Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 250

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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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250. You know how it is. I’ve made quite a bit of money.

Mapo Daeheung Group Headquarters.
In the late afternoon, the expansive lobby with its artificial marble flooring had become an unexpected hive of activity, with well over forty journalists milling about.
They had all rushed here after receiving word that Daeheung Group was holding an emergency press conference.
As public relations staff bustled about directing the arriving journalists toward the first-floor auditorium, they exchanged greetings with familiar faces or gathered in small clusters for idle conversation.
A journalist with his necktie loosened casually, notebook in hand, spotted a familiar face while wandering about and decided to acknowledge the acquaintance.

“Senior Go, you came too?”

Go Dae-hong, a reporter for Hansung Daily News, looked up and replied with a flat tone.

“Not just me—can’t you see they’ve summoned practically every major news outlet?”
“Right. What could this be about all of a sudden?”
“How would I know? And even if I did, why would I share an exclusive scoop with you?”

Ju Chi-do, a reporter for World Economic News, approached Go Dae-hong with a slow smile.

“Come on, don’t be like that. Let’s share what we know. We’re colleagues—we have to make a living together.”
“Colleagues? You’re the type who’d swallow an exclusive whole if you got the chance.”
“Ah, come on. You’re still holding a grudge about the Sechang Bio deal from last time?”
“How could I forget? Do you know how much grief my editor gave me over that?”
“I know, I know. I’ll buy you a round of soju after this is over. Let’s call it even.”

Go Dae-hong let out a scoff and held up a finger.

“Two rounds. Then I’ll forgive you.”
“Fine, fine. But seriously, you haven’t heard anything?”

Surrounded entirely by journalists, their voices naturally dropped to a whisper.

“Nothing. The other guys don’t seem to know anything either.”

Go Dae-hong shrugged, indicating he’d already probed everyone.

“Then what could it be… Seeing as they’ve called in every economics reporter, it’s definitely not something ordinary.”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”

At that moment, a public relations staff member shouted loudly toward the reporters.

“We’ll begin the press conference in five minutes, so please head inside!”
“Yeah, looks like it’s starting.”
“Let’s go quickly.”

With that, Go Dae-hong, Ju Chi-do, and the other reporters murmured among themselves as they filed into the auditorium.
Once the reporters had settled into their seats, the side door of the auditorium opened, and Park Jin-hyung, the stern-faced president of Daeheung Textiles, entered alongside Oh In-hwan, the Chief Secretary.
After receiving a brief whispered message from the public relations staff, he positioned his aide, Chief Secretary Oh In-hwan, to the side and stepped forward alone to the podium.
As Park Jin-hyung looked ahead, he took in the sight of more than forty journalists from various media outlets gathered before him.
Dozens of cameras with tripods set up in the front row fixed their lenses on Park Jin-hyung, and as the shutters clicked loudly, bright flashes began to burst forth.

“Ah. Ah.”

Once the shutter sounds subsided, the public relations director standing at the moderator’s seat on the left lightly tapped the microphone with his fingertip, then brought it to his lips and spoke.

“Thank you all for attending despite your busy schedules. Now, on behalf of the Daeheung Group, we will hold an emergency press conference with Park Jin-hyung, president of Daeheung Textiles.”

Park Jin-hyung gazed at the gathered reporters for a moment, then drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly before speaking with measured gravity.

“The reason we’ve hastily assembled you today is because there is a matter concerning our group that we must inform the public about.”

As the auditorium fell silent, the reporters quickly pulled out their notebooks or switched on their recorders, frantically documenting his remarks.

“Recently, we discovered that someone has been secretly accumulating large quantities of stock in Midopa Department Store, one of our key subsidiaries. After investigating, we learned that a hostile takeover bid targeting our group is currently underway.”

“!”

In an instant, the entire hall was engulfed in shock as if a bomb had detonated.
While everyone had vaguely sensed something significant might be announced at this sudden press conference, no one had anticipated it would be a hostile takeover.
Within the domestic market, it had become an unspoken rule among conglomerates not to launch hostile takeovers targeting management control.

“A hostile takeover?!”
“Midopa Department Store? Who on earth is attacking?”
“Could it be Lotte?”
“It could also be Utopia, which has been rapidly expanding its operations recently.”

The journalists who had gathered at the press conference—some having come at the behest of a Daeheung Group public relations staff member they knew, others with modest expectations set by their desk editors—snapped to attention the moment the words “hostile takeover” left the speaker’s lips.
All thoughts of wrapping up early and heading out for a drink on the company’s dime evaporated from their minds in an instant.
The journalists, who had been slouching moments before, instinctively sensed a major scoop; their eyes gleamed with renewed intensity, and cameras that had fallen silent suddenly erupted in a cacophony of flashing strobes and mechanical shutters from every direction.
The barrage of photographs was blinding, yet Park Jin-hyung remained unmoved, standing rigid as he continued his statement.

“They employed the scheme of posing as foreign investors to accumulate shares in bulk. But we were able to uncover the despicable truth—that the orchestrator behind this conspiracy is none other than Donghae Group.”

At the revelation that the hostile takeover was being orchestrated not by Lotte or Utopia—their rivals in the department store wars—but by Donghae Group, the journalists erupted in fresh commotion.

“Donghae Group?”
“This is completely unexpected.”
“A clash between Donghae and Daeheung Group. That’s tomorrow’s front-page headline right there.”

As the journalists scribbled furiously with their pens, Park Jin-hyung raised his voice with steely resolve.

“We strongly condemn Donghae Group’s contemptible attempt to seize management rights from a domestic enterprise by enlisting foreign powers. We hereby formally demand that Donghae Group cease its assault on Midopa Department Store immediately. Should they persist in their aggression, we will marshal every resource at our disposal and fight them to the bitter end to protect our company. I declare this commitment here and now.”

As Park Jin-hyung concluded his forceful declaration of resolve to defend management control, the journalists surged to their feet, bombarding him with questions.

“When did Donghae Group begin this hostile takeover attempt?”
“Please tell us which foreign power has allied with Donghae Group!”
“How specifically do you plan to respond?”
“Are you certain the opponent is Donghae Group?”

Park Jin-hyung offered no answers to the barrage of questions. He merely bowed slightly, then turned and walked down from the podium.

“Wait!”
“President Park Jin-hyung!”

As journalists rushed forward, desperate not to miss the scoop, public relations staff and security guards quickly moved to block their path.
The auditorium descended into chaos—like a hornet’s nest that had been poked—and the public relations manager moderating the event wiped cold sweat from his brow as he gripped the microphone.

“Everyone, please! We’ll be distributing press kits with detailed information. Please refer to those and maintain order!”

At that moment, two public relations staff members emerged carrying stacks of printed press releases in both hands.
Spotting the materials, the journalists descended upon them like a pack finding fresh prey, abandoning their pursuit of Park Jin-hyung, who had already slipped out through a side exit.

“Here, we have enough for everyone. Please take them in an orderly fashion!”

The moderator kept insisting that supplies were sufficient, but it made no difference whatsoever.
Journalists with their eyes fixed on the scoop swarmed in like a plague of locusts, and amid the chaos, scuffles broke out here and there.

“Move! I was here first!”
“What’s going on here!”
“Stop pushing me!”

As the pandemonium unfolded, Park Jin-hyung and Chief Secretary Oh In-hwan emerged from the conference room and encountered Seok-won waiting in the corridor.

“You did well.”
“Journalists… phew.”

Park Jin-hyung exhaled a small sigh and pulled a cigarette from his inner jacket pocket, placing it between his lips.
Chief Secretary Oh In-hwan quickly flicked his lighter and lit it for him.
After drawing in a long drag of white smoke and exhaling it slowly, Park Jin-hyung spoke.

“We’ve dropped a bomb, so when the stock market opens tomorrow, all hell will break loose.”

Seok-won, hands casually tucked in his trouser pockets, replied composedly.

“That’s exactly what we want.”
“Right… Now a real war is about to begin. Are you confident you can pull it off?”

Chairman Park Tae-hong hastily convened the company’s executives for an emergency strategy meeting and declared an emergency management system to prevent a hostile takeover.
He delegated full authority to his second son, Seok-won, and tasked him with leading the upcoming competition with Donghae Group to secure shares.
There were some objections to this decision.
While Seok-won’s financial acumen was undeniable, concerns arose that he was too young to be entrusted with such a critical mission upon which the group’s fate depended.
However, when Chairman Park Tae-hong slammed the conference table with his palm and shouted, asking what everyone else had been doing while Seok-won was uncovering Donghae Group’s sinister plot, they all fell silent.
Moreover, when Park Jin-hyung, the eldest son who could have felt slighted at being passed over in favor of his younger brother, came forward to actively support Seok-won, no one dared say another word.

“Honestly, I’m not confident.”
“What?”

Seok-won raised one corner of his mouth and looked at Park Jin-hyung, who had faltered.

“No matter how I think about it, I’m not confident we’ll lose.”
“You startled me.”
“Ha ha.”

Seok-won displayed confident composure as he regarded his relieved older brother.

“I’m not joking—I’m serious. Soon enough, those Donghae Group bastards will realize they picked the wrong opponent. Just trust me and watch.”
“I hope to God that’s how it turns out.”

Park Jin-hyung let out a soft chuckle, then spoke gravely with a cigarette wedged between his fingers.

“I’ll mobilize every available liquid asset and transfer it to you as quickly as possible.”
“You said we have roughly one hundred billion in immediately accessible cash, right?”

Park Jin-hyung nodded heavily.

“That’s right. As you know, we poured all our capital into the Gangnam Branch construction, so our liquid reserves are stretched thin.”
“I figured as much.”
“I’m also considering securing bank loans against idle real estate and issuing convertible bonds as a backup. Don’t worry—just focus on securing those shares.”

Given the Daeheung Group’s cash flow crisis from the Sampoong Department Store Site acquisition and Gangnam Branch construction, the only way to raise capital for share purchases was through debt.
Accumulating such massive debt on the eve of the International Monetary Fund crisis might sustain them temporarily, but ultimately it was tantamount to walking willingly into the flames.
Seok-won, acutely aware of this reality, smiled enigmatically before his brother, who was steeling his resolve.

“I’ll cover the remaining shortfall myself. Don’t execute the bank loans or convertible bond issuance—just keep them prepared as contingencies.”
“You’d need at least hundreds of billions. You’re saying you’ll cover all of that?”
“You know me. I’ve made quite a bit of money.”
“What?”

Park Jin-hyung tilted his head, recalling how his younger brother had recently gifted their father a private jet.

‘He said he won a massive American lottery jackpot and then multiplied his fortune through investments.’

Even so, for Seok-won to offer what was likely nearly his entire wealth without hesitation for the group’s sake—that took tremendous resolve.
Of course, this was merely Park Jin-hyung’s misunderstanding, born from his ignorance of Seok-won’s true wealth.

“As your older brother, I’m ashamed to ask, but I’m counting on you for this.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re brothers—this is when we help each other. Besides, an attack on the Daeheung Group is an attack on our family. I can’t just stand by.”
“You’re right. That’s exactly it.”

Seok-won’s eyes glinted with cold intensity as his lips curved into a smile.

“I’ll make sure to show them exactly what we’re made of. Just watch.”

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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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