Surviving as a Rogue Hospital Director - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 73.
Han Myung-jae returned from his business trip and checked the personnel appointment posted on the Korean University Hospital staff bulletin board.
– Personnel Appointment No. 305.
Accounting Team Director Park Ha-rin
Secretary General Park Ha-rin (concurrent position)
– Personnel Appointment No. 306
Planning & Coordination Director Kim Jae-gyeong
Park Ha-rin, the accountant, was the Vice President’s closest confidant, and the Planning & Coordination Division that Kim Jae-gyeong was moving to was closely connected operationally with Min Jung-shik.
Han Myung-jae, who had regarded Choi Beom-jun as little more than an unruly dog, felt his breath tightening. The dog that had been barking from a distance was larger than he’d thought, and closer to him than he’d realized.
The Chairman summoned the Vice President. At his call, Hee-jung appeared at once.
“What’s with this personnel appointment? Why is Director Park taking on the Secretary General position concurrently?”
He blamed the Vice President outright, and she explained as if she’d anticipated exactly this.
“If we don’t utilize the Defense Ministry budget well, there will be disruptions in maintaining other government subsidies. You know how it is—the government keeps changing its preferences.”
The well-prepared answer was clean. Korean University Hospital, being a state institution, faced political interference.
Every time the government changed, the hospital’s operations would shift according to the new administration’s promises. The reason Korean University Hospital couldn’t become self-sufficient was, inevitably, money.
Maintaining an image of cooperation with the government was exhausting work, but it was something Korean University Hospital could never afford to skip.
“Still, you should have stopped it. Looking like you’re helping the Hospital Director—tch.”
As the Chairman expressed his displeasure, the Vice President tensed and spoke rapidly.
“That’s why I made it a concurrent position. It didn’t seem right to hand Ha-rin over entirely to the Secretary General’s office. Ah! And Ha-rin herself certainly had no intention of it either. This way, we can keep tabs on what the Hospital Director might be planning. I think this could work out well.”
“Vice President, you’re awfully talkative today.”
But the Chairman barely listened to the Vice President. He seemed entirely uninterested in her proposals or opinions.
“Looks like your tongue’s gotten longer lately.”
He propped his feet up on the desk. The old gray socks had faded with age, and the threads near the little toe were pulled so taut they looked ready to tear.
The Vice President spoke to him as he wiggled his toes.
“I apologize. I got a bit overexcited.”
“Right, settle down.”
He pressed down on the Vice President as he always did.
“Don’t act on your own about anything. You should have reported it to me. Have you been corrupted by the Hospital Director too?”
The time Hee-jung spent with the Chairman wasn’t by choice. Whenever he called, she had to rush over and report everything happening at Korean University Hospital.
As a result, Hee-jung was always tense, unable to overlook even trivial matters.
“Director Choi called Ha-rin yesterday. While you were away on your trip, I didn’t think it was important enough to report.”
“Again, again!!”
The Chairman’s voice rose.
“You do such a good job—was Im Sung-hyuk’s IRB approved? It passed through expedited approval incredibly quickly, you know!!”
The Chairman grew irritable and hurled a book onto the desk. The thick cardboard cover struck the wooden surface with a loud crack.
– Bang!!!
She closed her half-open mouth and looked down.
‘So that was it. He didn’t call me in because of the personnel appointment.’
The plan to pressure Choi Beom-jun and Im Sung-hyuk through the IRB had fallen to pieces, so there was no way the Chairman would let this pass.
Recently, with everything in chaos, she’d momentarily forgotten. When the Chairman entrusted someone with important work, he demanded heavy accountability too.
‘How was I supposed to know Min Jung-shik would come at it like that. The plan was perfect. Honestly, the Director just moved too fast.’
But knowing that any excuse would be pointless, Hee-jung bowed her head quietly.
“…I’m sorry.”
Just then, books resting against the bookcase fell to the floor. It seemed to be from the impact the desk had just absorbed.
– Five Conditions for a Trusted Hospital
– Running a Hospital Like a Business: Healthcare System Management
– A Hospital Physicians Choose, Not Patients
The books were in pristine condition. Hee-jung knew the Chairman hadn’t spent money on a single one of them.
Every time someone from the medical, political, or business spheres published a book, he’d receive it as a gift.
His full bookshelf was thus evidence of his network.
The Chairman would stand before his shelves and deliberate on whom to ask for help and what assistance he needed.
Hee-jung felt as though she were standing before Korea’s vast medical system, not merely the Chairman.
In South Korea, there was probably no one who could stand against the Chairman. If someone tried to play a game they couldn’t win, she would need to stop them.
The Vice President bent down and collected the books. Since she was wearing a skirt, reaching for distant ones forced her to kneel.
The books were as thick as textbooks and surprisingly heavy, and as she wobbled while placing them back on the desk, the Chairman’s mood seemed to improve slightly.
“I’m not doing this for nothing. If the Director acts that way, the Vice President especially needs to keep her wits about her, don’t you think?”
The Chairman never blamed the problem itself when something went wrong. As the final responsible party, it would be spitting in his own face. Instead, he pointed out attitudes.
“Yes, that’s right, sir.”
“Director Choi will be gone in a season anyway. You’re the one who needs to hold the center steady.”
“Of course. I was shaken.”
“Good, I’m saying all this for your benefit. You understand?”
“…Yes.”
Hee-jung squeezed out her response. This should be enough. Still, it ended quickly at this point.
As Hee-jung’s complexion paled, the Chairman finally explained why he’d called her.
“The military hospital situation is causing problems. Why drag the military into this in the first place? Tsk, tsk. You don’t need to get deeply involved, Vice President. Let him suffer the consequences—maybe the Director will come to his senses then. Just put Director Park’s name on it and step back.”
He gave specific instructions and outlined what Hee-jung was to do going forward.
“What about Min Jung-shik? Has he sided with Director Choi?”
“It’s unclear whether he’s sided or is being courted. Since someone recently quit from the Planning & Coordination Division, I’ll look into it and report back.”
“Forget it. He’s not on the same side. Doctors benefit from sticking with Director Choi, but Min doesn’t. Why would he need anything when he’s coming into the Medical Rights Association next year?”
Hee-jung’s suggestion to look into it was immediately dismissed.
“Hmm, but leaving it as is doesn’t look good either.”
The Chairman stroked his chin, muttering to himself. The Vice President waited quietly for him to finish speaking, still keeping her eyes downcast and her mouth firmly closed.
“Change the reporting structure for the Planning & Coordination Division. The director reports to the Vice President, then to me—cut out the Hospital Director. I’ll oversee it directly.”
“You mean Direct Reporting?”
“That’s right.”
Normally, the Planning & Coordination Director would report through the Hospital Director to the board, but this would make him report directly, bypassing the intermediate step.
It was a method to isolate the Hospital Director by creating distance operationally.
If he told the Hospital Director, it would be a breach of confidentiality; if he reported late to the board, he’d be marked as uncooperative.
Kim Jae-gyeong would inevitably drift away from the Hospital Director and grow closer to the board.
“Understood. I’ll handle it as you’ve directed.”
The Vice President jotted notes in the notebook she’d brought. The Chairman disliked her using her phone, so she still had to carry a pen.
– Planning & Coordination Director, Direct Reporting
She abbreviated what the Chairman had said into key phrases, and in a place without the person involved, Kim Jae-gyeong’s status was decided.
‘Director Kim’s going to have a rough time for a while. Well, not my concern.’
Then, twirling her pen, the Vice President studied the Chairman’s expression.
The moment their eyes met, she smiled awkwardly and asked what she’d been genuinely curious about.
“So… is Min Jung-shik joining the Medical Rights Association next year?”
The Medical Rights Association. For her, who couldn’t become Hospital Director even if she died and came back to life, another impossibility had been added.
Until now it had been manageable because they operated the Medical Rights Association with few members, but the growth of the Medical Rights Association at Korean University Hospital was bad news for her.
Completely excluded from where important decisions were made, she felt isolated.
“Unless something unexpected happens, that’s how it will be. Vice President, you’re not feeling slighted, are you? It’s for physicians’ rights, so what can you do.”
“How could I possibly feel slighted.”
But at the Chairman’s words, the Vice President wore a thick mask and smiled naturally. In the way he wanted.
“Right, that’s how it should be.”
An indescribable emotion weighed on her.
* * *
After the Vice President left, the Chairman fell into deep thought.
‘Nothing’s fundamentally changed. The Vice President isn’t in collusion with the Hospital Director. She must have taken the military hospital matter on her own initiative.’
The Chairman’s assessment of the Vice President was simple. If she were the type to betray easily, he would have shipped her off to America long ago.
If she were the stubborn type without reason, he wouldn’t have kept her around at all.
But the Chairman felt bitter. Even though the Vice President had stepped up personally, Director Choi had managed to make things work out smoothly this time too.
The newspapers, news reports, and Korean University Hospital’s external materials were becoming increasingly plastered with Choi Beom-jun’s name, while Han Myung-jae faded to the background.
The feeling was unpleasant. It would be better to break his wings before he became too much of a threat.
The Chairman picked up one of the books the Vice President had organized.
– A Hospital Physicians Choose, Not Patients
He opened to the author’s biography on the page right after the cover. Inside were the author’s name and a brief biography.
– Kim Mu-hyung
Current: Head of Management Planning, Eunseong Hospital
Current: Secretary General, Eunseong Healthcare Foundation
Former: Consultant, Korean AI Healthcare Information Center
Former: CEO, Coconut Healthcare
‘What’s this fellow been up to these days.’
He was the representative of Eunseong Hospital, who had presided at the last Medical Rights Association meeting.
Eunseong Hospital, established by the global conglomerate Eunseong, had gleaming facilities but wasn’t generating much profit. It hadn’t been open long, and it lacked skilled physicians.
He had been actively involved in the Medical Rights Association, requesting that hospitals dispatch doctors to him. If that wasn’t possible, he’d asked for training at least.
Of course, no hospital here had agreed. No fool would help a competitor grow, and skilled personnel were always in short supply anyway.
If he contacted Kim Mu-hyung, the Medical Rights Association would become known, but that didn’t matter.
“It might be good to open up the members’ identities at this point.”
He could change the rules anytime it stopped being favorable to him—that was how being in the position to set the game worked.
“If the Hospital Director suffers a bit on the outside, he’ll realize how precious home is. Ha-ha, kuh-ha-ha.”
The Chairman’s mouth twisted into a grotesque smile.
His pupils clouded over, their boundaries blurred, and thin veins bulged prominently across the wrinkled backs of his hands.
“Ha-ha-ha, kuh-ha-ha.”
Starving with hunger, he began to devour his own flesh.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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