Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 180

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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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180. I will make sure to tell the Chairman about the help you provided this time.

A few days later, Seoul Jongno.
A black sedan with its headlights on slowly made its way from Insadong toward the Nakwon Shopping Complex before coming to a stop in front of a large traditional tile-roofed house surrounded by a high wall.
When the aide who had gotten out of the passenger seat opened the rear door, a man who appeared to be in his fifties emerged.
It was none other than Representative Woo Chun-il, a close associate of former Democratic Peace Party Chairman Kim Jae-chun and a senior member of the Donggyo-dong Faction.
As he gazed for a moment at the large wooden gate with its tiled roof, beneath which hung a prominent plaque reading “Ojin-am”.
The gate creaked open on its hinges, swinging wide on both sides as a middle-aged manager emerged with two staff members and bowed respectfully.

“Welcome, Representative.”

Since ancient times, the term “kisaeng politics” had existed—a practice where high-ranking officials, politicians, and entrepreneurs frequently held clandestine meetings in private rooms to discuss matters of national importance.
Ojin-am itself was famous for being the site where, in 1972, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency met with North Korea’s second-in-command to discuss the historic July 4 Joint South-North Statement.
Naturally, Representative Woo Chun-il, a senior member of the Donggyo-dong Faction who had long been at the center of politics, frequently visited what were known as the three premier establishments of their kind.
Having seen the manager of Ojin-am who had come to greet him several times before, Representative Woo Chun-il accepted the greeting with a smile.

“How have you been?”
“Well, your guest is waiting in the annex. Please follow me.”

Representative Woo Chun-il followed the manager who led the way, stepping through the gate with confident strides.
Crossing the garden where a centuries-old parasol tree stood with its lush branches on full display, Representative Woo Chun-il headed toward the annex, passing through the sliding door the manager opened for him before entering a spacious room.
A young man who had been waiting there rose to his feet to greet Representative Woo Chun-il.

“Thank you for coming despite your busy schedule with legislative duties.”

The young man who spoke with such courtesy was none other than Seok-won.
Representative Woo Chun-il, whose hair was streaked with gray and whose thick eyebrows made a striking impression, observed Seok-won quietly for a moment before extending one hand.

“I’m Woo Chun-il.”

Seok-won grasped his hand and shook it with a respectful yet confident demeanor that carried no hint of servility.

“Park Seok-won.”

Observing this, Representative Woo Chun-il inwardly assessed him as a man of considerable resolve and gestured toward a seat.

“Let’s sit down for now.”
“Of course.”

The two men faced each other across a spacious low dining table, settling onto the cushions laid across the floor.

“Shall I bring out the dishes?”
“Yes, do.”

The Manager knelt on one knee and asked, to which Woo Chun-il responded promptly.
Turning my head to the side to look, I gave a small nod as well.

“I’ll have everything prepared right away.”

With that, the Manager rose and stepped outside.
Shortly after, two Female Servers dressed in elegant traditional hanbok entered, arranged several appetizers on the table, and sat beside us to fill our glasses.
Both Female Servers were in their early twenties—not only young but strikingly beautiful, rivaling any television actress.

“Come now, let’s have a drink.”

Woo Chun-il raised his glass and extended it forward.

“Of course.”

I responded in kind, lightly clinked glasses with him, and drained my cup in one go.
Then, picking up a pristine white ceramic decanter, I spoke with a warm smile.

“Allow me to pour for you.”
“Ha, much obliged.”

As I filled Woo Chun-il’s empty glass, he took a sip and set it down.

“Park, do have a drink as well.”

Receiving the decanter, Woo Chun-il poured into my glass, which I held out with both hands.

“I hear the second son of Daheung Group is remarkably intelligent and handsome—that all the society ladies in financial and political circles are eyeing him as a potential son-in-law. Now that I see him in person, the rumors seem to have actually understated the matter.”
“You’re too kind to say so.”

I replied with humble grace.

“I heard you’re currently receiving management training at Daehung Securities.”
“That’s correct.”
“With two such dependable sons, Chairman Park must feel quite reassured.”

I smiled faintly without speaking.
At that moment, there came a knock, and the sliding doors opened to both sides as male servers in white shirts and bow ties brought out dishes and placed them one by one on the low dining table.
Over thirty premium dishes—including shinseolo, grilled meat skewers glistening with a golden sheen and succulent juices, barley-dried pollack, and more—were arranged on the table in traditional brass and ceramic vessels, filling it completely.

“I have some matters to discuss privately, so please step out for a moment.”

Woo Chun-il, who had been quietly observing the table setting, spoke softly.

“Yes.”

The female servers refilled the empty wine glasses, then rose and quietly excused themselves.
As the sliding doors closed, Woo Chun-il picked up the wine glass before him, took a sip, set it down, and spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.

“I’ve always communicated with the Daeheung Group through Manager Gil, so I was honestly a bit surprised when you suddenly reached out.”
“I can understand that.”

Woo Chun-il fixed his gaze directly upon me.

“What’s the matter you wanted to discuss?”

Rather than dragging out a lengthy preamble and engaging in a battle of wits, he asked directly.

“First, my request to meet today has nothing to do with my father or the group.”

Hearing this, Woo Chun-il’s thick brows furrowed.
He had naturally assumed I was here to relay a message from Chairman Park Tae-hong, so this unexpected answer warranted his reaction.
Woo Chun-il’s expression shifted slightly, showing a hint of displeasure as he asked.

“Then why did you want to meet with me?”

I straightened my posture and spoke with utmost seriousness.

“I understand you’ve been quite busy with party foundation preparations lately.”
“….”

After failing twice in his bid for the presidency, former Chairman Kim Jae-chun had retired from politics and departed for Britain. Now, he suddenly declared his return, cut short his studies abroad, and came back to Korea, causing a major upheaval in the domestic political landscape.
Everyone naturally assumed he would return to his original party, the Democratic Peace Party, but former Chairman Kim Jae-chun shattered those expectations by announcing the founding of a new party, shocking people once again.

“There’s lingering resentment from the last local elections, and Congressman Choi Yong-chan, who currently holds party leadership, won’t be particularly welcoming of former Chairman Kim Jae-chun’s return. Rather than creating discord within the same fence, it would be better to step out and start fresh from the beginning.”

When former Chairman Kim Jae-chun reversed his retirement and declared his political comeback, Chairman Choi Yong-chan, who was already locked in a power struggle with the mainstream Donggyo-dong Faction within the party, grew anxious.
Perhaps because of this, he made a bold move by nominating his people en masse for the nationwide simultaneous local elections held in June, even at the cost of a major clash with the Donggyo-dong Faction.

‘Had the results been good, I could have solidified my grip on party leadership, but ultimately it became the worst possible move.’

While most of the candidates backed by former Chairman Kim Jae-chun were elected, the candidates nominated by Chairman Choi Yong-chan were overwhelmingly defeated.
As a result, not only was Chairman Choi Yong-chan’s leadership severely damaged, but his relationship with the Donggyo-dong Faction deteriorated beyond repair.
The consequence was the founding of a new party, and with the party name “New Era National Council” already publicly announced, everyone in the know treated the defection of former Chairman Kim Jae-chun and the Donggyo-dong Faction as a foregone conclusion.
However, separate from all that, when Seok-won suddenly brought up the topic of a new party, a glint of caution appeared in Congressman Woo Chun-il’s eyes.
Seok-won smiled composedly and gently slid the bag he had placed beside him toward Congressman Woo Chun-il.

“If you’re going to establish a new party, it seems you’ll need many things. Though modest, I’ve prepared something for you.”
“…!”

Congressman Woo Chun-il’s eyes widened as he retrieved the bag, unlocked it, and examined its contents.
The bag was filled with bundles of ten-thousand-won bills alongside stacks of anonymous bearer certificates worth ten million won each.

“This is.”

As Congressman Woo Chun-il looked up, Seok-won spoke softly with a smile on his face.

“Five billion won. It’s not much, but I hope it helps with what you’re doing.”
“You’re giving us this money right now?”
“Yes.”

Congressman Woo Chun-il, his eyes narrowing with suspicion, closed the bag again and asked.

“Five billion won is no small sum. What do you want in return?”
“Nothing at all.”

At that, Congressman Woo Chun-il’s brow furrowed.

“You’re asking me to believe that right now, looking at you?”
“Whether you believe it or not, that’s the truth.”

Seok-won met the gaze of Representative Woo Chun-il, who was looking at him with suspicion, and spoke.

“If you truly wanted something, wouldn’t it be more certain to hand over a bag of money to the ruling party rather than the New Era National Council?”

At that, Representative Woo Chun-il nodded with a bitter expression.

“Well, that’s true enough.”

Even if all the Democratic Peace Party members who had agreed to align with the Donggyo-dong Faction moved to the new party, they would only amount to around 53 or 54 seats.
They could push out the existing Democratic Peace Party and seize the position of the largest opposition party in one stroke, but compared to the ruling party with more than half the National Assembly seats, they would still be at a significant disadvantage.
In short, it meant there wasn’t much to gain by taking sides.
Rather, if they appeared close to the opposition, they would easily face disadvantages by being marked by the Blue House and the ruling party.
Moreover, since not a single change of government had occurred in the decades since military rule ended, businessmen had no choice but to avoid opposition politicians.

‘If there hadn’t been the IMF crisis, which was called the greatest national crisis since the Korean War, former Chairman Kim Jae-chun probably wouldn’t have been easily elected president.’

As a result, opposition parties including the New Era National Council were always bound to have tight finances.

‘People are always most grateful to those who help them when times are difficult.’

Representative Woo Chun-il, unaware of Seok-won’s true thoughts, gazed at him silently for a moment before opening his mouth with a subdued voice.

“Is it really true that Chairman Park didn’t give the order, and Director Park brought the money on his own initiative?”
“That’s correct.”
“We would certainly be grateful if you help us like this, but you could end up suffering disadvantages. Are you sure about this?”
“If I had been afraid of such things, I wouldn’t have asked to meet with you in the first place.”

Seok-won continued speaking with a composed demeanor.

“And I believe that for proper state governance, the opposition must play its role properly. That’s why I’m trying to help in this way.”

With words that both upheld the other’s pride and provided a legitimate justification for receiving political funds, Representative Woo Chun-il’s expression softened.

‘When the IMF crisis hits, a change of government is as certain as seeing fire. Betting on former Chairman Kim Jae-chun is the right move.’

For Seok-won, who could see clearly all the future events that would unfold, this was only natural.
By establishing such strong relationships in advance, he would be able to gain considerable benefits from the massive restructuring of the business sector and the big deals led by the Blue House as the nation overcame the IMF crisis.

‘Even if it’s not special treatment, there’s something I’ve received. At minimum, they won’t cause me harm.’

Considering how TG Group had painstakingly nurtured its semiconductor business only to be forced to surrender it, merely avoiding the blade of brutal restructuring and major deals was no small advantage.

“We had so many expenses ahead of the party’s founding anyway, so thanks to you, Director Park, we can finally catch our breath.”
“I’m glad I could be of help.”

Woo Chun-il spoke with a smile spreading across his face.

“It’s reassuring to see young talent like you, Director Park. The future of our Korea looks bright. I’ll make sure to tell the Chairman about the assistance you’ve provided.”

Having heard the answer he wanted, Seok-won’s lips curved upward.

“Come, let’s have another drink.”

As Woo Chun-il extended his glass with evident pleasure, Seok-won raised his own and clinked it gently against his.

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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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