The Reservoir Game (2017) - full transcript

THIS MOVIE IS A RECORD OF JIN-WOO JOO'S
RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF MB'S SECRET FUNDS

You really have to fight against
a truly huge organization, right?

I've given it my all, investigating
this story for over two years

and I've reported it faithfully.

MURDER OF GEUN-HYE PARK'S
FIRST COUSIN

Was he in his underwear or was he naked?

Underwear...

Can you make a statement
regarding Nam-gi Baek...

Then why on the 14th, I mean 11th,

during the reinvestigation,
did Si-hyung Lee say

that he lied?



NAEGOK-DONG
SPECIAL PROSECUTOR

It was never said that
it was a donation to the nation.

JEONGSU SCHOLARSHIP
FOUNDATION DONATION

And the person who watched this
all the way through with me...

"Let's wash our hands of this now."

I was threatened a lot,
but I was not afraid.

What I really hate the most
is the distortion of truth.

I just want to say that I worked
hard, as a reporter.

But the money disappeared.
It was sent over there.

Sent where? I don't know!

The money, transferred to Canada
was sent somewhere else afterwards.

I don't know what you're
talking about. I'm done.

I told you, it might be found
at the reservoir.

Don't take this seriously, okay?



I'll try to shed some light on that.

I'll take care of this one.
I'll tear it into pieces.

Bullshit!

If it's not found at the reservoir,
you'll get killed during the hike.

No, I can do it. I will do it.

I'm ferocious within.

If working hard is a crime,
then I'll receive my punishment.

If that's the state of the present,
I can't do much about it.

Bastard.

Why does Myung-bak Lee appear in my dream?
Him and his son.

These freaking bastards.

Myung-bak Lee appeared in Alabama.

There's a DAS factory there.

He appeared far too much.

-Did you meet him?
-Of course.

Nothing much happened.
He said, "You're here again?"

and greeted me warmly.

I heard that you've been pursuing
a certain someone

for four or five years now.

Yeah, it's been actually five years

since I began pursuing this person.

The money disappears
whenever it goes to a certain place.

These mysterious things keep happening.

The first one I started investigating
was worth hundreds of billions of won.

It was a huge project

but in that neck of the woods,
it was a small job.

So this person did this project
with MB's people.

The project was a success
and he gained a huge profit.

He received the money
and a diplomat passport

and went overseas.

Soon after, he realized that
out of the people involved in the project

he was the one who received the least.

Once he found that out,
the former accomplice

felt betrayed and it triggered
a sense of animosity

so he began to tell me this little story.

So I followed the tracks

and the money was sent to Singapore first,

then to Canada,

then it disappeared
at the Cayman Islands, the tax haven.

I followed it all the way to Canada.

But after it was sent to the tax haven,

the borrowed-name
bank account disappeared.

So I stopped there.

But I was following another case
that was related to MB.

The money was sent to Singapore,
then to Canada, and to the Cayman Islands.

Again, it disappeared there.

-It's the same pattern.
-Yes.

But the biggest portion from that case

was in Canada and then it was transferred

from RBC, the Royal Bank of Canada,

to the tax haven.

Any Sei-hoon Won stories?

He had that pouch... The pouch...

I'm sure there is, deep down

but I don't have any evidence.

Let's say we go to the US.

The consuls and the assistants
are usually all with him

but he always traveled alone.
His secretary was so shocked.

But he would always go to Canada
alone when he'd visit the US.

I have no idea why he'd
travel incognito to Canada.

If it was undercover spy work,

the head of the NIS wouldn't
be the one in the field.

How can he? It's not like he's 007.

-Ma'am.
-Yes.

-Is this Mrs. Won?
-Yes.

I'm reporter Jin-woo Joo
from Sisa In, hello.

-No.
-Really?

He didn't travel to Canada often.

I see.

So he traveled often to the US.

You just said so yourself,
that he had a lot of work overseas.

Yes, not just the US,
he went to lots of places.

He went to Canada especially
often when he was in the US.

At least, based on my reports.

He didn't travel to Canada a lot.

Did he not?

-No, he didn't.
-I heard that he took

a hefty amount of NIS money
in his diplomatic pouch when he...

It's totally false.

Mr. Won went with his workers,
NIS agents at first

but then later on, went by himself.

There is no record of such a thing.

Look it up.

I have no idea.

WHY DID SEI-HOON WON
GO TO CANADA?

I found the secret funds

of President Chun's son before,
which resulted in President Chun's

second son getting arrested.

So you can say that I have a know-how

for finding secret funds.

And there is a line of connections
on that end

but during President Myung-bak Lee's
time, the secret fund

lumps were just floating everywhere.

I took the two accounts
that looked like secret fund reservoirs

and the company, the shell company,

the one with 'Lee' as its account holder.

I took all of that to the United States

and hired a detective.

-Hello.
-Nice to see you.

How have you been?

-You gave me one account.
-Yes.

And this bank account

was not a valid one.

When someone wrote the account

they either wrote it wrong
by mistake or deliberately

matched it up to a similar account.

You can set up a shell company
without an address

or a social security number
or a passport number.

You basically need nothing, right?

It's not hard, yes.

You can have one within half a day.

You don't need any help whatsoever.

A close associate said

that he trusts no one
when it comes to money

so he continued to make it

so that only he could have access.

So even if there is a risk,
he'd use his name

-or something related to it?
-Yeah.

Yes. And then he'd say

the government,

the Korean government
will never get in his way

so it's all okay.

-I dug up to "Lee Myung."
-Okay.

So I thought, let's check it out.

It was a gamble, honestly.

Mr. Joo, what do you do
when you make a deposit at the bank?

-You go to the bank, right?
-Yes, I go...

You take some identification,

get confirmed, and then
give the bank your money?

Yes.

That's the second class.

The system between what
we normal people know

and the banking system that
the upper class use are very different.

-Yes.
-You need to know if this person

is second class, first class,

or the upper class, so to speak.

If they are in the upper class,
everything I'm telling you now

is useless.

The common knowledge that
we all own, that's useless too.

-Right.
-What if he's super upper class?

Then he may not even need a name.

If you try to pursue him
and trace via normal methods,

I don't think you'll obtain any
real solid results.

But anyhow...

-Yeah, I didn't gain anything from there.
-Okay.

-I was crushed.
-You were discouraged.

-Because my bet failed.
-Right.

-So I came back and was on another case.
-Okay.

I encountered this Canadian loan scam.

So this money went through some stuff,

got to Canada, and escaped through

-the Cayman Islands, remember?
-Right.

But this exact plot
was repeated to me, verbatim.

But this person said,

It is somewhere, right? It has to be.

It's in the Royal Bank of Canada.

I saw it.

North York seemed too small
for something Myung-bak Lee would do.

Because it was the first one he ever did.

Back in 2007? 2008?

Then he started getting
bolder and greedier.

After that succeeded,
he realized how to go about it.

It made me think, this is for real.

That is why. These coincided perfectly..

And I think the North York
trial is the easiest.

Do you know how much money
is in that? Myung-bak will be ruined.

I saw it.

You must have lit up
when you heard about North York.

I got chills, yeah.

The more I heard it,
the more I was convinced

that it was exactly
what I had heard before.

There was a small, a very small
business in Canada.

It was a project finance to develop
a mixed-use condominium

in North York, Toronto, a big hub.

And NH Bank

NH BANK

makes a 21 billion won

loan commitment to this CTGK.

A 21 BILLION WON LOAN COMMITMENT

CTGK,

they say they do overseas
real estate consultations.

They were established on August 27, 2008.

Their loan was approved August 28th
and disbursed September 9th.

The whole process was carried out
extremely fast indeed.

NH BANK LOAN APPROVED THE DAY
AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMPANY

I wondered how much money this company had

but they had absolutely no assets.

NO ASSETS WHATSOEVER

But they lent them the money
without any collateral.

Then they refused repayment
the year after.

NO PLANS FOR LOAN COLLECTION

They lent money to a company
with no experience, no collateral

and won't even try to collect it either.

This is impossible for a bank to do.

The chief developer, Joseph Lee.

He scammed 12 million dollars
in a condo scam.

Related parties were arrested
but Joseph escaped to Korea.

So basically, Joseph Lee

who scammed people of 12 million dollars,

wasn't reported or sued.
NH Bank didn't take any action.

They're just keeping quiet.

WHY WON'T THEY REPORT JOSEPH LEE?

It's strange.

Jin-woo, why must you
pursue this so relentlessly?

I don't know. I think I'm crazy.

But I just want them to know
that there is someone

who's on their trail.

If we find that reservoir,
the one we suspect

someone is holding,

then the tables might turn.

And if the government changes,
we can use this

as a stepping stone to go further.
That's what I think.

THE KOREA TIMES DAILY

Shall we go?

A lot of big buildings
have been built in this area as of late.

It's a bit far off from the city,
from downtown,

but it's still a pretty big neighborhood.

Yeah.

It would've been pretty good
if this Centrium project

went ahead according to plan.

-Here, it's...
-Yes, it's what you see here.

-That's the police station.
-Yeah.

The police is... here.

-Here, right? On the left.
-Yes.

So from here to there?

They said that they will build
the biggest condominium

with Korean funds in the area
with the most Korean residents,

-hence the huge attention.
-Okay.

But now, the construction has to begin.

-They've staked out the construction area
-Yeah.

but not one shovel
is being lifted for years.

It's housing fraud.
Stereotypical housing fraud.

HOUSING FRAUD

The lawyer in charge of the trust account

-says they've transferred the money
-Okay.

to the developer company.

-By accident.
-Okay.

HOUSING PAYMENTS DISAPPEARED

And the lawyer involved in this,
in this Korean-Canadian society...

-A very respected and influential lawyer.
-Exactly.

-She did a lot of work.
-Okay.

She helped out with a lot of refugees,

she was quite well-known.

MEE-RAI CHO

What about Joseph Lee?

Investigation on Joseph Lee
has still yet to begin.

-Still?
-Still.

WHY HASN'T JOSEPH LEE
BEEN INDICTED IN CANADA?

The person who handed over
the money was indicted.

The number of indictments
is like, 500 or 501.

There were 501 victims of this case.

But, there were no investigations
conducted on Joseph Lee,

the very person who received the money.

Well, Mee-rai Cho's trial

keeps getting delayed too.

Is she still active as a lawyer?

No. The Law Society,
in a manner of disciplinary punishment,

-suspended her license.
-License suspension.

While Joseph Lee's in Korea,

there is someone who acted
as the CEO of Centrust

in place of Joseph here.

He works in mortgage here.

Moon. The name is Moon.

He was basically Joseph Lee's pawn.

You should go talk to him, maybe.

This is it, Suite 200.

Press 200 then pound key.

That's it, right?

Let's just go in. It's open.

It's here. Wow, it's big.

Mortgage.

Is he there?

Excuse me.

Hello. We're from Seoul.

I'm Jin-woo Joo and I'm a reporter.

-Are you Mr. Moon?
-Yes.

We are here to ask you a few questions

about the Centrium case.

First of all, why are you
even investigating this?

So why, after all this,
this was a huge issue in Toronto, right?

So why did you start investigating this...

-After that...
-Tell me your backstory.

In Korea, there weren't any cases
like this, in which

banks and conglomerates actively...

So why are you investigating this?
What's your drive?

That's it. That's it.

I've heard rumors
that even when he started

this business, that Samsung had his back,

that the government was helping him out.

This is a huge business...

Then it wouldn't have gone
out of business.

Wouldn't it?

Why would it If Samsung

really had been a sponsor?

But Samsung did dip their feet in it,
they just backed out later.

Right. Since it didn't benefit them.

How did you know about me?

At the time,

in this venture...

Did you talk to people?

Yeah, I've met up with a few.

-Here?
-Yes.

And they gave you my name.

No, well, they said you knew things,
that you were knowledgeable...

What did Joseph Lee do?
What job did he have before this?

Was he always in real estate?

No, I heard that he used to be a CPA.

And you didn't know each other
from the past?

I met him through this project.

You guys started off your venture
with help from the Korea Exchange Bank

of Canada, the one in North York, right?

And then 21 billion won
comes in from NH Bank.

You got the biggest problem solved,
you had everything you needed,

why did the business fall apart?

First, we got the money to buy
the land lot, right?

BOUGHT LAND LOT
WITH MONEY FROM NH BANK

But that's not it.
There are interest payments,

all the blueprints, floor plans,

all the drawings have to be paid for.

Not to mention the fees for consultants.

And these payments have to be made

regularly, on time, but it was not.

It just wasn't.

In the past ten or twenty years

there was a surge of condo development.

The developers who've been here
for a while,

they all know

who's doing what job and so on.

But then some Korean named
Joseph Lee came along

and started doing something.
But the city didn't give them a permit.

Why? Because just by a glance
you could tell

they were inexperienced.

Could they really handle a project
of this scale?

But why can't they

JOSEPH LEE, CENTRUST CEO

investigate Joseph Lee?

Why are you asking me that?
Am I the police?

No, this project...

I've been summoned by the police.

They told me to come.

They asked me basically
what you just asked me.

And he said he'll bring money
from Korea...

-Have you met Seok-bae Park?
-Who?

Seok-bae Park.

This company, CTGK,

the CEO, Seok-bae Park was born in 1980.

He was born in 1980.

So at the time of this case,

I'm not really sure exactly how old
but early 30's?

-At the time of the loan commitment,
-Yeah.

he had no assets, no wealth,
no experience or skills,

he had nothing.

-A bit strange.
-Very.

-Have you met him?
-No, not yet.

His name is registered under the company.

My name nor I am not affiliated with this
in any way.

I am aware.

-Seok-bae Park is the CEO.
-How do you know?

Even the police didn't know.

-Seok-bae Park is the CEO of CTGK.
-Yes.

Then you should go see him.

The NH Bank loan was signed
under his name.

Right.

SEOK-BAE PARK

He knew almost nothing about this field.

There wasn't any mediator
or anything in the middle,

so I was perplexed as well.
I thought, maybe he had

some kind of connection somewhere.

Maybe he stashed away some money
somewhere?

Only he knows the truth.

I don't know. Only he'd know.

It is very rare for a person

to be able to manhandle
conglomerates and banks

this easily.

It's evident that a huge power
was in action behind the scenes.

And like how that man was perplexed,
the fact that the Canadian police,

and the investigative authorities, both
here and in Korea,

have left Joseph Lee completely alone,
and are sitting on their hands.

How could this be possible, if not
for a huge power backing him up?

There is a bit of a strain though,
between him and Joseph Lee.

It's small, but it's there.

Maybe because of financial issues.

Yeah. But,

he won't spill the beans.

It's not a well-to-do neighborhood,
it's just

a middle class

neighborhood? Is that right?

It doesn't seem like it.

Then did they move out here
because they were pushed out?

I don't know. Maybe.

Ms. Cho!

Are you home?

Ms. Cho?

Ms. Cho!

Hello, Ms. Cho.

-You are Ms. Mee-rai Cho, right?
-Yes, why are you here?

So, I... You know, North York...

I wanted to ask you a few questions
about the Centrium project.

I'm sorry, but I would appreciate it
if you talked about that with my lawyer.

But you're a lawyer.

-I have a lawyer too.
-Okay.

This is very rude of you to come
knocking on my door unannounced.

I'm sorry, but we came from Seoul.

-Even so, this is still too much.
-We came to meet you.

Ms. Cho, let me just give you my number.
Ms. Cho, please.

I do apologize.

Ms. Cho, just one question, please.
I came all the way from Seoul for this.

Why is Joseph Lee not being punished?

I can call the police on you,
for trespassing.

-I was also a journalist back in the day,
-Okay.

-I know what the profession is like.
-Cool.

-This is very rude of you.
-Okay.

-You did ask a very good question, but...
-Yes.

Ms. Cho.

You said it was a very good question!

I'll just leave my name card here.

She said, "Talk to her lawyer."

She looked terrible, though. Really.

-What she was wearing, everything.
-Okay.

I was a bit shocked.

-Was it that bad?
-Yeah.

When I checked her house conditions...

-The gardens were wild.
-No care given to it.

The inside's the same.

-You saw the inside too?
-Inside,

the curtains were drawn like this

and she had a fan facing the inside
from the out, spinning like this.

But after she closed the door,
she closed the drapes,

turned off the fan,
and walked further inside.

She's basically built a wall
and is hiding from the world right now.

It was eerily like Süskind's
The Story of Mr. Sommer.

I asked her one last question
before I left.

I asked her why Joseph Lee

isn't getting punished.

She said, "That's a very good question.

but I cannot give you an answer."

Let's go.

I received this tip-off
from another source.

Joseph Lee spent money like water.
He literally threw them on the street.

He chucked thousands of dollars
just on the street.

I don't know if she was his girlfriend
but every time

she asked for allowance,
he'd give her thousands of dollars,

he'd buy her purses.

He lived a pretty luxurious life.

Joseph Lee owned a few penthouses here.

I'm sure he sold them before he bounced.

I thought he gave them to his wife,
but he didn't do that either.

-Why don't we try meeting his wife?
-We should.

-Do you know her contact information?
-No.

If you want to know,
you have to go to church.

The pastor there is Pastor...

He's basically the main

-caregiver for this family right now.
-Oh, is he?

We should reach out to him then.

If you approach him in the right way,

he'll be able to tell you a lot of things.

He's helping them
out of compassion and pity.

-Was he a believer?
-He was.

Well, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
That's four years.

It's 2013, so three years.

So about seven or eight years.

You gave me chills.
That's exactly what I said.

"Why would NH Bank give you money?
Based on what?"

I said I just didn't get it.

Then what did he say?

He said he'd just take care of it
because he had it under control.

He said he could get money
from the conglomerate.

Okay.

So I don't know what happened there.
That was out of my hands.

I don't have any Korean connections,

I don't know anyone from any conglomerate.

So in Korea,

He...

He met with some big shot's son
who was affiliated

with a huge company.

JOSEPH LEE
SEOK-BAE PARK

He kept talking about it.

A BIG SHOT'S SON.

He told me his friend's father
will help him out.

But I don't think it's Seok-bae.

He has a limit, he has no money!

-Yeah, he's nothing.
-Exactly.

So it may be Seok-bae's friend instead.

THE BIG SHOT

It's not directly related to Joseph,
but I don't know for sure.

When you were working
with Joseph, did he ever say

anything like, someone's watching
out for me or they've got my back?

I'm like, 90 percent sure
that he never said that.

He doesn't have connections anyway.

-But NH Bank...
-That's why I thought

-Seok-bae had connections.
-Yeah?

Because Seok-bae...
Joseph at least has brains

that work and he gets work done,
he does work.

But Seok-bae is nothing.

How did you know that?
You're a strange one.

-He was young, he was a nobody.
-How did you even...

He was nothing.

-Who was the son?
-Who knows?

Well, he...

Based on my encounters
with him, he really thought

this project will work out.

The last time I met him
was at the airport, they came together.

They had met on the plane.

And this man, who just landed on a plane,

was wearing a track suit.

A track suit. Not a suit,
but a track suit.

I still don't get it

because it was a case that happened
simultaneously in Canada and Korea

which meant he wasn't a person
who should've been running about.

He must have had Interpol warnings on him,

this was such a huge case.

So how could he have gotten past Interpol?

You know that by how he's dressed,

how he talked, just his overall self,
that this was the end.

I said, "You'll die like that,
take care of yourself."

And that was, in short,

he had to come say his farewells
to me before he left.

But then he disappeared within a week.

And then I read the newspaper
and saw the Mee-rai Cho case.

I saw him the week before.

-It was the biggest fraud, scam case
-The biggest.

in the history of Toronto.

It was huge in Korea too.

But

the Korean law enforcement,
NH Bank, the financial institutions,

-none of them sue Joseph Lee.
-They don't sue.

From the moment they lent him money,

they granted him every privilege

and every expediency.

But this isn't because of Joseph Lee
himself. Do you agree?

-I just don't get it.
-Right?

That's what we're pursuing.

What force had been backing him up?

Who threw Joseph Lee into this deep abyss?

Who's protecting him?

THE BIG SHOT

THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF THE NH BANK LOAN

THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF THE HOUSING DEPOSITS

THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF JOSEPH LEE

When will you write
the North York article?

Next week, after we return.

-Next week?
-Yeah.

So it will be out in two weeks.

Yeah, I'll be focusing just on North York.

Then you'll be able to see
how NH Bank reacts.

Yeah, I'm going to go and collect
information as soon as we land.

They'll probably keep quiet.

They won't do anything.
They've too much at stake not to.

About two or three weeks
before we came here,

I had been working on
a NIS-related article.

You know, power abuse, corruption,
stuff like that.

There's a 100 percent possibility
that they might sue me.

After I'm sued and getting questioned,

I'm like, man, I hate this, I'm in pain.
This is the worst,

but then I'm back to writing more articles
that will get me sued.

What am I doing?

I don't have a lawsuit fetish...

You know, like 'What is this?
Who am I?' You know.

THE BIG SHOT'S SON

Everyone knows where Joseph Lee is.

I just don't get why they're going
out of their way to protect him.

I heard the exact same plot,
the exact same story.

But what they said made me go,

"This is for real."

I didn't know if they would
sit in front of a camera.

But you have to call them out,
whatever it takes at first.

So concerning Joseph Lee, in Korea

no criminal action has been taken against

either Joseph Lee or Seok-bae Park. None.

Why not? That makes no sense to me.

They are currently in Washington
right now, they'll visit in June.

So just sue them.

I told you, I'll spill all the beans
if you do.

That's the only way, if you want
to get the Royal Bank of Canada anyway.

Anyway, they keep lying
about anything related to Joseph Lee.

Man, those sons of bitches.

DEEP THROAT

A KEY NH BANK INSIDER

SISA IN
REPORTER JIN-WOO JOO

The biggest fraud in the real estate
history of Canada by Joseph Lee

However, the business went...

NH BANK

I went to NH Bank around last
June or July or something.

It was really hot, I remember.

But at that time, NH Bank took
absolutely no action

on the loss that happened in Canada.

There was no attempt
to make up for the losses

or to pursue some kind of legal action.

Someone committed fraud on them in Canada,

they've lost this much money.

But they're not even trying
to get their money back.

It's become taboo, of sorts.

NH BANK CREDIT UNION

So, who is this?

He's the manager in charge.

So basically,

there was a Toronto loan case

-and a financial accident occurred.
-Okay.

-But after this incident,
-Yes.

what measures did NH take
to take care of this?

The ones affiliated with this loan,
Joseph Lee, for example,

were handled according to

measures given to us
by the law firm, through the law firm.

But why no investigations?

If you pursued criminal action,
they must be at Seoul Prosecutors' office,

or at the police station?

Criminal action... let me check.

Let me know, please, just that.
I just need to know that.

When this case first started, I believe

that it was started via outside pressure

and was processed in a ridiculous way.

This is a bank, the NH Bank!

My father's been... by NH Bank, he,

just thinking about this makes
me so furious.

If you work at a bank,

I understand you may suffer losses.

But in this ridiculous,
inexplicable state,

you can't even say that
NH Bank was a victim of fraud.

For this, seriously, NH Bank
committed fraud.

I've been after this case for four years.

For four years. No legal action was taken.

But now, I just heard
that they've been sued,

that some kind of action
was indeed taken against them.

I don't even need documents.
Just send me a text.

"We took such and such action
in whatever month." Like this.

-Will this be aired in Sisa IN?
-Yes.

-Yes, next week.
-Next week.

It won't be good. For you.

A QUIET REVOLUTION

NH Bank isn't suing them.

I don't know. NH Bank isn't even
thinking about suing them. They aren't.

"It's all done and taken care of."

"All done"? Who takes care of it
like that?

So NH Bank provides
beneficiary right for RBC notes.

If NH Bank really sued them,

could Joseph Lee really
be strutting about like that?

He's in Korea!

Seok-bae Park lives in Ssangyong
Apartment, which number?

Ssangyong Apartments,
unit three, unit three...

-Oh, it's that.
-Oh, that one.

So he was here
until he emigrated to Canada?

-No.
-Then what's this house then?

So they're saying he stayed here
when he came to Seoul.

But it's not clear if he actually did
or if it's just a friend's house

or whatever the heck it is.

No one's home.

Let's go.

Who is it?

Hello, excuse me.
Does Seok-bae Park live here?

-No.
-Is Seok-bae Park not here?

No, he isn't.

-What about Joseph Lee?
-He doesn't live here.

-Is Joseph Lee here?
-No.

-Does Joseph Lee not live here?
-No, What made you...

-It's 2009, right?
-Yeah.

All right then. That person,

her replies to me

were consistent.

So she isn't lying. She's not lying.

-"Power cut, water supply cut"? What?
-Seok-bae Park!

Here he is.

SEOK-BAE PARK
WEST DISTRICT COURTS

Over five days.

So after that, yeah, July 15th.

From July 11th.

SEPTEMBER 6TH

Which means that he didn't come by
this house after July.

It's just here, these cheeky things.

These bastards are so naive.

Not naive, this is just ridiculous.

These bastards kept their office.

These are studio apartments,
so you can just buy it.

-Right.
-So they sold the others and kept this.

We thought they would've sold this
first and went somewhere else.

-That's the logical...
-But the thing is

-the Korean authorities...
-They won't arrest them.

They won't arrest them.

There's no reason for them to run,
now that they think about it.

But this is too much, no?

Excuse me, sir.

The apartment 1401.

-Is it empty?
-I don't know.

-You don't know?
-No, I don't.

CTGK swindled so much money,
tens of billions of won,

tens of billions,
but no financial institution...

That's what I'm saying.
They should've at least seized this place.

Exactly.

-They...
-This is unbelievable.

What did they say?

-"They couldn't do anything about it"?
-Insane.

Those bastards.

Oh my god. How did those bastards
not take any measures to hide?

They've ignored all processes even NH
insiders call it "Privilege"

They committed another huge fraud.

They've committed so much
fraud, it's not even funny.

They give collateral,
but the collateral disappears.

The loan goes splat, there's no mortgage.

I've never seen anything
like it in my life.

Suite 510.

Where is it?

How can I help you?

I'm here about the North York
Centrium loan case.

As far as I know, NH Bank
did collect all of their money back,

that's what I heard. Did they not?

Not a single cent.

-They didn't?
-Yeah.

Did a NH Bank personnel come
and only take pictures, then leave?

Yes, they did. And as for collateral,
they were holding onto it

but they contacted us later,

NH Bank contacted us

and requested that we temporarily
cancel the collateral.

So we signed and canceled it,

but they reinstated it.
That's what I heard.

Wait, but why did NH Bank ask

for the collateral to be canceled?

They didn't offer any explanations.

If NH Bank had collateral,

they gave them money in exchange
for this collateral, right?

Then why would they cancel?

I think, what I had speculated
was the RBC,

there were goods we had bought at the RBC.

And since there was something there

that was around a similar amount
to the collateral,

so maybe they thought it was okay
to cancel the collateral here.

NH BANK CONTACTED THEM
AND CANCELED THEIR COLLATERAL.

But then later on, they were like,
why did you cancel the collateral?

So I asked them what the papers

-were, the ones you sent before.
-Okay.

What was the name of the deputy head?

Mr. Jin.

MR. JIN, DEPARTMENT DEPUTY HEAD
NH BANK FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

THE COLLATERAL DISAPPEARED

THEY CANCELED THE RIGHT TO
COLLATERAL SECURITY ON 21 BILLION WON

NH, I mean, how does that
freaking make sense?

What kind of company doles out
all the money and then goes,

cancel your mortgage?

THE DEPUTY HEAD, MR. JIN
ASKED FOR A MORTGAGE CANCELLATION

Mr. Jin, this freaking bastard.

JOSEPH LEE, RBC CANADA
DEATH.

-Are you calling him?
-Yeah, it's worth a shot.

The person you are trying
to reach is unavailable. Please leave...

He did tons of mortgage, collateral cases.

He did tons.

But this one, he got caught in my radar.

He got caught.

The deputy head, Mr. Jin, joined NH Bank
as a contract worker in 2009

-The thing in handwriting at the bottom,
-Yeah.

that's our main objective.

He won't receive his calls.

He may not even be in Korea, yeah?

I heard he goes back and forth
between here and London.

We're here to see a house in unit 612.

I usually say I'm here to pick up someone

but our car's packed, there is no
space to pick up anything or anyone.

So you're the realtor

and we're your customers.

You're so smooth.

-What?
-You're so smooth.

Nah, it's just know-how,
from doing it so much.

This works overseas too.

Mr. Jin's, there are only papers like...

Back, back up.

-Who is it?
-This is where Mr. Jin lives, right?

No.

-Does Beep not live here?
-Yes.

Did he move?

I don't know anything about
who moved from here,

Okay.

but it's been a while.

-A while?
-Yes.

Do you perhaps know
around when he moved out?

When did you move here?

It's been like, eight months now.

Eight months.

-I see. The other tenant's moved?
-Yes.

So... not this person?

No, his voice doesn't sound like him.

Yeah?

-Should I try calling him again?
-Yeah.

Rates will apply.

He's not picking up.

Pick up.

Reject call, you know,
something like reject calls.

He's put that on my number.
I'm calling him with another phone.

He is taking calls from other numbers.

Or he's on the phone with someone.

Perhaps. Let's go.

SISA IN

THE DEPUTY HEAD, MR. JIN, JOINED
NH BANK AS A CONTRACT WORKER IN 2009

HE HAS CAUSED HUGE LOSSES
IN THE INDONESIA FULL VILLA LAND CASE

AND IN THE APARTMENT HOUSING
FUND IN CAMKO CITY, CAMBODIA

BUT NO ONE SEEMED TO BE INTERVENING

AND THE DAY JOSEPH LEE VISITED
NH BANK FOR A LOAN

When Joseph Lee went to NH Bank
for the loan,

there's someone he supposedly went with.

-Have you heard?
-Within NH Bank?

No, he's the one who brought
Joseph Lee over.

He brought Joseph Lee?

Yeah, to Foreign Investments,
fourth floor.

Fund Management, fourth floor,
NH Building.

I initially thought, is it Samsung?
Because Samsung had visited.

Seok-bae Park, he's the puppet president
that Joseph Lee set up.

Yeah, he took him there.

Everyone went to see him, MB's relative.

Everyone knows about that,
there are so many witnesses.

THE BIG SHOT

They said H was here!

Everyone went to see H, MB's relative.

H = MB'S RELATIVE

If that's the case,
that makes a lot of sense.

Right?

That makes sense, if that is the truth.

I didn't expect it'd be associated with
Myung-bak Lee.

If I had known that prior,
we should've gotten more money.

Who was H connected to in NH Bank?

Who did they meet?

It's not that they met one person,

they met all the investors.

They went to Investments.

Then is there any way to find out
who they met at Fund Management

or meet up with anyone who met with them?

Who they met up with? They met everyone.

When they heard H was MB's
relative, everyone flocked over.

Okay, but out of the people
who flocked over, can I...

If you do meet up with one of them,

you think the "Thousand-Year"
people will let them be?

Well, their faces will not be shown.

I don't know. I don't want anyone
I know to stand there.

WHO DID THEY TRUST IN SO MUCH
TO HAND OVER 21 BILLION WON?

HAND OVER 21 BILLION WON

OCTOBER 2013 ISSUE

THE REASON WHY NH BANK
WASTED 21 BILLION WON IN CANADA

An associate of NH Bank

President Myung-bak Lee

SEOUL FINANCE

SISA IN

WHO DID THEY TRUST IN SO MUCH
TO HAND OVER 21 BILLION WON?

THE NAME OF A RELATIVE OF A POWERFUL
MAN IN THE LEE GOVERNMENT HAS COME UP

Mr. Joo. I read your article
and it was very

disappointing, the contents of it
clearly indicated

that you imagined the proceedings
in a whole new way.

It is totally unfounded

and totally incorrect.

I have no idea who said that

but I'm curious too.
If that was really the case,

if that is true, I want to see this man.

Do you not know H?

-I don't.
-You've never met him?

If he's that famous,
I would love to meet him one day.

You were hired by NH Bank as an expert

but you basically threw 21 billion won
in the air.

-Mr. Joo.
-Yes.

-I'm sorry.
-Hello?

MR. JIN, NH BANK FOREIGN INVESTMENTS

This son of a bitch,
the fucking bastard! Fuck.

THE RESERVOIR

In the past eight years, the total amount
of money that was sent to tax havens

is approximately 190 trillion won.

Excluding Hong Kong, the money was sent

to the Cayman Islands the most.

In the first quarter of this year,

Korea made a direct investment

of 1,730,000,000 dollars.

Or 2,010,600,000,000 won.

If I sum up all Korean people
living there, it'll be less than ten.

The direct trade transactions
between the Cayman Islands and Korea

start growing exponentially
from the year 2007.

It doubles yearly.

It coincides exactly
with Myung-bak Lee's term in office.

What did you mean
by "all the addresses are like this"?

This neighborhood, all the shell companies
are in this neighborhood.

Oh, this is a trust too.

This is the most...

-Oh, it's CNBC, the...
-Right.

Cayman Finance. This is it.

It's around here.

So this is all...

Banks.

The Royal Bank of Canada?
Oh, Royal Bank House.

What are you doing?

It's the same initials though, RBC.

Oh, it is! The RBC we've been looking for.

It's huge.

-Oh my, it really is!
-Yeah.

Wait, why is it so big?

If the RBC building is as big as this
here at the Cayman Islands,

a building this big
for a population of 55,000 people.

I think we need to go incognito
first and sweep out the place.

So the money, transferred to Canada

is now all here.

The Royal Bank of Canada, Cayman Branch.

Can you take a picture of me?

Here, here.

Look at this bastard.

Look, the Cayman Islands
Government Administration.

If we go here...
Shall we go inside and ask them?

This is it. This is everything.

-But a bank's bigger than this.
-Seriously.

A place where the banks are bigger
than the government.

SECRET BANK ACCOUNT

Shall we take a look around the island?

This is so-called "the Secret Fund Tour."

This is MB Road.

On this side, you can find
all the accounting offices,

law firms, banks,

all the places perfect
for hiding your money away.

The road to the G20 conference
was filled with challenges

but led to unexpected meaningful results.

Regulations will be tightened
on the financial market,

with tighter restrictions
on hedge funds and tax havens...

The fact that the developed countries

were able to come to an agreement
with the rising nations

has a lot of historical significance...

Such a beautiful place but all we've been
talking about is Myung-bak Lee.

JAIL MYUNG-BAK LEE

Oh, RBC.

RBC.

Why are there so many?

What if Myung-bak Lee
bought everything RBC?

It's not like Myung-bak is Mansour.

-Seriously...
-Don't underestimate the president.

I've worked with MB for almost 10 years

but received like, 1.8 million won.

Do you know how much I spent?

Anyway,

the allowance I received
from MB was a total of 1.8 million won.

What a cheapskate.

-You can found number companies.
-Yeah.

-You get numbers for them.
-Okay.

Joseph made a whole bunch of them.

Can you tell us what kind of companies
he founded exactly?

That... I'm sorry.
If my client agreed to it

or if we were in court,
I'd give you the information.

-But I'm afraid I can't.
-I see.

Can you tell me the number companies?

-The names?
-Yes.

Of course, the police
and everyone who knows about it knows

Thank you, that'd be great.

That's all I need, I'll be out
of your hair and on my way.

I'll email it to you.

Thank you.

THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE NUMBER
COMPANIES YOU REQUESTED.

RESOURCE DIPLOMACY

There was a scam,
the biggest in Korea's history,

called "Resource Diplomacy."

The resource development industry
that the MB government pushed for

turned out to be a venture
that could only result in losses.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY INVESTIGATION

Korea Institute of Geoscience

and Mineral Resources reports that
the price we paid for Harvest Operations

was over a trillion won
more expensive than its value.

This is a dereliction of duty.

It's a classic example
of a nonsensical diplomacy

caused by amateurism.

"You're going to go buy coal."

"We have to gain some results
here, all right?"

Then how would the other party react?

Raise the prices exponentially, of course.

Making a fool out of someone.

At the time, foreign resource development,
especially the M&A processes

were taken care of directly
by the Blue House.

If you look at the auditing report,

Harvest from Canada, Dana Petroleum
in the UK, Kazakh's Sumbe,

Anchor, all of them

have seen a decrease in profits

and it points the losses are getting
bigger and bigger.

Do you know what the debt ratio
is for Korea Resources Corporation?

What is it?

As of June, the first half of this year,

it goes over 10,000 percent.

If you take a look at the issues

and doubts about President Lee,

you'd think someone
would have benefited from it

but the losses are all
on the KNOC or the KGC.

That expression,
perfect for a thief, is spot on.

Out of the foreign resources
development ventures,

there are a few
that are really problematic.

-Okay.
-As you know well, Harvest, NARL,

El Boleo in Mexico,

Ambatovy in Madagascar.

These three cases are related
to a Canadian company.

All the big chunks are in Canada.

All the money went to Canada

and they signed M&A's
with Canadian companies.

The contracts are signed

and subsequent losses are thrust
upon state-owned companies.

Merrill Lynch advises the merger.

It was revealed that the Merrill Lynch
report was faked

-and was totally false.
-Right.

The Canadian energy company,
Harvest, which was bought by the KNOC

with a hefty sum in 2009,

turned out to be a hollow tree,
causing controversy.

We have obtained the advisory report
Merrill Lynch had sent

to KNOC before the merger,
with inflated asset values.

The report claimed

that Harvest was estimated
to be worth 3 trillion won,

including estimates of
drillable reserves and production.

But Ryder Scott had a different opinion.

They concluded that there was
no economic value.

Then, why isn't the KNOC

saying to Merrill Lynch, "Your report
got us into this mess

and we suffered such and such losses,"

and suing them?

We told them to sue at the time

but they're unwilling. That's
the first thing. They're unwilling,

the KNOC.

THE GOVERNMENT WAS UNWILLING TO CLAW BACK

Secondly, the other problem is

that in the service contract,
there were a lot of loopholes

for Merrill Lynch to pass through.

Our authorities did not have the authority

to investigate,
so we had to ask Canada to help us,

but starting from the inside,
our financial authorities

such as the FSS,

if they performed a thorough investigation
and found some kind of evidence

which we can use as a basis to ask for the
Canadian government's cooperation,

I don't think it would be
impossible to do.

But they didn't bother.

That's why we can't ask for help.

THE GOVERNMENT
HAD NO THOUGHTS OF SUING

The biggest resource diplomacy

happens in Canada.

ALL BASED IN CANADA.

The next important issue is

they either buy or make a shell company

or a bankrupt one.

THEY MAKE A COMPANY
THAT WILL GO BANKRUPT

Then from NH Bank or the KRC,

from somewhere, they throw in state funds.

But when you go look,
they're totally broke.

Then they all run away.

Some people try to look for them.

Those people are found in reservoirs

or are sued and accused

or are cursed at and insulted.

It just all points strangely to Canada.

Then that's resource diplomacy?
What about North York?

It's the same thing.

It's a very small case

but it's very condensed.

So that's the typical pattern?

-Yes, it is.
-The typical pattern.

PATTERN

-So, this is the typical pattern, anyhow.
-Yes.

For North York, now someone
in Canada suddenly

has a really great job.

BASED IN CANADA

So he makes a company.

THEY SET UP A COMPANY
THAT WILL GO BANKRUPT

But even before it opens,
NH Bank gives them a loan.

THEY INVEST IN A COMPANY
SET FOR BANKRUPTCY

They get a loan,

and then ruin the company.

But they turn a blind eye,
NH Bank turns a blind eye.

THE GOVERNMENT IS UNWILLING
TO RESTORE THE FUNDS

NH BANK IS UNWILLING
TO RESTORE THE FUNDS

They should at least sue, right?

But they do nothing.

But now, the Public Prosecution
Service of Canada starts investigating.

NH Bank has never asked them
to investigate. Ever.

It's your case so we're interested.

The police already know it all.

So if NH Bank just gives a small nod,
they'd be off.

-Exactly.
-Since it's already...

Right, we may just find it all.

But I've been dogging them around
for years, asking why haven't they sued?

They kept lying that they did
but later, did they?

Isn't FSS supposed to monitor
and supervise NH Bank?

You've been asking the FSS yourself,

but they keep running away.

Yeah, so they've sent over
document for formality,

like two pages.

They say they're investigating,
and they're inquiring

but the related parties no longer
work for the NH Bank

so it's hard to proceed.

That's how they concluded
their investigation report

and I felt that if this is how
they treat normal issues,

this is a bigger problem than I imagined.

It's strange, there are so many traces

in the Canadian bank,
the Royal Bank of Canada

but they make no effort
to take criminal action

under the Canadian law

or start a civil case.
They should at least

show some kind of proof
that they tried their best

to claw back its losses,
but they don't. It's mind-boggling.

NH Bank did not pursue criminal action.

Should I repeat exactly

what you said then?
Do you want me to publish it?

Why does NH Bank do nothing but lie?

We first need some kind
of evidence that proves

that we need to pursue
criminal action or lawsuit, right?

Right.

-But the overall agreement was
-Yes.

that, just based on the information
that our team has,

it wouldn't be technically beneficial
for the company

-to pursue criminal action.
-Okay.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS
NO INTENTIONS OF SUING

NH BANK HAS
NO INTENTIONS OF SUING

Then we have to find it.
But you can't. Not overseas.

"Oh man, we need to catch that jerk!"

"Why? He doesn't have the money."
That's their justification

for turning a blind eye.

If you can make them sue,

-that's the picture you're painting, yes?
-Right.

What will happen then?

If you want to do it legally,
you need to file it with the courts.

Then you can trace it.

-To sue effectively...
-But we don't know the account.

If there is a victim,
the victim can go sue directly.

So for someone to sue on someone's behalf,

that doesn't work out here.

I'll give you a piece of advice.

The biggest difference
between suing and not suing

is if you sue, you can

freeze all that money.

-The court can freeze the money
-Okay.

-so no one can touch it.
-Right.

Then you win.

They don't freeze it
during the trial after you sue.

There's something called the T.R.O in law.

Temporary restraining order.

When you sue, you request a TRO.

Then after the judge goes through it
and accepts your request,

the funds will be immediately tied up.

The problem is,
that only works within the US.

If the money you just spoke of
is in another country,

the US court laws cannot freeze that bank.

It isn't in the US.

It is somewhere, right? It has to be.

It's in the Royal Bank of Canada.

I saw it.

And I think the North York
trial is the easiest.

The best thing about Canada
is that it has no statute of limitations.

You sue, and have the Royal Bank
of Canada step up.

Then that money is frozen.

Then Myung-bak Lee is done for.

If you sue, Myung-bak Lee's money
is all frozen! Why not do it?

The 20-something billion won from NH Bank?
That's not even on the table.

Do you know how much money
is in that? Myung-bak will be ruined.

In my opinion, I think that's
the best revenge ever.

If you sue that 21 billion branch,

and then follow the flow from that branch

it will lead to the reservoir...

It will. Yes.

NORTH YORK
21 BILLION WON

NORTH YORK
21 BILLION WON

CHUNG-HEE PARK, MYUNG-BAK LEE,
DOO-HWAN CHUN, GEUN-HYE PARK

That's way too fantastic.

-It's way too simple.
-Exactly.

So the North York case...

-Is no ordinary case.
-It's a very important one.

-Exactly!
-Exactly.

I've been chasing
the National Assembly members,

and the NH Bank staff
to suggest suing them at least,

but they can't.

Because of this simple reason.

You've said that you were the vanguard
during the MB administration

but now you say
it wasn't your responsibility.

Minister of Knowledge Economy,
Kyoung-hwan Choi,

the Deputy Prime Minister,
you deny responsibility.

Then who's to bear the burden

for this resource diplomacy?
President Lee?

Are you going to answer?

We will give you more time if needed.

I've nothing to say because
it's simply ludicrous.

MINISTER OF STRATEGY
AND FINANCE

An assembly member's
words are "ludicrous"?

-It's ridiculous.
-Ludicrous.

-What the heck...
-You cannot say such things.

Excuse me.

-Hey, hey!
-Adjourn.

-What the heck?
-Adjourn!

Why do you keep hindering
the administration inspection?

Why are you making one-sided
arguments, why?

-He didn't even answer yet!
-Excuse me,

-If you're going to...
-the two of you, sirs...

Why bother summoning them?

Why have a witness if you're
going to blabber by yourself?

Let them leave
and we can blabber among ourselves.

Why bother? Adjourn already!

Adjourn the session.

They claimed ridiculous things.

Seong-dong Kwon left the room.

As you know well, Seong-dong Kwon

used to work in the Blue House
during the MB administration.

A typical MB man.

The majority party then
had a very weak cause

so they crippled the meeting
by nitpicking at everything,

like the chairman's words.

So it's very unfortunate that

we could not go into the
crucial witnesses in depth.

Now that the administration has changed,

there's a limit
to the national assembly inspection.

This case has to be investigated

by the judicial authorities.

-Young-won Kang has been acquitted.
-Okay.

If there is no proof,
there's nothing to work from.

I'm sure the prosecution

tried their best to investigate.

Perhaps it was due to a lack
of professionalism that this happened.

If there is clear proof of doubt,
we can start investigations

but we cannot start anything

just based on doubts.

MINISTER OF JUSTICE

THE FINAL PIECE OF THE PUZZLE

You have used all your turns
for mutual discussion.

Candidate Geun-hye Park
has the initiative for ten minutes.

I would like to ask
Mr. Myung-bak Lee this.

You said that you decreased
Seoul's debt by three trillion won,

but it actually increased
by 5.5 trillion won.

You said that the SH Corporation

has gained assets as well
as debt, so that renders it

to be not debt,

but how can such accounting exist?

Is it not debt
until you work to pay it off?

If SH Corporation cannot distribute
all the apartments,

the burden will naturally fall
on the citizens of Seoul.

Even if you may pay it all off,
until it is paid

it is debt.

You say that I wouldn't know
because I've never run a corporation

but what kind of company
does their accounting like this?

Yes, this is a bit difficult
to explain, indeed.

If you trace that money,
it leads to the president's money.

So they can't.

And they won't let you.

That's why people die.

And people around them all disappear.

Not only that,

but their methods
are a bit violent and cruel.

There really are people who die like that.

It's all suicide. It's always suicide.

So have you interviewed the man
who committed suicide?

One of the people who had
been involved in this venture

besides Mr. Jin was found in a reservoir.

What do you mean,
he was found in a reservoir?

He was found dead.

His wife says he had no reason
to take his own life,

none whatsoever.

He went to work,
just like any other person.

Were you happy when he went to NH Bank?

Well, after that was all decided

he said he'll be going there.

Did he leave any wills, anything written?

There was nothing.

Could we perhaps see a picture of him?

We've never met him before.

He came home, a bit drunk the night before

but went to work
like normal the next morning.

But then was found

in front of a reservoir.

The police said it was suicide.

No further investigations were made.

You know Mr. Tae?

He did similar duties as you
in the team next to yours

but he died.

No, that's all unfounded.

There was no pressure
or anything like that.

There were a lot of loan-related
issues that happened

that pushed people to their deaths.

If you think about it, there was a lot of
foreign project finance going on,

and many of them didn't succeed

since it was at the beginning.

But the company did not
raise issues with anyone

or subject them to unfair treatment,

so why would anyone
be pressured and commit suicide?

DEPUTY DEPARTMENT HEADS
MR. JIN AND MR.TAE

H brought Joseph Lee
to the fourth floor at NH Bank.

And soon after, Mr. Jin

approved the loan for Joseph Lee.

Mr. Jin was higher up,
he was deputy department head

so he was an executive.

I don't know if he would've done
the actual trade.

I don't think they would've met Mr. Jin.

But nothing's for sure.

I was wondering if it was
directly related to North York.

H visited NH Bank around that time

or H brought Joseph Lee there,
stuff like that.

Is there anyone else who
heard of it? Any sources?

CROSS CHECK

I don't know.
I really don't know that one.

If I did, I would've found it first.

-I would have found it first.
-Yeah.

I know what you're getting at.

Even if you can't say it outright,
if there were any rumors or...

I know what you mean, but stuff

like that doesn't just appear

like, during investigation.

The crucial evidence, the USB
doesn't appear just like that.

Rumors, just rumors.

It just doesn't appear like that.

If we had just one more
piece of the puzzle, that'd be great.

Hello.

Did you have lunch yet?

I'm eating now.

Oh, okay, should I call you later?

Sure. I'm a little busy right now.

Why did you want to meet with me?

Can you give me some names?

I don't have any.
I can't tell you. Forget it!

He might be busy right now.

-Hello?
-Are you busy?

-No.
-Can you take a call?

-What for?
-This is nice.

What are you saying?

I told you what I can do
and what I can't do

since forever, but why
do you keep asking for them?

I'm pestering you because I like you.

Is there anyone, any witnesses

who can testify H came that day?

Everything's there,
but he won't dish on MB, Sang-deuk.

Is there someone else in NH Bank?

He went to the Investment department.

He came. Did he really though?

He probably just pressured them.

Why come in person? He's the crown prince.

The insiders will talk.
If you hear anything, let me know.

About that part...

No one's talking about it.

Yeah.

You should hear it
from the beginning, what do you mean?

The story we want is in the latter half.

Right, so I think we need to meet,
get the files

and hear what's going on again.

No, I have to drop by the office today.

Anyway, that's my report to you.

Okay, please remember
to save the file in a safe place.

Some other person spilled
the beans on NH Bank to Jin-woo.

And they said

they'll bring Mr. Jin next time.

What the hell is this?

In this day and age, you know?

There's a limit to such things,
but Myung-bak Lee did too much.

Let's be real, if NH wasn't led
by Won-byung Choi for four or five years

NH Bank would've been Asia's leading bank.

-Of course.
-Right?

Won-byung Choi
and his North Gyeongsang posse.

Right. The Thousand-Year Club.
The Gyeongju kids.

How do you know that?

Oh, you know.

Did you talk to Mr. Jin yesterday?

Oh yeah, so

he said there was a deal with good profits

and the department head
approved it without review.

But we can't say that to the public,

now, can we?

So we say there was no fault

with the loan, it was fraud.

I'll look into it.

But now that I think about it

the Investments head was Mr. Seop.

He's part of the Yeongpo Line.

Then maybe that's also a possibility,
a factor of this.

The Yeongpo Line,
Korea's mainstream used to be

Daegu and North Gyeongsang,

especially those in and from Daegu.

After Myung-bak Lee became president
the Daegu, North Gyeongsang,

the Daegu people took control

of all the power.

The power group of the
former administration

also known as the Yeongpo Line
is in the limelight again.

The main focus of the doubts
is that Yeongpo Line intervened

behind the scenes of POSCO's
faulty subsidiary M&A.

Won-byung Choi,
a close associate of Myung-bak Lee,

is elected president of NH Bank.

President Won-byung Choi is
former president Lee's high school junior.

After he was elected president in 2007,

he secured a second term in 2011.

He is known to be quite close
with powers of the MB administration.

Won-byung Choi and Myung-bak Lee.

The worshippers who followed them

made the Thousand-Year Club,

in hopes to never lose power
for 1,000 years.

It's like they will have NH Bank
in the palm of their hands.

The Yeongpo Line here became

the focal point of this group.

They were in control of all the money.

The overseas financing projects,
the ones that make the most money,

they poured it out but got nothing back.

They barely got their money's worth
in one out of ten and lost everything.

They did it all. They've succeeded.

Even if it becomes an issue...

Prosecutors say North Korea
is behind NH's network shutdown.

It's very similar to the March 4th
DDoS attack.

The shutdown started with
a subcontractor's laptop

becoming infected with North Korea's
virus in the computer room.

NH Bank said it was due to North Korea,

but it is highly unlikely.

All those who were on this case
say so as well.

What the experts are saying is
that they probably internally

shut down the system.

So why did they have to do that?

Why did they have to shut down
the network?

I'm curious about the reason why.

That's one of the questions I have.

I believe that this is
related to this case.

I just need to catch one loose end.

Just one.

So NH's small loan

fraud case is a very important one.

-The bank data
-The bank data that was erased?

that they say was erased by DDoS,
and the bank that initiated that,

there is a specific number of cases
and people.

They called in everyone who was in charge

so a few people went in.

They all said don't mention my name.

The department head was Mr. Seop.

He was part of the Yeongpo Line

and I think he was affiliated
with the Thousand-Year Club.

All right, thank you.

MANAGER SEOP

YEONGPO LINE

WHY PURSUE RELENTLESSLY, LIKE SO?

I found Joseph Lee.

I found his face.

-Not his picture?
-A video.

Of his interview.

-He did an interview?
-Yeah.

Who does he think he is?

As the real estate market flow is such,

the Korean community is rushing
for quotes and consultations.

Through our website

JOSEPH LEE
AN INVESTMENT COMPANY CEO

and via phone calls,

we have been receiving anywhere

from 50 to 100 calls every day.

JOSEPH LEE
CENTRUST CEO

Bye, come back safely.

I'll see you in a bit.

For the puzzle
you're trying to figure out,

I have some information
that you might be interested in.

But it seems irrelevant.

Mr. Jin, did you bring

Joseph Lee on your own?

Yes, I'm 100 percent sure of that.

Mr. Seop, he's in Yeongpo and...

That's very unlikely.

There was no gap for intervention.

We should talk about Mr. Tae.

I think Mr. Tae

became a bit selfish. Self-serving.

But a lot of people committed
suicide at the time.

For project finance,
in the other banks too,

so many people died even in our bank.

I did hear that someone said,

H told Mr. Seop and the others,
to push this project forward

with the Thousand-Year Club.

And then the loan was approved.

So in Toronto, Joseph Lee,

the money disappeared
and was transferred to the Cayman Islands.

I thought they just did it
because of the pressure from the top.

They just approved of the loan
because they had to.

No, that's not possible.

-Not possible?
-Not possible.

If something remotely similar
happened, it'd be all online.

Among all the hardships,
do you know how hard I worked

from 2008 to 2013 in order to make
this business successful?

In 2014,

when I retired, I asked for a phone call

to Seok-bae and received a call.

I said, once I receive compensation

I'll follow you to the ends of the earth
and kill you.

And then I hung up.

You or the people who are here
were punished

but Joseph Lee is strutting about

here and abroad, without
any kind of restrictions.

He's a hot potato.

Too much time has passed

and all the information's been leaked.

They said let's sue, but...

He's already a hot potato,

and if this goes over to the prosecutors

there will be tons of reporters there.

And if this gets published,

we'll be struck down before we know it.

So we shushed it
but after you published your article now,

that's it.

-Mr. Joo.
-Yes?

-I'm sorry.
-Hello?

-He won't spill.
-He won't?

He talks comfortably enough,

he said he knew Joseph Lee well

so he approved of the ridiculous loan

just on its prospects.

DEPUTY HEAD MR. JIN

Mr. Tae is Mr. Seop's man.

He is?

They're distant relatives.

So that's why the IV team,

that's why Mr. Tae and Mr. Seop

hastily put this Foreign Investments
team together.

And all the subsequent actions
all fall into place.

The puzzle's coming together.

It does, yes, but Mr. Jin...

-He slips out.
-Yeah.

Mr. Seop

-was not experienced in investments,
-Okay.

he was just a secretary

-and part of the Yeongpo Line.
-Okay.

But he suddenly makes this team.

And when he does,

he brings Mr. Tae into it.

But Mr. Jin says he
brought Joseph Lee here.

Two outsiders, two professionals,
Mr. Tae or Mr. Jin,

these two came
as expert foreign investors.

-Okay.
-But they blew six out of nine cases.

So maybe this wasn't
about profits or anything,

it could've been something already planned

that he went along with.
At least, he admits to that.

Are you following?

The top dogs painted the picture

about the loans and all that
and they took the jobs

and just let it play out.

Anyway, Mr. Seop is associated

-with H and the others
-Yeah.

and the Thousand-Year Club, Yeongpo Line,

-that's all happening
-Yeah.

but he claims he did his duty.

If he knew all this, he's lying.

I don't buy it.

He was like It's nine different
projects they worked on,

-but this is all weird.
-Okay.

-All weird.
-Yeah.

He was a talented worker,
a very good worker,

but he said that it's weird
that he'd just suddenly die.

It's all weird and strange,

but he didn't slack on his job.

Just his.

Frick.

This is hard.

So he's not affiliated
with the Thousand-Year Club...

Let's go.

Bye.

So what they told me was

you just want to drag me in and use me.

Is that what this is?

Don't trust Korean reporters...

I'm moving to the US.

What I want to tell you, Joo,

hello, are you mad at me now?

Why would I be mad?

But all Koreans are like that,
the opposition party too,

it's all greed and how it can

be more beneficial

for themselves and for their side.

They calculate this and that

but time flies by.

There are so many things
about Korea I don't get.

I told you, why can't
they claw back the disbursed money?

I bet we're the only country
who can't do it.

You're an accomplice too, you know.

What? Why am I?

You said you wanted to and
you tried looking for his secret funds?

Then why don't you go looking
when you know you can?

-How can I find it?
-Why can't you?

I said you have to sue!

Yeah, so I'll sue! Use me!

I don't want to get involved.

I don't want to be in this shitshow
that is Korea anymore.

Just help me out. One statement
and I'll take care of everything.

A top executive at NIS

said there was someone
with an important source.

He introduced me to him, saying
he might be the man I was looking for.

Since he saw firsthand

the actual truth behind all this.

But he won't say.

DEEP THROAT

I'm thankful he told me this much,

but it's still a bit lacking.

If he took one small step,

I'll bear the responsibility.

I'll be there when the bomb drops
or whatever explodes.

But he doesn't want to get involved.

I get it. I really do.

The nation watched gravely

as President Geun-hye Park
gave her second apology

on the Soon-sil Choi scandal.

Thinking of how difficult
it will be to mend the heart of the people

rips me apart, as shame

makes me think,

Is this why I became the president?

NOVEMBER 4TH, 2016

NOVEMBER 21ST, 2016

-It's a nice day.
-Right?

-Hello.
-Hello.

Why are you moving
so quickly all of a sudden?

He said he'll make the president.

Jin-woo.

It's been a long time.

Are you getting it?

It's a nice day today.

It was really cold a few days ago.

At the front.

President Young-sam.

Mr. President, a word about the current
state of affairs please.

Where are you from?
What's your affiliation?

I'm Jin-woo Joo, a reporter for Sisa IN.

-But you're not here on behalf of them?
-No, sir.

The current state...

Hold on, hold on.

Don't be like this.

He'll say a few words,

so get in formation.

I honestly

feel the same way. I'm devastated.

How could such an embarrassing,
shameful thing happen?

Our citizens, really,

the ones at the protests...

You said you felt the same as the country,

-but they're asking for her to step down.
-Let's move on.

We're moving on.

Excuse me, out of the way.

No more questions.

Stop it.

Use your common sense,

that's not something you
ask the president.

You said you'll raise a president
with your own hands in September,

I was curious as to what
made you say such a thing.

-That...
-That kind of...

Move away now.

Everyone, we all want
the country do to well, no?

What was our country built on?

We've overcome every obstacle
into present day.

We must overcome this as well

and move forward.

Thank you all for coming.

-Thank you.
-Thank you for coming.

-Thank you, sir.
-Thank you.

You were on H's trail a few years back
with Jin-woo,

a crucial factor of the North York case?

We would

find out his regular restaurant
and sit there for hours.

We dropped by his office unannounced.

But wherever we'd go or reserve,

wherever we'd follow him to,
he always knew.

Let me have a smoke.

-Man.
-Just smoke it, just smoke it.

I can finish anything
in five minutes, man.

One time,

we knew he was going to be
at this restaurant.

So we went there an hour before.

But he never showed.

We were going to just eat
and stop by his table, right?

Just stop by and talk a bit.

But he never showed up.

Concerning money,

there was no such person,

since the beginning of Korea,

who would use his public status
to milk out money to this proportion,

and this secretively. Not now, not ever.

But the thing is, there's no smoking gun.

You think you're getting close,
but it disappears.

I don't think you can find

which account and how much money it holds.

I don't think you can confirm
or uncover evidence.

After the past few years,

I realized it was impossible.

The moment you think
you see a trail, it's cold.

It's not something you can
do as an individual.

So even if you become tired and give up,

someone else might have to
continue it. Honestly,

the country, the government
should be doing it.

So until they do,

we're just trying it out.

I've felt a lot of threats for my life
until the last election.

But if I made a movie like this,

maybe they'll try to kill me less?

-They'll kill you more.
-No, less!

THE PURSUIT FAILED. JIN-WOO'S INFERENCES
AND JUDGMENTS WERE NOT PROVEN.

YET.

To be honest, there are parts to this

that hurt my brain just thinking about it.

We've never seen anything quite like it.

This is really awkward
to express in words.

Yes.

Got it, yeah.

Yeah.

Pardon?

-Since it was a bit, you know...
-Yes.

-But I've always wanted to talk to you.
-Okay.

I wanted to call you as well.

I can't tell you in detail, like this...

Do you have a Telegram, sir?

Do you have an iPhone?

I do use an iPhone,

but I'd prefer not to contact
you in that way.

I was just asking because I was worried.

Yes, a lot of people have died
around me as well.

Even those who've been
in this field of work.

-Even if it's legal.
-Yeah.

Gold, we say the gold funds

I've been getting offers

for disposing of all their gold.

In Korea?

I did hear that
MB's people hoarded a lot of gold

and were trying to dispose of it...

That's exactly right. They all know.

The whole world knows.

Is that right?

Gold doesn't move around easily.

They don't transport it
because it's dangerous.

Right, right.

So MB or Park...

Right, so either someone used it
and MB ate it up

or it's totally irrelevant to Choi,

but it's been active

-since the Park administration began.
-Right.

So in London,

MB, with the help of Geun-hye Park,

put out gold for sale.

-Yes. That's correct.
-I've heard that.

Because of current circumstances,

that's not even the issue, the people
say that Lee's been just fucking around...

Who was fucking around?

Past administration, MB.

Right. Oh man. MB is one crazy bastard.

Yes. But Mr. Joo, I'll say one thing.

You have to do this properly.

Not just me, but all the things
you're doing now,

you're doing truly a remarkable thing.

Yes, I'm doing my best.

If you don't get it done this time,
we're all dead.

I know. I know.

Thanks to people like you,

I am encouraged to work harder.

Yes, I'm doing it now.

When shall I call you? Okay.

I'll do it. I'll do it.

Yes, thank you. Yes. Yes.

Jin-woo.

This is the last shoot,
in my heart anyway.

-Really?
-For a year and a month...

It's the final shoot in my heart.

Then it's not the end.
I've been meeting up with

Young-tae Ko every day recently.

He's so nervous, he asks every night,

"This isn't the end, right?
This isn't the last time?"

Why do you pursue this so relentlessly?

You can't turn your face

from corruption.

You can't see
what these hoodlums are doing

and just walk the other way.

I don't think about justice or values.

I have no spirit of a journalist.

Then why do all this?

But this is,

they're messing up Korea.
We need to stop that.

Aren't you tired?

Me? Of course.

-Jin-woo Joo gets tired?
-Of course.

I'm a nobody,

but there are articles about me,

people criticizing me,

people around me,

I can see them spying and tagging
along around my people.

Two days ago, my wife,

some car tried to run her over on a hill.

She was just walking on the sidewalk,

and this car...

Why Lee and Park?

-Yeah.
-They broke down

-justice, law, and democracy.
-Okay.

With money and status,

they numbed and polluted everyone.

So we have to get them,

the root of all evil.

And by doing so I want to say

that those who commit a crime
will be punished.

Even if I can't catch them,

I want to be there,
breathing down their necks.

Have a safe trip, be safe.

I'll see you when you get back.

Thank you for your work.

Have a safe trip!

-I'll see you later.
-See you later.

Goodbye.

TEN YEARS AGO

It is time for your final statement.

To the people, to your party members,

this is the time to add in what you
haven't said yet or reiterate your words.

Candidate Geun-hye Park, please.

The seat of the president

is a very lonely and difficult place.

I grew up watching it.

If I wanted to live comfortably,

I wouldn't have
dreamed of becoming president.

I have no children,

I have no family of my own.

What more greed would I have left?

My dream is only this.

To give hope to our citizens
who are having hardships

and to make our country
a developed nation.

I, Geun-hye Park, will change
the administration

and give back hope to the people of Korea.

Now, candidate Myung-bak Lee.

"The problem is the economy."
The people resonated with this sentence

Clinton was elected, and
he saved the US economy.

I do not wish to become
the most powerful man.

I wish to become the chief
executive officer to save this country.

Thank you.

A FEW YEARS AGO, TEAM MANAGER SEOP
RESIGNED FROM NH BANK

IN THE FEBRUARY 2017 TRIAL, MEE-RAI CHO
WAS SENTENCED TO THREE AND A HALF YEARS

INTERPOL HAS RECENTLY ASKED KOREA
FOR HELP ON ARRESTING JOSEPH LEE

CTGK'S CEO SEOK-BAE PARK'S
WHEREABOUTS ARE STILL UNKNOWN

MB'S RELATIVE, H, HAS MOVED OVERSEAS
SEVERAL YEARS AGO. JIN-WOO IS AFTER HIM

Subtitle translation by Grace Kim