Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 122

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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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122. I’m thinking about trimming the excess fat from the group. What do you two think?

Mapo Daeheung Group Headquarters.
Beyond the expansive windows, the cityscape spread out in breathtaking panorama as Park Tae-hong sat before his broad mahogany desk.
At sixty-five years old, Park Tae-hong bore the unmistakable marks of time upon his face, yet his broad shoulders and chest still radiated the unshakeable fortitude of a mountain.
Leaning back against the plush chair, I held the newspaper in both hands, reading slowly until one article captured my complete attention.

[Barings Bank in Crisis!
Barings Bank, boasting over 230 years of history and known as the Queen’s Bank, now faces bankruptcy due to reckless investment activities by a derivatives trading specialist.
The employee claimed to be purchasing futures index products according to client orders while deceiving the company, secretly investing in Nikkei futures and Japanese government bonds. The losses revealed so far amount to a staggering 1.12 billion dollars.
This sum exceeds three times the bank’s total assets, marking it as the worst financial disaster in British history.
Barings Bank urgently requested a bailout from the Bank of England, but it was rejected, and bankruptcy now appears inevitable.
Meanwhile, the employee responsible fled Singapore and disappeared. An arrest warrant has been issued, and Interpol reports that Singapore and Malaysia police are conducting joint investigations to apprehend the culprit.
In these circumstances….]

“Remarkable. A single employee has destroyed a bank with 230 years of tradition in an instant. Absolutely astounding.”

As Park Tae-hong shook his head at the absurd incident, Jung Yun-kyung, a secretary from the secretarial office, knocked and entered.

“Chairman. President Park Jin-hyung and Director Gil Seong-ho have arrived.”
“Show them in.”

Park Tae-hong lowered the newspaper he had been reading.
Jung Yun-kyung left, and shortly after, my eldest son Park Jin-hyung and Gil Seong-ho entered the Chairman’s Office together.
Rising to my feet, I gestured toward the reception seating area.

“Please sit there.”
“Yes.”

Once the two men were seated facing each other on the sofa, I came around the desk and naturally took the seat of honor in the center.

“What would you like to drink?”

At Jung Yun-kyung’s question, I looked at the two men and asked.

“I’ll have coffee. What about you two?”
“I’ll have the same, sir.”

At Park Jin-hyung’s response, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho glanced toward Jung Yun-kyung, who stood to one side, and spoke.

“Three coffees, please.”
“Understood.”

Once Jung Yun-kyung closed the door and left, Park Jin-hyung opened his mouth.

“Haven’t you been abstaining from coffee while taking that medicinal tonic?”
“I’m sick to death of hearing about that tonic. I finished it all yesterday, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho cast a worried glance at Park Tae-hong, whose expression had turned sullen.

“Still, drinking coffee again so soon might not be good for you, sir.”
“If the tonic’s effects are so weak that a little coffee ruins them, then they stuffed it with bellflower root instead of ginseng.”

Park Tae-hong, who normally drank five or six cups a day, had abstained from coffee for two weeks—no small feat—so both men fell silent without another word.
Just then, Jung Yun-kyung entered carrying a tray and set teacups before each of the three men in turn, then left again.
Park Tae-hong immediately picked up his cup, took a sip of coffee, and let out a satisfied sound as if he’d come back to life.

“Ah, that’s sweet and good. Coffee really does make the mind work properly, doesn’t it?”

Had Jo Deok-rye witnessed this scene, she would certainly have launched into a lengthy scolding, but for Park Tae-hong, freed from his medicinal tonic ordeal, this moment felt like paradise.
Setting down his cup, Park Tae-hong leaned back in his chair and spoke to the two men.

“By the way, did you see the article about Barings Bank in today’s newspaper?”
“The one saying bankruptcy is imminent, sir?”
“That’s the one.”

Park Tae-hong gave a small nod at Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho’s words.

“We actually did business with them back when we were exporting cotton thread to Europe.”
“That was quite some time ago, yet you remember it, sir.”

Park Tae-hong’s expression grew slightly stern as he recalled those old days.

“They were so meticulous and arrogant back then—I still can’t believe it. A bank that carried itself so high and mighty now faces bankruptcy. It’s the perfect example of how fortune and misfortune are unpredictable in life.”

Gil Seong-ho, the Chief Secretary who had struggled alongside Park Tae-hong to break into European export markets back then, nodded with a complex expression on his face.

“Indeed, sir.”
“What do you think will happen next?”
“You mean Barings Bank, sir?”
“Yes.”

Gil Seong-ho spoke carefully, sharing his thoughts.

“It appears they will enter bankruptcy proceedings within days.”

Park Jin-hyung, seated across from him, offered a different perspective.

“Given that it carries the epithet of ‘the Queen’s Bank’ and is such a venerable institution in Britain, I question whether they would allow it to close so easily.”

Park Tae-hong shared his eldest son’s view.

“As President Park says, it carries symbolic weight, and allowing a bank to collapse would have enormous ripple effects. The British government won’t simply let it fail.”
“As both of you suggest, if the bank were to collapse, numerous problems would arise, so the British government would face considerable difficulties. In fact, though it was very long ago, Barings Bank did receive a bailout when it faced hardship.”

Gil Seong-ho glanced at Park Tae-hong’s expression from his seat and continued.

“However, the situation now is entirely different from then.”
“How is it different?”

Park Tae-hong, arms crossed, regarded Gil Seong-ho with keen interest.

“At that time, Barings Bank was so large it rivaled the Rothschild family in scale, so if bankruptcy weren’t prevented even at the cost of taxpayer money, the entire London financial sector faced collapse.”
“In other words, it was too big to fail.”
“Precisely.”

The concept of being too big to fail typically applied to large enterprises or industries whose disappearance would cause cascading damage to the national economy, necessitating their rescue before collapse.

“Unlike then, Barings Bank’s current standing is merely that of a small, minor institution.”

Park Jin-hyung, grasping the implication, spoke with a low murmur.

“In other words, it’s now a bank not worth saving with massive taxpayer funds.”
“Correct.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded heavily and spoke.

“In the past, we survived thanks to the logic of the great not falling, but this time, ironically, a small bank with little influence fails without receiving any help. Truly ironic.”
“It appears that the Daekwang Group, which had no connection whatsoever, also caught some fallout from this incident.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong looked at Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho with a puzzled expression.

“Why the Daekwang Group?”
“They were planning to list Daekwang Corporation, the foundation of the group, on the London Stock Exchange through the American Depositary Receipt method. But the Barings Bank crisis caused the atmosphere to cool dramatically, and the plan fell through.”

When a specific company seeks to issue stock on an overseas exchange rather than an existing domestic stock market to attract foreign capital,
there is a method of depositing a certain quantity of stock and issuing a substitute certificate that functions identically to the original—this is called a Depositary Receipt, or DR.

“Now that you mention it, I also recall hearing that the Daekwang Group was planning to issue a 70-million-dollar DR in Britain to raise funds.”
“With the original plan falling through, they are now preparing to issue convertible bonds of the same amount instead.”
“Though they could eventually convert to stock, the bond nature is stronger, so the Daekwang Group must be quite disappointed.”

Then, Chairman Park Tae-hong suddenly recalled a conversation he’d had with his second son, Seok-won, a few days earlier.

‘Courage without proper timing and opportunity is merely recklessness.’
‘The abundant liquidity will drain away like a receding tide all at once, and money will dry up in an instant.’

At first, he had thought his second son’s concerns were excessive.
But as he slowly reflected on the later conversations, problems he had overlooked or consciously dismissed began to come into focus one by one.
When he considered whether the Daeheung Group could truly endure if the very situation his second son had warned about actually arrived, Chairman Park Tae-hong felt a sudden vertigo.
So after deliberating for several days, he had made a certain decision and called his closest aide, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, and his eldest son today.
Chairman Park Tae-hong extended one hand and opened the wooden box lid resting on the table.
He took out a cigarette from inside and placed it between his lips, whereupon Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho quickly produced a lighter from his inner pocket and lit it.
Chairman Park Tae-hong drew the cigarette smoke in deeply, then exhaled slowly as he asked.

“You said that Lotte and Utopia have both confirmed their bids for the upcoming Sampoong Department Store Site auction?”
“Yes. I understand they have already formed separate teams and begun auction preparations.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong made a displeased expression and clicked his tongue.

“It would have been easier for everyone if they had simply sat this one out. But greedy men never do.”

The two companies were aggressively pursuing the department store business, which could be called the Daeheung Group’s rice bowl, so it was natural that Chairman Park Tae-hong’s feelings were not favorable.
As if to calm the visibly displeased Chairman Park Tae-hong, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho spoke in measured tones.

“We’ve secured a commitment from our primary bank for acquisition financing, and we’re preparing our bid thoroughly, so we won’t let the Sampoong Department Store Site slip away so easily.”
“Of course not. No matter what happens, we must acquire it.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong raised his thick eyebrows, displaying unwavering resolve.

“In the end, it will come down to money, so mobilize every available financial resource before the bidding.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, hearing this, grew concerned that the group was overextending itself given the precarious financial situation.
Yet the Sampoong Department Store Site was a critical battleground that would profoundly influence the future direction of the group’s dominance in the department store business—something worth pursuing with all their might.
Knowing this well, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho offered no objection and simply followed Chairman Park Tae-hong’s directive.

“Yes, understood.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong tapped ash from his cigarette into the crystal ashtray on the table, then spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.

“And I’m thinking of using this opportunity to streamline our subsidiaries—the ones that are just dead weight without results—to trim the fat from the group. What do you two think?”

The sudden topic caught both President Park Jin-hyung and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho off guard, their expressions visibly startled.

“Are you considering a restructuring?”

When President Park Jin-hyung asked with a hardened expression, Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded while holding the cigarette between his lips.

“Yes.”

Gauging Chairman Park Tae-hong’s mood, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho asked carefully.

“What prompted this thinking?”

President Park Jin-hyung also looked at his father, Chairman Park Tae-hong, with curiosity in his eyes.
Chairman Park Tae-hong exhaled a long sigh, cigarette held between his fingers, his expression growing somber as he answered.

“I’ve worked hard to diversify our business structure, which has been excessively concentrated in department stores and textiles. But honestly, I can’t deny that the results have been disappointing.”
“….”

Since it was Chairman Park Tae-hong himself who had spearheaded the diversification efforts, both men sat in silence at what felt like him exposing his own shortcomings, their eyes darting about uncertainly.

“If we’ve poured money into this for years without results, there’s no reason to expect different outcomes going forward.”
“Still, if we wait a bit longer, we might yet see positive results, might we not?”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho spoke in a consoling tone, but I shook my head.

“If that were the case, something would have turned up by now. If we keep them out of sentiment, we’ll only waste more money.”

It was undeniable that the group’s financial situation was strained due to the chronic deficits plaguing our subsidiary companies.
Above all, my resolve appeared so firm that Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho refrained from dissuading me further.
President Park Jin-hyung said nothing, but after his earlier conversation with Seok-won, he had come to believe that streamlining the underperforming subsidiaries was necessary in some form, and his silence affirmed this.
I pointed at my eldest son with the hand holding my cigarette and spoke.

“Since this is the group you’ll be leading going forward, work with Director Gil to draw up a list of subsidiaries to be restructured.”
“You’re asking me to do this?”
“Yes. Why? Do you lack confidence?”

President Park Jin-hyung, who hadn’t expected such an important task to be entrusted to him, momentarily concealed his surprise, and his eyes soon gleamed with determination.

“No, sir.”

As he straightened his posture with renewed composure, I nodded in approval.

“Good. This will be about drawing the blueprint for the group’s future direction, so proceed with careful deliberation.”
“Yes. I won’t let you down.”
“Of course you won’t.”

Though my tone was blunt, it carried my complete trust in my eldest son.

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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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