Branch Chief Cha Bong-hoon was arrested.
It was extremely rare for someone at the level of a union branch chief to be detained so quickly.
This meant the evidence secured by the prosecution was solid, and with their central figure gone, the Seoul corporate taxi union continued the strike in a chaotic atmosphere.
"Will we be okay?"
"Who's clean enough to escape when they've been squeezed dry? If they arrest us too, every taxi company owner across the country will end up in jail. Honestly, we're more like victims here."
"That may be so, but do you think those obsessed prosecutors will cut us any slack?"
The taxi company owners were caught in worry and confusion.
Amidst this, someone quietly approached them.
Captain Kang, dressed in a red vest, pretending to be a union member.
"Hello, I'm Kang In-sik from Kangin Transport."
"Kangin Transport? I've heard that name somewhere."
"You idiot! Isn't Kangin Transport the taxi company leading that KakaoTaxi thing?"
"Who do you think you are, coming here? You're the kind to stab people in the back!"
The taxi company owners began angrily shouting.
Captain Kang put on a sly expression and started with an apology.
"I didn't expect things to turn out like this either."
"Because of you, the number of taxi drivers joining the strike dropped sharply! That's why
Branch Chief Cha had to go through that ordeal!"
"I never expected Cha Bong-hoon would get arrested. I heard from the prosecutors that a prison sentence is inevitable."
"You must have connections in the prosecution, huh?"
"I just know some investigators personally, so I heard."
Captain Kang smiled and stepped closer.
Though the taxi company owners still rejected him, Kang pressed on.
"If you just stay put, you might end up like Branch Chief Cha."
"You! Coming all the way here to rub salt in the wound!"
"This isn't rubbing salt in the wound. I'm here to tell you how to survive. Honestly, aren't you all victims too? Didn't you have to do things you hated just to meet the bribe demands from Branch Chief Cha?"
"Hmph, you might have a point."
"But do you think the prosecutors will care? You have to step forward and reveal the truth if you want to survive."
Captain Kang spoke as if he genuinely cared for the company owners.
His acting might have been practiced; he even wore a desperate expression.
"You're saying we should inform the prosecution about Branch Chief Cha's corruption? Do you even know what kind of relationship we have with him?"
"If you stick to loyalty, you'll end up hand in hand going to prison. Think carefully. And think about your company and your taxi drivers more than loyalty to Branch Chief Cha Bong-hoon."
The company owners looked at each other.
Though no one spoke, their employees' dissatisfaction was growing day by day.
While individual taxi drivers were hitting record sales, the company drivers were stuck
participating in a pointless strike, so it was natural for frustration to build.
And there was the commission issue.
Using KakaoTaxi meant no commission fees.
Even driving the same distance, drivers could earn at least 30% more revenue, so many wanted to switch from call agencies to KakaoTaxi.
"Hmm, I need to think about this before deciding."
"Ask your drivers' opinions too. Would they rather work with greedy call agencies or with
KakaoTaxi that charges no commission?"
"So it's an either-or choice?"
"Not exactly. Even if you sign with KakaoTaxi, there's no need to cut ties with call agencies.
Wouldn't it be better to get orders from both? I just wanted to say that for your survival, you need to abandon Branch Chief Cha Bong-hoon."
Like slapping a crying child.
Of course, the taxi company owners didn't want to go to jail, and secretly thought that if they
pinned all the blame on Cha Bong-hoon, they might escape punishment.
But they lacked justification.
Justification to abandon Cha Bong-hoon.
But Captain Kang brought a very convincing justification — their employees — and their hearts wavered.
"That's enough. Leave now. We won't listen anymore."
"Exactly! You know how close we are with Branch Chief Cha, and yet you try to drive a wedge between us!"
"Pretend we didn't hear this and get out of here quickly!"
The owners drove Captain Kang away with harsh words.
Even as he was being shooed off, Kang handed his business card to the owners before leaving.
The taxi company owners watched his figure recede, clutching the card tightly in their hands.
Late afternoon.
After finishing my work at the office, I went to Captain Kang's office.
Kang greeted me enthusiastically, shaking a stack of documents.
"Today alone, more than five taxi companies applied to join as franchisees!"
"I thought it would take quite a while, but it's wrapping up quickly."
"Except for Youngshin, the largest taxi company in Seoul, it looks like all the others will be able to join. There are quite a few more companies showing interest, even if they haven't applied yet."
His voice was bright and upbeat.
Just that morning, Kang had sounded somewhat discouraged in his report, but after just a few hours, he was completely different — a 180-degree turnaround.
"Didn't you say this morning that the taxi companies were dragging their feet on the
applications?"
"I thought so too. But the boss who was the loudest complainer at the strike showed up first to apply. Then, as if on cue, the other bosses came one after another!"
"So now about 70% of Seoul's taxis are affiliated with KakaoTaxi?"
"Even Youngshin will have no choice but to apply. If there's a 30% or more difference in
revenue, why would their drivers want to stay with Youngshin?"
It was a thorough relationship of power and dependence.
But the reason the weaker party bowed to the stronger one was because of their pay.
Yet if they could move to another employer and earn more, they naturally would.
"This is good, but the call agencies will surely go wild."
"We're already preparing for that. Some of the call agency bosses used to hang out in the
backstreets."
"If you lack strength, try borrowing some power from Myeongdong."
"Those backstreet punks coming in packs won't accomplish much. Our staff exceeds 300, all
black belts who train for several hours daily. To face us, they'd need at least five times that
number."
"Still, warn them to wear bulletproof vests. You never know if someone might get stabbed by a blind blade."
Honestly, I wasn't worried.
Most of Kang's staff were former soldiers — Special Forces, UDT, and covert operatives.
How could some thugs who only spat in the backstreets stand a chance against people like that?
"When I told the staff, they were all really happy. They said it's been a while since they had a
chance to loosen up a bit."
"If they overdo it, someone's bound to get hurt. Tell them to take it easy. And if things get too noisy, have the police step in."
"I've already talked to the police. Just in case a fight breaks out, I asked them to arrive as late as possible."
Captain Kang acted contrary to what you'd expect.
That much confidence was overflowing, but it didn't come across as arrogance or recklessness.
"How is Branch Chief Cha Bong-hoon doing?"
"The prosecutors are tearing him apart. Thanks to the vast amount of evidence we handed over, the investigation is going smoothly. He'll probably spend at least a few years in prison. What about the Youngshin taxi company's owner? Should we indict him too?"
"How lonely would the son be in jail by himself? Let's make sure father and son spend some
cheerful time together in prison."
Youngshin, the largest taxi company in Seoul.
But what happens if its owner ends up in jail?
Most likely, within a month it would be torn apart, absorbed by other companies or forced to shut down.
Young-il Cha, president of Youngshin Taxi, gathered the call service companies and taxi drivers.
"Thanks to Kang In-unsoo, nothing's working out. How do we fix this?"
"Boss, those guys just need to be pushed out by force," said Kim Do-hwan, the head of a call
service company, rolling up his sleeves.
He seemed eager to show off the black dragon tattoo on his forearm.
"Can you handle it?"
"This kind of work is our specialty. We'll take care of it cleanly."
"We'll help, too. You helped us leave the gangster life behind, so what can't we do for you? I'll also contact my brothers who lived in the shadows with me."
Among the taxi drivers were quite a few former gangsters.
In some places, gangs ran taxis collectively to monopolize regions.
If they controlled a region, huge profits followed. If individual or other company taxis tried to
enter, they used violence or even staged accidents.
"If we just handle Kang In-unsoo properly, KakaoTaxi won't stand a chance in the taxi industry."
"We'll stomp them so hard they'll remember the taxi business isn't a joke—down to their bones."
"We're counting on you. If this goes well, we'll assign you a call company each."
"As expected of you, boss! We'll bring you good news today."
"Don't worry about the cost—we'll pay handsomely."
Kim Do-hwan, a call company head with a gangster past, gathered others like him and street thugs.
With solid funding from President Cha, they mobilized all their contacts to build their forces.
Night fell.
More than 100 men gathered in the taxi company's parking lot.
"These are fragile taxi drivers, so don't be too rough. Our target is only Kang In-unsoo! We can cripple that bastard, but just scare the others a bit."
"We don't care about that. If they get in the way, we stab 'em. If they don't want to get hurt,
they'd better run."
"Don't carry dangerous sashimi knives—bring clubs! They're just ordinary people."
"Why so many rules? Let's just get moving. Time is money for us, too."
"Last warning: absolutely no killing!"
Kim Do-hwan gave strict instructions as they moved toward Kang In-unsoo's company.
Even during the trip, worry weighed heavily on Kim Do-hwan's mind.
Had he called too many rough guys?
What if all the Kang In-unsoo drivers ended up crippled?
Kim Do-hwan wanted only one thing:
That when they arrived, the taxi drivers would run away on their own.
But the reality was completely the opposite.
"Wooooah! Gangsters! Look at their size! They could do sumo, not just wrestling!"
"They're not gangsters, they're just punks! And they're all just big muscles. Do you think they can even kick properly with those bodies?"
One hundred gangsters arrived at Kang In-unsoo.
But the taxi drivers there mocked and provoked them instead.
They were definitely wearing blue driver uniforms, so why were they acting like that?
Kim Do-hwan sensed something strange.
Unlike him, the gangsters didn't think things through.
When mocked and provoked, they immediately got angry and grabbed their weapons.
"Have these bastards lost their fear? Sweep them all away!"