The boardroom at Lee Chung International was tense on a Monday morning in early January, with twelve directors seated around the table debating the company's future while its founder recovered in a hospital and its heir faced murder charges.

Chairman Kim, the most senior board member, called the emergency meeting to order. "We're facing an existential crisis; Lee Chung is incapacitated indefinitely, Chui is under arrest, and our competitors are exploiting our leadership vacuum ...