Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 146

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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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146. Do you really think a world like that will come?

“You mentioned a restructuring plan for the subsidiaries?”
“Yes.”

Park Tae-hong nodded slightly and spoke in a measured tone.

“I’m thinking of weeding out and liquidating the underperforming subsidiaries that continue to operate at a loss despite our ongoing investments.”
“Why did you suddenly decide on this?”
“Wasn’t it you who said there are far too many underperforming subsidiaries that fail to deliver proper results and only burden the group?”
“Well, that’s true, but….”

Though I had offered urgent advice to weather the impending IMF crisis, I hadn’t expected him to make such a bold decision. Seok-won felt genuinely taken aback.

‘Moreover, Father himself expanded the subsidiaries for business diversification, so it must have been even harder for him to make this decision. This is truly unexpected.’

Liquidating the underperforming subsidiaries was essentially tantamount to Park Tae-hong admitting that his business diversification strategy had failed.
As I glanced cautiously at him, Park Tae-hong spoke calmly without any change in expression.

“After turning over what you said in my mind, I realized I’ve been stubbornly holding onto companies that should have been liquidated long ago, driven by my own greed and obstinacy.”

Seok-won quickly spoke up in response to his self-deprecating remark.

“The attempt at business diversification wasn’t necessarily a wrong judgment. In fact, looking at how the group’s business structure is overly concentrated in textiles and department stores, no one could deny the necessity of venturing into new businesses for the group’s sustained growth.”

Park Tae-hong then smiled wryly and spoke.

“The judgment may not have been wrong, but the result is a deficit, so it’s a failure.”

Seok-won fell silent, unable to offer any response.

“Even if I made an error in judgment, it’s not too late if I acknowledge it now and correct course, is it?”

Many people refused to acknowledge failure and persisted in their stubbornness and arrogance, ultimately inviting their own destruction. Park Tae-hong’s decision was truly wise and courageous.

“Let’s set aside the heavy talk. I’m thinking of keeping textiles and distribution—our cash cows—as the two pillars and trimming the excess fat. Take a look and tell me what you think.”

As he spoke, Park Tae-hong made a show of complimenting me.

“I don’t know about other things, but you do have a decent eye for business.”
“More than decent—I’d say quite exceptional.”

Watching my son flash a confident smirk and raise one corner of his mouth, Park Tae-hong clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

“Did you already forget what I said about being humble just a moment ago?”

Of course, even as he said this, Park Tae-hong didn’t deny that Seok-won had good instincts.
Though he seemed to be growing increasingly cunning, his abilities were undeniable—there was no getting around that.
Seok-won picked up the folder before him and opened it, carefully reading through the contents line by line.
Watching him, Park Tae-hong lifted his teacup and slowly sipped his warm coffee, waiting until he had reviewed the entire proposal.
Time passed in this manner for a while.
As Seok-won closed the folder and looked up, Park Tae-hong asked him a question.

“What do you think?”

Seok-won couldn’t hide his surprise as he looked at Park Tae-hong.

“According to this plan, we’d be selling off or liquidating over half of our 23 subsidiaries—15 of them in total. You’re really planning to go through with this?”
“If we’re committed to restructuring, then we need to cut away the rotten branches that are nothing but dead weight. Not just 15, but more if necessary.”
“If we do this, the group’s external size will shrink considerably as the number of subsidiaries decreases. We might even drop in the business rankings.”

Business rankings were something like pride itself to group chairmen.
Sure enough, Park Tae-hong’s eyes wavered slightly, but he spoke with resolve.

“A company with solid fundamentals is far better than one that’s all glitter on the outside with nothing within.”

Seeing that Park Tae-hong had made up his mind firmly about improving the company’s constitution, Seok-won nodded inwardly and wore an encouraging expression.

“You’re absolutely right. No matter how high we rank in the business world, if we’re rotting from the inside, we’re nothing but a sandcastle that could collapse at any moment.”
“Exactly.”

Seok-won examined the folder once more carefully before speaking.

“I’m not sure who drafted this, but it’s a remarkably well-thought-out proposal.”
“Your brother would be pleased to hear that.”

Seok-won’s eyes widened as he countered.

“You created this plan, hyung?”
“That’s right.”
“I thought it was quite a bold proposal, and it turns out I was right.”

If Gil Seong-ho or another executive had been entrusted with this task, it would have been difficult to devise such a radical plan even after cutting half the subsidiaries.

‘Looking at this, it seems he didn’t just brush aside what I said last time.’

I felt somewhat relieved that both Chairman Park Tae-hong and my older brother, President Park Jin-hyung, had become aware of the growing deficit in the Group’s financial situation.

‘It will be difficult to navigate the fierce waves of the IMF crisis without problems with this alone, but at least we’ll have some preparation.’

Simply making an effort to reduce debt rather than increase it further was significant progress.
Seok-won cleared his thoughts and spoke.

“Everything looks good, but there’s one subsidiary that would be a shame to dispose of as is.”
“What’s that?”
“The Daehung Line.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong furrowed his brow and looked at his second son.

“The Daehung Line—isn’t that the company that handles intra-group logistics and transportation?”
“That’s correct.”
“You’re saying we shouldn’t sell it?”
“Yes.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong tilted his head, clearly perplexed.

“It’s not a particularly important company—it just handles home delivery volumes from department stores and corporate mail-order business. What exactly makes you think it would be a waste to liquidate it?”

Seok-won leaned forward in his seat and explained his reasoning earnestly.

“All consumer goods must go through logistics activities—transportation, storage, processing, unloading, and packaging—from producer to consumer until final delivery. If you think of it in human terms, logistics is like the bloodstream that keeps all the organs functioning smoothly.”

Seok-won continued speaking as he watched Chairman Park Tae-hong listen quietly with his arms crossed.

“Even now, the Daehung Line handles all logistics not just for the department store but throughout the entire Park Group, serving as a lubricant that keeps all the subsidiaries running in harmony.”
“That may be true, but most of the revenue comes from internal transactions. Surely you see the limitations? While we’re not operating at a loss, we’re hardly making substantial profits either. Considering the effort and costs involved, it’s actually a net negative. So rather than keeping it as a subsidiary, it would be far more profitable to sell it off and outsource distribution operations to external companies.”
“I respectfully disagree.”

Seok-won spoke calmly, observing Park Tae-hong’s furrowed brow.

“In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that lies ahead, consumers will increasingly purchase products not just from physical stores but through online channels powered by the internet.”

Since the internet wasn’t yet commonplace, Park Tae-hong’s unfamiliar expression deepened the wrinkles on his forehead.

“Online? What’s that?”
“Simply put, it means being connected to the internet. Just as you can make phone calls to people far away using telephone lines, computers connected to this vast network called the internet are said to be in an online state. Conversely, the real world not connected to the internet is called offline.”

Despite Seok-won’s earnest explanation, Park Tae-hong still appeared not to fully grasp it.
Seeing his face full of question marks, I felt like a digital education instructor.
Seok-won swallowed his bewilderment internally and explained in greater detail.

“Once the internet becomes active, an online shopping market will naturally emerge where people use computers to purchase products and services, and it will grow explosively. It’s a world where you don’t have to leave your home to find what you want, compare options, and make purchases.”
“….”
“When that happens, parcel delivery services that bring online purchases to people’s doorsteps will become truly important and generate tremendous added value.”

Park Tae-hong, who had barely grasped the concept, responded with a skeptical expression.

“Online shopping, you say. Do you really believe such a world will come?”
“Yes. And it won’t be some distant future—it will become part of everyday life in the very near term.”

Seok-won nodded with conviction.
Park Tae-hong, however, remained doubtful whether it would truly happen.
From his perspective, unfamiliar with the future, talk of online and such seemed like grasping at clouds.
Hence his internal sentiment: what even is that?
Moreover, not everything in the world unfolds according to predictions.
Yet knowing that Seok-won possessed excellent business acumen, a seed of possibility took root in a corner of his mind.

‘If the second son is truly right, then disposing of the Daehung Line would be like selling a swan for the price of a duckling.’

Should that occur, it would be an action he’d regret bitterly later.
Having considered this far, Park Tae-hong made his decision.

“I’m not sure if a day will come when we venture into online shopping or something similar, but since the Park Group needs logistics for consumer goods anyway, I’ll do as you suggest. Besides, even if it won’t generate massive profits, it’s not a company operating at a loss, so leaving it as is shouldn’t cause any major problems.”
“A wise decision, sir.”

Seok-won smiled faintly as he spoke.

“You’ll come to regard this decision as the right call in the days to come.”
“I certainly hope so.”

Park Tae-hong replied with indifference, then naturally shifted the conversation.

“The profits from stock investments are still sitting in the account as cash, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I need to withdraw some of it.”
“If you wish, I can transfer it tomorrow itself.”

At that, Park Tae-hong glanced at his second son with a look of surprise.

“Isn’t it normal to at least try to dissuade someone when they’re withdrawing a large sum?”
“It’s your money—I have no right to stop you from withdrawing it.”

Seok-won shrugged with an unmoved expression.

“And you must have a specific purpose for the withdrawal, don’t you?”
“That’s not wrong, but there’s something oddly unsatisfying about your response.”

He had expected at least a hint of reluctance, but the complete lack of reaction left him feeling disappointed.

“Even if you withdraw funds, the remaining capital is more than sufficient to continue operations without any issues.”

At that, Park Tae-hong’s expression hardened.
In fact, thanks to the investments in O-Gwang Industries and Cheonho Steel that had yielded returns exceeding tenfold, even after deducting Seok-won’s bonuses and management fees, the Private Fund had swelled to hundreds of billions.
Though called a Private Fund, there were only two investors: Park Tae-hong and Seok-won.
Of course, since the capital had been brought in through shell accounts created abroad, neither Go Young-il, the president of Daehung Securities, nor Park Tae-hong himself knew this money belonged to him.
Because of this, Seok-won felt no regret whatsoever about Park Tae-hong withdrawing the funds he had entrusted.
Rather, he had invested without great expectations, yet the returns had been astonishing—multiplying the money enormously—so it was Park Tae-hong who felt reluctant about withdrawing from such gains.
But as Seok-won had said, since there was indeed a specific use for it, Park Tae-hong could only smack his lips regretfully.

“Tomorrow, Gil Seong-ho will provide you with the department store corporation’s account details. Transfer the funds there.”

Seok-won, having guessed where the money was intended, asked immediately.

“Are you planning to use it as acquisition funds for the Sampoong Department Store Site?”
“Yes. I’ve already secured a promise from our primary bank for a secured loan, but if we’re not to be outbid by Lotte and Utopia in the auction, we need to have plenty of ammunition ready, don’t we?”
“That would certainly be the safer approach.”

The best option would have been not to participate in the bidding at all, but given Chairman Park Tae-hong’s unwavering resolve, that was out of the question.
In that case, to secure our future position, the optimal strategy was to minimize the loan and win the bid.

‘And if we weren’t participating at all, that would be different. But now that we’ve entered the bidding, we absolutely must secure the winning bid.’

If we could just weather the IMF crisis, the Sampoong Department Store Site—a prime piece of real estate in the heart of Gangnam—would be a guaranteed profit as long as we held it.

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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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