Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 243

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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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243. There’s nothing quite as terrifying as hearing a politician say they’re disappointed.

Waking a bit later on Sunday, Seok-won stepped into the Garden wearing a gray cashmere cardigan, a mug of coffee cradled in one hand.

“The weather’s really warming up now.”

With the Awakening of Insects having passed—that time when hibernating frogs stir from their slumber—spring felt imminent as flower buds began dotting the previously bare branches.
Sipping coffee in the sunlight, Seok-won leisurely surveyed the Garden with its fresh verdant grass when something caught his eye, and he paused.
One of Tricolor Cat’s kittens, the youngest one now called Mackerel Tabby, had fully settled in and become practically a house cat—she crouched low with her belly pressed to the ground, intently focused on a single spot.

“What on earth is she doing?”

Following her gaze, I spotted a sparrow perched on a pine branch some distance away.
The sparrow chirped obliviously, while the cat below tracked her every movement.

“Don’t tell me she’s trying to hunt that sparrow?”

Seok-won murmured, somewhat surprised.
The youngest had grown considerably larger than her mother Tricolor Cat and possessed such a voracious appetite that she’d become rather—no, quite—plump, making it questionable whether she could catch an agile sparrow.

‘Can she even climb up to the branch in the first place?’

Watching intently with bated breath, the youngest crept closer, her hindquarters twitching as she prepared to pounce.

“Meow!”

And the moment the youngest leaped valiantly into the air—

Flap flap flap!
Chirp chirp!

The sparrow taunted her with a flutter of wings and soared skyward.
As the youngest stared forlornly at the empty branch, having lost her prey in an instant, Seok-won finally burst into laughter.

“Ugh, I knew it would turn out like this.”
“Meow.”

Seok-won gently stroked the youngest’s head with his fingertips as it crouched before the pine tree, soothing the sulking creature.

“Your hunting skills are so pathetic—looks like you’ll have to live off the food we give you for the rest of your life.”
“Meow.”
“Right? Even you know our home cooking is delicious, don’t you? Look at that glossy coat from eating so well.”

Watching the creature sprawl flat on the ground as if asking for more petting, Seok-won chuckled softly.

“What are you doing over there?”

At the deep voice from behind, I turned to see my older brother Park Jin-hyung, president of Daeheung Textiles, walking down the stone-paved path through the center of the Garden in his coat.

“Brother, you’re here?”
“Yeah. Is Father inside?”
“Yes, he is.”

Today wasn’t the monthly gathering where the entire family dined together, but I’d come to the Park Family Residence after Father’s summons.
I had originally planned to go to Tae-reung for clay pigeon shooting, a hobby I’d recently taken up, but I’d canceled my schedule and stayed home after being told to remain here today—so our situations were identical.

“Then let’s go in together.”
“All right.”

I released the youngest, whom I’d thoroughly petted, into the Garden and walked with Park Jin-hyung toward the main residence’s entrance.

After the two brothers enjoyed a delicious lunch of thick steamed sea bream that Jo Deok-rye had personally prepared, they immediately followed Park Tae-hong into the Study Room.
With Park Tae-hong in the center on the plush leather sofa, Seok-won and Park Jin-hyung sat facing each other.
Once the Gunsan Housekeeper brought tea and closed the door behind her, Park Tae-hong habitually drew out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and lit it.
Then, looking at his two sons seated on either side, he spoke in a weighty voice.

“You probably have a rough idea why I called you here today.”
“Isn’t it because of the 15th general election next month?”
“That’s right.”

Park Jin-hyung answered with a composed expression, and he nodded slightly.

“With only about a month left until the election, we need to provide election funds before it’s too late. What do you two think?”

Then Park Jin-hyung spoke immediately, as if he’d been waiting for this.

“There’s no need to overthink this. Channeling slush funds to the Democratic Justice Party is the most advantageous move.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because the tide has already turned decisively in their favor.”

As Park Jin-hyung spoke with unwavering confidence, Chairman Park Tae-hong crossed his arms and gestured for him to continue.

“Even if the opposition parties unite their efforts for the election, defeating the ruling Democratic Justice Party won’t be easy. With the opposition fractured into two camps, we don’t need to open the ballot boxes to predict the outcome, do we?”

Hearing this logical argument, Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded slightly in agreement, then turned his head to look at Seok-won seated on the opposite side.

“What do you think?”
“I also believe the Democratic Justice Party will win by a landslide, just as my brother said.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”

Seok-won spoke calmly as he watched Chairman Park Tae-hong holding a cigarette.

“When Kim Jae-chun, a heavyweight in the opposition, broke away and founded the New Era National Council, the Democratic Peace Party was left as little more than an empty shell. But the bigger problem is that this caused opposition candidates to proliferate.”

With knowledge of the general election results from his memories before regression, Seok-won continued speaking with confidence.

“Looking at just the Seoul Metropolitan Area, which will decide the fate of the general election, opposition candidates from both the Democratic Peace Party and the New Era National Council are running simultaneously in almost every district. This naturally means opposition votes will be split.”
“….”
“When that happens, in districts with strong opposition leanings, the two opposition parties will compete against each other, increasing the likelihood of Democratic Justice Party candidates winning. Conversely, in areas where the ruling party is already strong, the Democratic Justice Party will gain an even greater advantage.”

Park Jin-hyung leaned forward, solidifying his position even more firmly.

“If the Democratic Justice Party takes the Seoul Metropolitan Area as Seok-won suggests, given the clear regional divide, they could easily secure a majority or more.”
“The fisherman’s gain… If it truly unfolds this way, the Blue House, which has been demoralized by the local election defeat, will revive, and concerns about premature lame-duck status will vanish.”
“Moreover, with a general election victory as the foundation, the likelihood of successfully retaining power in next year’s presidential election will also increase significantly.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded in agreement with his eldest son’s assessment, his expression turning quite serious.

“If the opposition remains fragmented and scattered as it is now, it will be difficult to seize power this time either.”

Both men predicted that the Democratic Justice Party, as the ruling party, would sweep both the general election and the presidential election.
Yet despite the favorable circumstances, Seok-won knew from his memories of the future that the ruling Democratic Justice Party would ultimately collapse from within due to mounting crises both internally and externally, and failure to capitalize on this opportunity. However, he kept this knowledge to himself and remained quietly silent.

‘From the moment the International Monetary Fund foreign exchange crisis unfolds, the presidential election defeat is essentially already decided.’

No matter how much the regional political divide had revived, the people would never cast their votes for a regime that had plunged the Republic of Korea into the worst national crisis imaginable—the IMF.
Park Tae-hong stubbed out a cigarette that had burned down to almost nothing against the crystal ashtray on the table as he spoke.

“Then there’s no need to give money to the opposition. This time, we should concentrate our campaign funds on the ruling party.”
“If we’re thinking ahead to after the presidential election, it would be wise to commit early and secure our position firmly.”

Park Jin-hyung gave a small nod of agreement to Park Tae-hong’s words.
Judging the outcome to be completely decided, and seeing Park Tae-hong preparing to pour money into the ruling Democratic Justice Party, Seok-won quickly stepped in to apply the brakes.

“I have a different opinion.”
“What?”

Park Tae-hong narrowed his brows slightly as he looked at his second son.

“What are you talking about? You said the Democratic Justice Party would win the election.”

As Park Jin-hyung also regarded him with a puzzled gaze, Seok-won chose his words carefully.

“There’s a saying that excess leads to ruin. It’s true the current situation favors the ruling party, but there’s still over a year until the presidential election. Who knows what might happen in that time?”

Seok-won murmured to himself as he contemplated the events that lay ahead.

‘At this point, not a single Korean citizen could have imagined the worst national crisis imaginable—the IMF—was about to strike.’

In fact, before the IMF foreign exchange crisis erupted, most people didn’t even know the word IMF existed.
Of course, afterward, it would become a word that no Korean could ever forget—a shameful and deeply painful one.

“That may be true, but…”

Park Jin-hyung replied with a reluctant expression.

“The outcome is obvious to anyone. Why waste money on something pointless?”
“Even if the ruling party wins the general election, the opposition will still secure at least dozens of seats. That means they’ll wield considerable power.”
“But the ruling party still holds the government. What can the opposition really do?”

Seeing Park Jin-hyung dismiss the matter lightly, Seok-won continued with a serious expression.

“As I’ve mentioned before, just because you’re in the opposition doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever. True, there hasn’t been a change in power for decades since the military regime, but I believe the ruling and opposition parties could swap positions at any time.”
“….”
“Look at the recent local elections—the ruling party suffered a crushing defeat, yet the atmosphere completely reversed within a year. So who’s to say the winds won’t shift again next year?”

Since his words held merit, Park Jin-hyung couldn’t refute them and merely furrowed his brow.
Seok-won turned his head to look at Park Tae-hong, who sat in the center, and pressed his case once more.

“If you’d never given anything in the first place, that would be one thing. But once you’ve been generous and then stop, people resent you far more. Since you’ve already provided election funds before, the opposition is certainly expecting it again. If you pretend not to know, they’ll definitely harbor resentment.”

At this, Park Tae-hong wrinkled the bridge of his nose slightly and muttered with evident displeasure.

“True enough. There’s nothing quite as frightening as a politician feeling slighted.”

Having witnessed multiple instances during the brutal military regime when a single misstep before the Blue House could reduce even the largest conglomerate to dust, Park Tae-hong’s expression grew even more rigid.

“On the other hand, help received during the most difficult times leaves the deepest impression.”
“So you’re saying I should distribute election funds evenly to both ruling and opposition parties this time?”
“Yes.”

At this, Park Jin-hyung interjected with a troubled expression.

“Seok-won, your logic has merit, but we have a fixed amount of slush funds prepared. If we try to cover all three opposition parties, the amount going to the ruling party shrinks, which could actually make us look worse.”

There were three opposition parties vying for power: the Democratic Peace Party, the New Era National Council, and the New Democratic Alliance led by Oh Seung-gwon, a conservative faction that had split from the Democratic Justice Party due to internal power struggles.

“The Democratic Peace Party’s influence is declining, and this election could very well be its last as a viable party. So we don’t need to worry about them—we just need to support the New Era National Council and the New Democratic Alliance.”
“Even so, it’s still a burden.”
“I understand the Midopa Department Store Gangnam Branch construction has tightened cash flow, but we still need to think long-term and make this investment.”

The conversation between Park Jin-hyung, still fraught with worry, and Seok-won, who knew the future, remained at an impasse.
Since both had their own valid reasons, neither could easily reach a conclusion.
Park Tae-hong leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin with one hand as he deliberated at length before finally making his decision.

“Seok-won’s right—there’s no point leaving things awkward and unresolved. Especially with politicians who hold grudges, there’s nothing to gain by damaging relations over a mere sum of money. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Park Tae-hong’s gaze turned toward his eldest son.
Park Jin-hyung then responded with a slightly softened demeanor.

“The difficulty lies in generating clean money without complications. I believe it’s best to maintain cordial relations with politicians whenever possible.”
“Very well. As it happens, when Midopa Department Store transferred its stake in Daeheung Venture Capital to my second son, we received funds from the transaction. If we set aside a portion and launder it properly, we should have no trouble assembling the necessary amount.”

Park Tae-hong picked up the teacup before him, only to set it back down upon discovering it had grown cold.

“Let’s distribute the campaign funds evenly between the ruling and opposition parties, as my second son suggested.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, sir.”

Seok-won, having successfully prevented the squandering of funds by concentrating all campaign contributions on the ruling party, exhaled a quiet sigh of relief.
Neither man realized that today’s decision would become the decisive turning point that would drive the Daeheung Group to tremendous growth beneath the harsh constraints of the International Monetary Fund regime.

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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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