Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 232

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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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232. If things really go according to plan….

A heavy silence settled over the Study Room as Woo Yong-gap lit a cigarette, his face hardening as he remained quiet with the door closed.
Then, looking at his son who had brought this unexpected bombshell, he finally spoke in a subdued voice.

“So you’re saying we should acquire Midopa Department Store through a hostile takeover?”

Woo Ho-geun leaned forward and answered.

“Yes. As shown in the governance structure diagram attached to the proposal, the Daheung Group owner family’s stake in Midopa Department Store is merely 19.6%.”
“….”
“While it’s natural for an owner’s shareholding ratio to decrease as a company grows significantly, this is an exceptionally low figure.”

It was common in Korea for conglomerate families to control massive groups with minimal stakes through circular ownership structures.
But even so, as Woo Ho-geun pointed out, the Daheung Group owner family’s stake in Midopa Department Store was unusually low.

“Moreover, considering that Midopa Department Store is the group’s primary cash-generating channel and a core affiliate in the circular ownership structure, the stake is dangerously low.”
“Even if their direct holdings are small, wouldn’t the ratio increase when you combine affiliated companies and friendly stakes?”

Woo Ho-geun, meeting his gaze, answered confidently without hesitation.

“Even adding everything together, it doesn’t reach 30%.”
“You’re certain it’s really that low?”

Woo Yong-gap’s eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.

“Yes. I was shocked myself when I investigated and discovered how loose the governance structure is. Your skepticism is understandable.”
“Hmm….”

As Woo Yong-gap exhaled a low murmur while holding a cigarette between his fingers and crossing his arms, Woo Ho-geun continued.

“Since hostile takeovers have never been attempted even once in Korea, it makes sense why they’ve left things this way.”

Woo Yong-gap slowly exhaled the white cigarette smoke he had deeply inhaled and spoke gravely.

“As you say, the fact that such a thing has never happened before exists for a reason.”
“An unspoken agreement among business leaders, sir.”

Woo Yong-gap gave a subtle nod.

“That’s right. There are unspoken principles and order that are observed in the shadows. Break them, and you’ll face ridicule and ostracism from the business community.”

Woo Ho-geun responded calmly, his expression grave.

“That’s true. But if the gains from a hostile takeover are substantial enough to justify all of that, wouldn’t it be worth attempting?”
“What do you mean by that?”

As Woo Yong-gap furrowed his brow in question, Woo Ho-geun’s lips curved into a meaningful smile.

“You’re aware that Midopa Department Store and Daeheung Textiles form the backbone of Daheung Group.”

Woo Ho-geun continued his explanation as Woo Yong-gap nodded slightly.

“With Park Tae-hong at the apex, it’s a pyramid structure where two core subsidiaries—one in distribution and one in textile manufacturing—oversee multiple subsidiary companies below them.”
“Everyone operates that way, so there’s nothing particularly unusual about it.”
“Of course not.”

Even Donghae Group, which Woo Yong-gap himself led, maintained a pyramid control structure centered on its parent company, Donghae Oil.

“However, Daheung Group’s control structure has one fatal weakness.”
“A weakness, you say?”

Woo Yong-gap leaned forward from his chair, suddenly intrigued.

“Yes. Midopa Department Store holds a 32.8% stake in Daeheung Textiles—making it the largest shareholder.”
“…!”
“In other words, acquiring Midopa Department Store would allow you to consume the entire Daheung Group in one fell swoop.”

Confronted with this unexpected revelation, Woo Yong-gap’s eyes widened, and he unconsciously swallowed hard.
Daheung Group was no small enterprise—it was a conglomerate ranked within the top fifty in the business world, so his reaction was understandable.

“If we absorb Daheung Group as planned, we could expand our scale significantly and break into the top thirty of the business rankings.”

Making it onto the list of the top thirty conglomerates meant far more than simply climbing in rankings—it meant becoming one of the major chaebol groups representing the entire business establishment.
Naturally, the treatment changed accordingly. For instance, when the President met with corporate executives or national events were held, invitations typically extended only to the top thirty groups.
Woo Yong-gap harbored his own ambitions of ascending into the upper echelon of the top thirty groups.
Attempting a hostile takeover—something taboo in business circles—would certainly invite torrents of criticism and condemnation, yet the prospect was far too sweet and tempting to simply abandon.
After wrestling with the decision for some time, Woo Yong-gap finally succumbed to temptation, his eyes darkening as he fixed his gaze upon his son and posed a question.

“Specifically, how exactly do you propose to do this?”

Woo Ho-geun responded with a barely concealed smile, laying out his plan.

“It’s quite simple, really. We secure fifty percent plus one share of Midopa Department Store, convene an emergency board meeting to remove the existing management, and seize control.”

For such a confident assertion, the scheme struck Woo Yong-gap as remarkably simplistic, and he furrowed his brow.

“Park isn’t a fool. The moment we begin accumulating shares, he’ll catch on and mount a defense. How do you account for that?”

Woo Ho-geun answered without hesitation, his composure unshaken.

“Of course he will. But if we use Donghae Peregrine Securities as a front to disguise it as foreign investment, and have friendly parties—not ourselves—acquire the shares as proxies, he won’t easily detect it.”

Having already reviewed the plan countless times in his mind, his voice carried absolute conviction.

“By the time he senses something amiss, we’ll have already secured a substantial stake, leaving him helpless to do anything but watch it unfold.”

Woo Yong-gap stubbed out his nearly spent cigarette in the crystal ashtray and spoke.

“I’m not sure such an obvious tactic will fool the Daheung Group.”
“Foreign investors are permitted to acquire up to fifteen percent of domestic companies, and foreign investment is quite active in our stock market. Even if accumulation occurs, they won’t immediately find it suspicious.”
“True enough. Donghae Oil alone already has foreign ownership capped at fifteen percent.”

As Woo Yong-gap nodded, Woo Ho-geun continued in agreement.

“Other groups have foreign shareholding as well, so the Daheung Group won’t harbor serious doubts. We’ll either transfer the accumulated shares before exceeding fifteen percent, or entrust them to someone we can absolutely trust, creating a smokescreen so the other side realizes what’s happening as late as possible.”

With a grave expression, Woo Ho-geun met his father’s gaze as he spoke with absolute certainty.

“Given that no hostile takeover has ever been attempted domestically, even if stock prices rise and shareholding shifts occur, it will take considerable time for them to grasp our intentions.”
“That’s likely true.”

He had never even considered attempting a hostile takeover before hearing his son’s proposal, so he had no choice but to agree.

“While they’re floundering indecisively, we seize control of the company and wrest away management rights. Once we start this, it’s a battle we’re guaranteed to win.”

Woo Ho-geun leaned forward and pressed his case with conviction.

“If we have a feast spread right before our eyes and fail to seize this opportunity, we’ll regret it for years to come.”
“….”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap sat tapping his fingers against the armrest of the sofa, his expression troubled.

“How much capital do you think we’d need to accumulate shares in Midopa Department Store, as you suggest?”
“Being generous with the estimate, roughly 300 billion won should secure us a majority stake.”

At the substantial figure, Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

“To raise all that, we’d have to scrape together every last bit of liquid capital in the group.”

Then Woo Ho-geun lowered his voice and broached the subject delicately.

“There’s no need for that. Don’t we have blind money stored in the safe?”
“Blind money? You’re not talking about the CDs that my in-law left with us, are you?”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s expression hardened at once, and he stared at his son with startled eyes.

“Sarah has already divorced her husband, so he’s no longer our in-law. And with the slush fund scandal, Former President Roh’s side isn’t in a position to demand the CDs back. So it truly is blind money, isn’t it?”
“Don’t get greedy over nothing. Drop it.”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap replied with a reluctant expression.

“No matter how much of a toothless tiger my in-law has become, a beast is still a beast. If he mobilizes the connections he still has embedded in political and government circles, it could become quite troublesome.”
“Then we simply borrow it temporarily and replenish it later.”
“….”
“Former President Roh isn’t leaving the slush fund alone because he’s fond of us. He’s simply unable to touch it because the Prosecution is tearing through everything with their eyes wide open.”

Indeed, when the slush fund scandal erupted, Chairman Woo Yong-gap, who had been an in-law, and Chairman Moon Byung-kwon of ST Group were the first suspects for money laundering and were summoned for investigation by the Prosecution.
During the Prosecution’s investigation, Chairman Woo Yong-gap claimed that as the in-law’s company, they had actually suffered losses rather than received favors, and he insisted until the end that they harbored not a single won of hidden slush funds.
However, contrary to his statement to the Prosecution, he was actually holding slush funds totaling nearly 100 billion won, all in cash and negotiable certificates of deposit, which allowed him to evade the investigation.

“Banks earn interest themselves, so wouldn’t it be reasonable to think of this as borrowing temporarily instead of leaving it with them for free?”

Despite repeated persuasion, Chairman Woo Yong-gap couldn’t bring himself to make a decision, deepening the furrow between his brows as he wrestled with his thoughts.
Former President Noh Ki-hoon was problematic, but what troubled him more was the possibility that the slush fund investigation, which had been concluded with the arrests of merely two former presidents, might resurface because of this.

‘That must never happen.’

Yet to let this slip away—Midopa Department Store, or rather the Daheung Group as a prize—was too tempting to resist.
After deliberation, Chairman Woo Yong-gap steeled his resolve and opened his mouth with a stern expression.

“We’ll need to ensure the money is thoroughly laundered so the Prosecution doesn’t get a whiff of it later.”

At his final approval, Woo Ho-geun broke into a smile, baring his teeth.

“If we disguise it as funds coming from Hong Kong through Donghae Peregrine Securities, which we’re partnering with, no one will ever know. Don’t worry.”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap nodded, impressed that the method to conceal the fund’s origin had already been devised.

“Do you have someone in mind to hold the shares on our behalf?”
“We’re considering Baekje Industrial.”
“That’s a sound idea. When handling something this important, family is the only one you can truly trust.”

Baekje Industrial was a company owned by Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s wife’s family.
So calling it a family company wasn’t much of an exaggeration.

“I’ll assign Chief Secretary Jeon to help you. Try to push this forward with his assistance.”

At the instruction to proceed not alone but with Jeon Hae-cheol, Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s trusted Chief Secretary, Woo Ho-geun hesitated for a moment.
It felt as though a watchdog were being placed over him because he wasn’t trusted, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
But Woo Ho-geun showed no sign of displeasure and bowed his head in acknowledgment.

“Understood.”

After continuing the conversation for some time longer, Woo Ho-geun left the Study Room, and alone once more, Chairman Woo Yong-gap picked up the file folder before him and opened it again.

“To think he’d come up with such an idea—it seems he didn’t waste his time in Hong Kong after all.”

Seeing the troublemaker display unexpectedly useful capabilities, he felt genuinely satisfied.

“If things really go according to plan….”

His eyes gleamed with unbridled avarice at the thought of swallowing the Daheung Group whole.

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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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