phone as it began to ring and answered the call.
"Hello. Yeah, it's me. What? … Is that really true?"
With a startled expression, Han Ji-sung replied in a low voice.
"Mm. Got it."
After the call ended, Seok-won asked,
"Did something happen?"
At that, Han Ji-sung turned his body slightly to look back with a stiff expression and relayed the news he had just heard.
"The prosecution has just carried out a surprise raid and search and seizure at the ST C&C office in front of Seoul Station and the restructuring headquarters at the ST Group building in Seorin-dong."
Slightly raising an eyebrow, Seok-won quickly regained his composure and asked calmly,
"Is this because of the complaint filed by People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy against Chairman Moon Byung-kwon on charges of breach of trust?"
"For now, that's what the search warrant states. However, considering that the searches extended to affiliates unrelated to the alleged backdoor stock transactions between ST Group and JP Morgan, there are suspicions that the prosecution may be attempting a broader investigation into owner share dealings or internal transactions among affiliates."
Seok-won spoke in a low, steady voice.
"So that means it might not stop with ST Group—the prosecution's investigation could expand to other conglomerates as well."
"That possibility can't be ruled out."
Although he already knew how the situation would unfold, Seok-won maintained a calm, unbothered expression.
"Tell them to stay on high alert regarding how the prosecution's investigation develops and to gather as much information as possible."
"Understood."
"And make sure the public's attention doesn't shift entirely to the ST Group investigation because of this. We need to prime the media in advance so the Daegu subway arson incident doesn't get buried. Keep the issue alive and ensure related articles continue to come out."
"I'll pass that along."
The bill to prevent indiscriminate crimes had not yet passed the plenary session, so it would be problematic if public interest died down too quickly.
"Since there might be news about the prosecution's investigation, turn on the radio."
"Yes, sir."
Assistant Manager Han Ji-sung immediately switched on the car audio and tuned it to a news channel.
Right on cue, a report related to the ST Group investigation began playing.
[The Criminal Division 9 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office has launched a full-scale investigation this morning, conducting a surprise search and seizure of ST Group's restructuring headquarters and the ST C&C office based on a complaint previously filed by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, to verify allegations of backdoor stock transactions between ST Group and JP Morgan involving ST Securities shares.
Prosecutors are reported to have secured evidence such as documents and disks related to a loss compensation side agreement, in which, during the 1999 settlement over derivative financial product losses with JP Morgan, it was agreed that "in exchange for JP Morgan's participation in a paid-in capital increase of ST Securities, a price of 6,070 won per share would be guaranteed," and are currently conducting a detailed analysis.
Meanwhile, the business community reacted to this sudden search and seizure….]
It had already been revealed that the existence of the side agreement with JP Morgan had not been properly disclosed to investors through official filings, resulting in a fine of 1.1825 billion won imposed by the Financial Supervisory Commission.
Furthermore, Chairman Moon Byung-kwon, the largest shareholder of ST Securities, agreed to cover ST Global's losses by contributing 40 billion won of his personal assets.
'However, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy argued that this alone could not be seen as Chairman Moon Byung-kwon fulfilling his civil and criminal responsibilities, and thus filed a complaint with the prosecution on charges of breach of trust.'
At that time, no one could have imagined that the prosecution's investigation, which had just begun, would expand into a massive accounting fraud scandal amounting to 1.5 trillion won, and further escalate into a management control dispute within ST Group and an investigation into presidential campaign funds—ultimately shaking the entire nation.
Seok-won, who had been quietly listening to the news coming from the radio with his arms crossed, muttered softly,
"A major negative event has hit, just as the term suggests. ST Group's stock prices are all going to plunge."
Though ST Group would be severely shaken by the storm that was about to sweep in, for him, it was an opportunity to reap significant profits.
As the car headed toward the main residence, Seok-won calmly organized the events that were about to unfold in his mind.