Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 264

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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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264. Damn these bastards—how dare they lay a hand on what’s mine!

Crash!

Woo Yong-gap slammed his palm down hard on the conference table before him, his voice erupting with fury.

“Midopa Department Store transferred all of its Daheung Textile shares to the venture capital firm? What kind of nonsense is this!”

The executives hastily summoned to the spacious Executive Conference Room cowered in their seats, holding their breath lest they become targets of his wrath as his voice reverberated through the room.
Jeon Hae-cheol, the Chief Secretary seated to his left, observed Woo Yong-gap’s face flushed crimson with rage and spoke.

“Excessive agitation is harmful to your blood pressure. Please calm yourself.”

Jeon Hae-cheol’s expression was noticeably more impassive than usual, and his tone carried a distinctly businesslike quality—but Woo Yong-gap, preoccupied with other matters, failed to notice.

“Calm down? I’ve poured hundreds of billions into this bet, and now it’s falling apart!”

Woo Yong-gap’s voice rose even higher, veins straining in his neck.
In the past, Jeon Hae-cheol would have repeatedly urged restraint, fearing his blood pressure might spike dangerously enough to cause collapse. But now, having already succumbed to disappointment and contempt, the Chief Secretary simply fell silent.
Woo Yong-gap breathed heavily through gritted teeth, then turned his head sharply toward Woo Ho-geun seated to his right, glaring at him savagely as he raised his voice again.

“You said to trust you and leave it to you—how exactly did you handle this!”

Woo Ho-geun, who had rushed back after learning the news and assessing the situation, was no longer the confident figure he had been that morning. His face was now rigid as he responded.

“We’ve taken an unexpected blow, but that doesn’t mean the situation has fundamentally changed.”
“Without the textile shares, swallowing the entire Daheung Group becomes impossible. And you’re spouting such carefree nonsense now!”

Woo Yong-gap’s eyes blazed as he spoke.

“Do you realize I’ve poured hundreds of billions into acquiring just one department store!”

Despite the harsh reproach, Woo Ho-geun met Woo Yong-gap’s furious gaze without flinching.

“It is indeed my oversight that I failed to anticipate the possibility of transferring the textile shares to another subsidiary.”
“Hmph. So you do understand.”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap snorted derisively, his response cutting and cold.

“However, we’ve already filed for a preliminary injunction against share transfers, so we should be able to block the textile shares from moving to Daehung Venture Capital.”

At that, Chairman Woo Yong-gap turned his gaze toward Jung Chan-won, the Legal Director sitting at one end of the conference table.

“Can we actually stop it like he says?”

Jung Chan-won, the Legal Director and former prosecutor, adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses and answered in a measured tone.

“As I mentioned to Director Woo, if we can convince the court that company assets were improperly sold for the group owner’s personal interests, obtaining a prohibition order is indeed possible.”

At that, Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s brow furrowed immediately.

“That’s saying it’s possible, not that it’s certain!”

In the past, Woo Ho-geun would have averted his eyes, unable to meet such a piercing gaze directly. But having grown somewhat during his time in Hong Kong, he lifted his head without flinching before the cutting stare.

“Anyone with even a modicum of sense can see that Midopa Department Store suddenly selling off textile shares is for the purpose of defending group control. And even if the prohibition order doesn’t come through, it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“What we need is time.”
“…!”

Watching Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s narrowed brow, Woo Ho-geun confidently laid out the rest of his countermeasure.

“While the preliminary injunction keeps the share sale blocked, we call an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting as quickly as possible. If we replace Midopa’s management at that meeting and simultaneously nullify the share sale decision, we can easily neutralize their scheme.”

Impressed by the plausible plan, Chairman Woo Yong-gap turned to look at Jung Chan-won and asked.

“Is that actually possible?”
“Theoretically it is, but the issue is how quickly we can convene the extraordinary meeting and pass the agenda as desired.”

Then Woo Ho-geun spoke with confident assurance.

“Combined with the shares we’ve accumulated so far and the additional stock acquired through today’s completed public tender offer, we hold over 35% of Midopa. So if we immediately demand the convening of an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and acquire just 5% more stock in the meantime, we can easily reverse the situation.”

After hearing the explanation, Chairman Woo Yong-gap pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips, whereupon Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol immediately lit his lighter and held the flame to it.

“Exhale.”

I drew in the white cigarette smoke and exhaled it slowly, turning over my son’s words in my mind with measured calm.
Then, with the cigarette wedged between my fingers, I turned my head and fixed my gaze on Lee Kyung-hyung, the Financial Director seated beside Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol, and posed a question.

“What do you think?”

Lee Kyung-hyung cast a sidelong glance at Woo Ho-geun across from him and opened his mouth.

“If we’re not abandoning this M&A, I believe following Executive Director Woo’s opinion is the best course of action.”

I surveyed the other executives gathered in the conference room and asked again.

“Does everyone agree?”

The executives quickly exchanged glances and promptly voiced their support for Woo Ho-geun’s proposal.

“Yes.”
“That seems like the best choice.”
“I believe that’s the only way to prevent the textile shares from transferring.”

I rubbed my temple with my other hand and murmured.

“I see.”

Upon reflection, I too concluded that this was the best course of action available to us now.
Then I suddenly noticed that Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol was unusually quiet and taciturn today, so I turned to look at him.
He sat motionless with an expressionless face, as if he had drawn an invisible line and stepped back from it.
Struck by this unfamiliar feeling, I narrowed my eyes and called out to him.

“Chief Secretary Jeon. You seem rather quiet today.”

Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol responded with a composed tone.

“Since Executive Director Woo has already presented the best approach, I had nothing further to add.”
“I see.”

I regarded him intently for a moment, then straightened my head.
Then, stubbing out the half-smoked cigarette in the crystal ashtray on the table, I made my decision.

“Good. We’ve already poured too much money into this to back down now without a fight. If they make one last desperate move, we’ll push harder and cut off their oxygen completely!”
“Understood.”

Woo Ho-geun nodded vigorously.
At that moment, Lee Kyung-hyung, the Finance Director, carefully broached a subject while gauging Woo Yong-gap’s reaction.

“However, there’s one unusual movement we’ve detected.”

Woo Ho-geun, immediately grasping what he was about to say, furrowed his brow, while Chairman Woo Yong-gap leaned back and looked over at him.

“Tell me what it is.”

Finance Director Lee Kyung-hyung cast another cautious glance at Woo Ho-geun with slightly anxious eyes before speaking.

“Starting this morning, strong buying pressure has been coming in, and Donghae Oil’s stock price has surged over 12% today, climbing to 33,520 won.”

The moment Chairman Woo Yong-gap heard this, his eyebrows shot up.
The stock price, which had been hovering in the late 20,000s, had suddenly broken past 30,000—it was unavoidable that he’d react this way.
Moreover, Donghae Oil, as the number one player in the edible oil market and serving as the group’s cash cow, occupied a central position in the control structure, making the situation all the more alarming.

“Are you telling me someone is accumulating Donghae Oil shares!”

To his urgent question, Finance Director Lee Kyung-hyung averted his gaze as he answered.

“We’re currently investigating, but given that large-scale purchases continue without pause, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Why are you only telling me this now!”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap scowled and bellowed in irritation.
Finance Director Lee Kyung-hyung then offered an awkward explanation.

“Under normal circumstances, I would have caught this immediately. But by sheer coincidence, today is the deadline for the public tender offer, and with the sudden announcement of the textile stake sale, my attention was diverted elsewhere, causing me to miss the warning signs.”
“And you’re calling that an explanation!”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap rebuked him with an irritated expression, but Finance Director Lee Kyung-hyung was well aware that he had made a grave mistake and could not raise his head.
Then, suddenly, Chairman Woo Yong-gap turned his head sharply, fixing Woo Ho-geun with a piercing gaze.

“Did you know about this too?”
“…Yes.”

Woo Yong-gap, his face flushed with anger, glared and shouted.

“And you didn’t say anything about this?!”
“It’s obvious that Daheung Group is resorting to a diversionary tactic—attacking Donghae Oil to scatter attention since their equity struggle is becoming difficult. However, unlike them, we control nearly 40% of shares when combined with our allied forces, so there’s no point in wasting money unnecessarily.”

Woo Ho-geun countered with an unwavering tone.
After a moment of consideration, Woo Yong-gap judged that the argument was sound and calmed his agitation somewhat.

“Still, we can’t just sit idle while the opposition attacks Donghae Oil. Take countermeasures.”
“Yes, I will do so.”

This would reduce the funds available for accumulating Midopa Department Store shares, but Woo Ho-geun himself found it distasteful that Daheung Group would acquire Donghae Oil shares, so he accepted it without protest.

“Damn it. I thought we could topple them easily, but as they say, even rotten fish have their uses—they’re not as easy as I expected.”

Woo Yong-gap leaned back in his chair with a frown.
Just then, Oh Sang-hyun knocked and entered the room.

“I apologize for interrupting the meeting, but I have urgent news to report.”

The moment Jeon Hae-cheol saw his urgent expression, the events that had occurred in the Chairman’s Office today flashed through his mind like déjà vu.
The same ominous chill ran down his spine.
Under the gaze of everyone in the conference room, Oh Sang-hyun approached Woo Ho-geun and whispered something in his ear while handing him a note.
As Woo Ho-geun unfolded the note, his eyes widened dramatically and his expression filled with shock.
Seeing this, Woo Yong-gap sensed that something serious had occurred and asked.

“What is it?”

But Woo Ho-geun bit his lower lip firmly and could not answer easily.
Growing more serious, Woo Yong-gap pressed his son impatiently.

“Speak up! What are you doing?”

Jeon Hae-cheol and the other executives also looked at Woo Ho-geun with curious expressions.
Woo Ho-geun reluctantly opened his mouth and conveyed the news he had just heard.

“Just as the market closed, Daheung Group filed a new disclosure.”

At those words, Woo Yong-gap’s face hardened.

“Another announcement?”
“Yes, sir.”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap straightened his posture and asked again.

“What’s the content?”

Woo Ho-geun hesitated for a moment before reluctantly answering.

“…They announced that they’ve acquired an 18% stake in Donghae Oil and will continue purchasing additional shares.”
“…!”
“And they explicitly stated the reason for the stock purchases as…securing management rights.”

The conference room erupted in chaos.

“How is this even possible!”
“This can’t be happening.”
“Is that even allowed?”

Everyone was gripped by shock, unable to believe what they were hearing.
Among the bewildered executives, Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s face flushed crimson as he slammed his fist hard against the table in front of him.

“18% of the shares? How in the world is that possible!”

Woo Ho-geun responded with a rigid expression.

“It appears they used the same method we employed—disguising themselves as foreign investors and quietly accumulating shares all this time.”
“Damn it!”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap bellowed, his neck straining with fury.

“While I was focused on Midopa Department Store, my own house was being robbed! How dare these bastards lay a finger on what’s mine!”

As Chairman Woo Yong-gap raged wildly, he suddenly grabbed the back of his neck with one hand.

“Ugh!”

Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol and the executives who witnessed this jumped up in alarm, pushing their chairs back.

“Are you all right, Chairman!”
“Good heavens! Call an ambulance, quickly!”

As everyone rushed about in confusion and crowded around Chairman Woo Yong-gap, Woo Ho-geun—who had believed the battle already won—could not suppress his irritation and fury at the sudden reversal of fortune, grinding his teeth audibly.

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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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