Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 269

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

269. Please, let’s do this right. Okay?

Sunday morning.
Despite it being a holiday, Bae Sang-yun, the head of the Prosecution’s First Division, couldn’t rest at home and came into the office.
It was only natural—a major corruption scandal had erupted the day before.
Looking haggard from lack of sleep, Bae Sang-yun set his briefcase on his desk and was immediately summoned upstairs to the director’s office.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, Director Hwang Sang-hyun sat waiting at his desk with his back to the wall where the Taegeuk flag and a portrait of the President hung side by side.
With his face rigid and stern, Director Hwang Sang-hyun didn’t even invite Bae Sang-yun—who bowed respectfully—to sit on the sofa, instead fixing him with a cold stare, arms crossed.
Then he spoke first in an icy voice.

“Director Bae.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I assume you’ve seen the rumors circulating in the Securities District yesterday and the articles about the Securities Supervisory Authority in the evening papers.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“I’ll be direct. Did you ever accept money and suppress an investigation into insider trading allegations against Seonjin Leather without properly conducting it?”

Though he had braced himself, when confronted directly, Bae Sang-yun couldn’t answer immediately and found himself swallowing hard involuntarily.
Director Hwang Sang-hyun, watching him with piercing eyes, caught the movement of his throat and his eyes narrowed.

“Our First Division did investigate Seonjin Leather. However, after examination, while there were minor issues, the situation didn’t warrant prosecution, so we closed the case.”
“Everything you just said—you’re certain of it?”
“Of course.”

Bae Sang-yun attempted to put on the most aggrieved expression possible.
But Director Hwang Sang-hyun, having witnessed his hesitation moments before, immediately saw through his lie.

“Hmm.”

Director Hwang Sang-hyun said nothing and instead lowered one hand, pulling a paper shopping bag from his desk drawer and placing it on top.

“Take it with you.”
“What is this?”

Bae Sang-yun asked cautiously, sensing something amiss as Director Hwang Sang-hyun gestured toward the bag with his chin.
Director Hwang Sang-hyun responded with an expression as cold as frost.

“This is the inauguration gift you gave me last time.”
“Why would you…”

To make a good impression on the newly appointed Director Hwang Sang-hyun, Director Bae Sang-yun had presented him with an expensive solid gold toad figurine weighing ten nyang, symbolizing wealth and prosperity.

“No matter how I think about it, it seems too extravagant to accept as a gift, so I’m returning it. Please take it with you.”
“!”

The golden toad gleamed yellowish under the fluorescent light—a blatant lie, considering how delighted he’d been upon receiving it. Now he was claiming it had been too generous and returning it.
It was clear he was drawing a line between himself and Director Bae Sang-yun, worried that the corruption scandal might become a problem.
Director Bae Sang-yun, already struggling to hide his anxiety, felt his heart grow more desperate as he watched Director Hwang Sang-hyun distance himself.

“Please consider it a token of my sincerity and accept it comfortably.”
“Tsk. I can’t accept it comfortably, which is why I’m doing this.”

Director Hwang Sang-hyun treated him with a cold demeanor, as if questioning why he couldn’t understand what was being said.

“There will be an audit regarding the Seonjin Leather matter soon. Keep that in mind.”
“Pardon?”

Director Bae Sang-yun’s heart sank, and he desperately clung to the words.

“As I mentioned earlier, unlike what appeared in rumors or newspaper articles, it was a legitimate measure. But an audit?”
“Then through the audit, you can confirm your grievance, so isn’t that even better?”
“That… well.”

Director Bae Sang-yun’s expression visibly fell, and his words trailed off.
Seeing this, Director Hwang Sang-hyun became even more convinced that the corruption allegations were true. He waved one arm dismissively, signaling the end of the meeting.

“Anyway, I’ve said all I need to say, so take this and leave.”
“Wait, Director.”

Director Bae Sang-yun tried to add more words, but seeing Director Hwang Sang-hyun turn his head away sharply while still seated, he let his shoulders slump.

“…I understand.”

Director Bae Sang-yun, reluctantly accepting his fate, picked up the shopping bag containing the golden toad with a dejected air and left the office.
Only after the door closed did Director Hwang Sang-hyun straighten his head, then clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“He’s barely taken office, and already this mess erupts. Talk about rotten luck.”

* * *

The moment Seok-won arrived at the office Monday morning, he headed straight for the Fund Management Department office instead of the President’s Office.

“Good morning, sir.”
“Welcome.”

As Seok-won entered the office in a navy suit with a pocket handkerchief accent on his chest, accompanied by his Attendant Secretary Han Ji-sung, the staff rose in unison to greet him.

“Good morning, everyone.”

Seok-won returned their greeting with a smile, surveying Manager Choi Ho-geun and the other staff members.
They all appeared busy, having arrived early to prepare for trading.

“This week’s going to be quite hectic. Did you get good rest over the weekend?”
“Don’t even mention it. The incidents kept erupting all weekend, so I was stuck worrying about how the market would react. Every time I closed my eyes, stock charts kept flickering in my mind—I couldn’t sleep at all.”

As if on cue, Section Chief Jung Hwan-yeop let out a groan.

“Yet your complexion looks remarkably good for someone who didn’t sleep?”
“Ha ha.”

Seok-won responded playfully, and Section Chief Jung Hwan-yeop laughed awkwardly, scratching his head with one hand.
He was about to say more when he noticed Manager Choi Ho-geun glaring at him as if lasers were shooting from his eyes, so he immediately fell silent.
Manager Choi Ho-geun let out a small sigh at the display and addressed Seok-won.

“Did you see the article in this morning’s newspaper?”
“You mean the statement from Kim Jae-chun, Chairman of the New Era National Council?”

Manager Choi Ho-geun nodded.

“Yes. The opposition party chairman has come out strongly criticizing the Securities Supervisory Authority—which wields tremendous influence over securities market operations and possesses considerable authority—for being embroiled in corruption allegations. Since he’s now insisting on a special audit by the Audit Office rather than an internal investigation, it seems the scandal won’t die down quickly but will snowball into something much larger.”

The fact that Kim Jae-chun himself stepped forward, rather than a mid-ranking legislator of appropriate stature, showed that the steady political funding support had definitely been effective.

‘On top of that, if they blow this incident up to attack the Blue House and the government, it benefits them too. So they’re stepping in more aggressively.’

In any case, it was mutually beneficial, so there was nothing wrong with it.

“That would be the case. Since the opposition party is watching this incident with keen interest, the Audit Office won’t be able to conduct a cursory investigation either.”

Choi Ho-geun, the Manager, nodded in agreement with Seok-won’s words.

“If sparks fly the wrong way, they could even reach the Audit Office itself. That’s probably what will happen.”

Seok-won spoke in his usual tone, his expression composed.

“All this time, listed companies have been habitually providing money and gifts to Securities Supervisory Authority employees. Using this scandal as an opportunity to cleanly sweep away such bad practices wouldn’t be harmful to the stock market either.”
“Are you saying this scandal will expand beyond an institutional warning to a full prosecution investigation?”

Seok-won nodded slightly.

“It’s a large-scale corruption case involving former and current heads of the Securities Supervisory Board and numerous executives. There’s no way it will end easily. Moreover, now that the opposition party has begun raising serious questions, it will be difficult to simply cut off the tail and move on.”
“Hearing you say it that way, I suppose you’re right.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun nodded with a serious expression.
At that moment, Jung Hwan-yeop, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, interjected.

“If things play out as you’re saying, the stock prices of Oseong Information & Communications and Seonjin Leather involved in this incident will be completely destroyed, won’t they?”
“They will be.”
“Seonjin Leather is one thing, but Oseong Information & Communications has been riding the theme wave with good stock performance, so many places must be holding shares. When the market opens, there will be cries of anguish everywhere.”

At his question, Hong Jae-hee and Yu Seok-hyun, who were present, both nodded in unison.

“The chart looked pretty, so I had some fun day-trading it a few times. If it hadn’t been for the President’s order to sell all our holdings, I would have suffered a major loss.”

Jung Hwan-yeop chuckled as he spoke.
However, since this could potentially become problematic, Manager Choi Ho-geun scolded him sternly with a serious expression.

“Jung! Watch your mouth.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You really don’t know?”

Jung Hwan-yeop looked bewildered before his expression shifted to one of belated realization.
If word of this leaked outside, Seok-won could be suspected of having prior knowledge or of orchestrating the scandal from behind the scenes.

“I apologize.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, realizing his mistake, hurried to offer his apology.
Seok-won, sensing that this time he had been far too reckless, cast a reproachful glance in his direction.

“No matter how confined we are within this office surrounded only by colleagues, words have a way of leaking out when you least expect it. From now on, exercise exceptional caution.”

Jung Hwan-yeop, fully aware of his transgression, bowed his head in quiet contrition.

“Yes. I will take this to heart and ensure such an incident never occurs again.”

With that, Seok-won said nothing further and instead withdrew a folded slip of paper from his inner jacket pocket, extending it toward Manager Choi Ho-geun.

“This is a list of ten companies implicated in this scandal, aside from Oseong Information & Communications and Seonjin Leather.”
“…!”
“Inform Daehung Securities to liquidate all positions before the stock prices collapse, so they don’t suffer unnecessary losses.”
“Understood.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun, responding tersely, accepted the slip of paper and quickly scanned the company names written within before carefully tucking it into his trouser pocket.

“And another bombshell will detonate soon. Monitor the stock movements of Midopa Department Store and Donghae Oil, but cease all purchases entirely.”

Everyone was curious about what might unfold next, yet they bowed their heads without question.

“We will do so.”
“Oh, and Jeong-mi Electronics’ stock price exceeded 140,000 won per share on Saturday, surpassing Sasung Electronics.”
“Yes. It has left Sasung Electronics, which was the industry’s flagship stock, far behind and has now climbed to seventh place in market capitalization.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun regarded Seok-won with eyes of admiration.

“When you instructed us to purchase at the 60,000-won range, I harbored considerable concern that it might be the peak. Yet in merely a few months, it has more than doubled—it remains astounding no matter how many times I reflect upon it.”

Not only Jeong-mi Electronics, but A-One and Korean Mobile Telecommunications, which had been acquired alongside it, had all three selections that Seok-won had identified risen substantially above their purchase prices, swelling the investment capital enormously.

“There remains some room for further appreciation, but since we have climbed nearly to the summit, beginning next month, gradually liquidate all three positions.”

Though it seemed odd to sell stocks that were performing so well, Manager Choi Ho-geun chose to trust Seok-won’s judgment.

“Yes. Understood.”

After giving those instructions, Seok-won rolled up his sleeve to check his watch and spoke.

“The market will open soon. Everyone, let’s work hard for the rest of the day.”

As Seok-won left the office with Han Ji-sung, his attendant secretary, Jung Hwan-yeop, who had been quietly observing the situation, finally exhaled the breath he’d been holding.

“I told you so. There wasn’t even a rumor or article about it. The fact that he handed over a list of related companies that hasn’t even been revealed yet proves this is definitely about taking down Donghae Group.”

At that, Manager Choi Ho-geun frowned and pressed down hard on Jung Hwan-yeop’s head from above.

“You fool. You just got scolded by the president and you still can’t keep your mouth shut? Do I need to watch you drown in a river with just your mouth bobbing above the surface before you come to your senses?”

Jung Hwan-yeop made a gesture of zipping his lips, and seeing that, Manager Choi Ho-geun’s blood pressure rose even further.

“Seriously. I can’t even lock your mouth shut, and I swear you’re going to be the death of me.”
“I apologize. I’ll be more careful, I promise.”

Jung Hwan-yeop answered in a small voice, as if genuinely remorseful, his spirit completely deflated.
Seeing his dejected state, Manager Choi Ho-geun let out a pained groan.

“Please, just do better, alright?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sigh. Well, he’s my junior, so I guess I have to take him under my wing and live with it.”

Manager Choi Ho-geun sighed and called out loudly to the employees gathered around.

“The market opens in ten minutes, so everyone get ready!”

As Seok-won had said, today was going to be another extremely busy day, and he couldn’t afford to drain his energy like this from the start.
Manager Choi Ho-geun hurried Jung Hwan-yeop along with a push and took his seat, waiting for the opening bell to ring.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————