Coverage of the Dubo Steel affair didn't stay confined to the business pages.

If anything, after Dubo Steel went insolvent and the Dubo Group's dissolution was decided, articles about the Dubo affair poured out of the political pages more than the business ones.

[President's Second Son, Aides to Be Summoned]

[Full Reinvestigation Ordered Into Dubo Group Affair]

[President Raises Son's Matter at Ruling-Party Leadership Election]

[Public Apology Expected Soon]

It had come to light that the sitting president's second son had exerted influence in the course of Dubo Group taking out loans exceeding 5 trillion.

Corruption implicating the family of a sitting president — a son, no less — was the first such case since the founding of the Republic of Korea, and people bitterly condemned the president. They argued that supporting the Dubo Group with mobilized tax money was something that must not happen.

With the Dubo Group chairman and the president's second son's aides taken into custody, a rumor spread far and wide that the second son would soon be arrested too.

In the end, the president himself stood before the people. He delivered a ten-odd-minute address and bowed his head in apology before the nation. On the principle that all are equal under the law, he promised there would be no privilege for being the president's son. And to minimize the chaos, he promised a swift and fair prosecutorial investigation.

Reassured that the president wasn't seen shielding his son, people turned their gaze to Ilhyeon Group. They were curious what choice Ilhyeon Group — which had gone in to secure a stake by investing the huge sum of 300 billion in Dubo Steel — would make to protect that 300 billion.

And to that public gaze, Tak-hyeon handed down an answer.

"Sang-jong, you step back from the company for a while."

At that, Sang-jong shot to his feet and shouted, "Step back from the company? What do you mean by that!"

"What do I mean by what! I mean take responsibility for this affair and step down from the presidency of Ilhyeon Construction — is that so…