Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 279
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
279. I need to recover the damages along with interest.
Summoned by the call, Woo Ho-geun descended the elevator with Oh Sang-hyun and hurried toward the Chairman’s Office.
“So during the National Assembly’s questioning of the government, a first-term member of the New Era National Conference raised suspicions about illegal loans from Donghae Mutual Credit Union.”
Oh Sang-hyun answered immediately, walking alongside Woo Ho-geun as he posed the question with irritation etched across his face.
“He exposed that 32 billion won was illegally loaned to a paper company in Hong Kong to secure funds for acquiring shares in Midopa Department Store, and he urged an immediate investigation into Donghae Mutual Credit Union and those involved.”
“Damn it!”
A curse escaped from Woo Ho-geun’s lips as his face contorted.
The fact that they knew the exact amount made it clear this wasn’t mere speculation—it was a disclosure backed by concrete evidence.
“Who the hell loosened their tongue?”
Woo Ho-geun’s eyes gleamed with savage intensity as he demanded answers.
“Since this just broke, we haven’t been able to identify them yet.”
At Oh Sang-hyun’s words, Woo Ho-geun ground his teeth.
“Find out who it is by any means necessary. Don’t spare any effort.”
“Yes, sir.”
Oh Sang-hyun responded with a hardened expression, matching the atmosphere of someone who would show no mercy regardless of who the target was.
Entering the Attached Office, Woo Ho-geun passed by the secretarial staff who hurriedly rose to greet him, ignoring their salutations.
He then proceeded directly to the wooden door at the inner end.
“Huh.”
With tense composure, Woo Ho-geun adjusted his necktie and fastened all his jacket buttons properly, then drew in a deep breath and exhaled before raising one arm to knock lightly.
Then he grasped the handle and opened the door to step inside.
“Father—”
Whoosh! Crash!
The moment I stepped into the Chairman’s Office with its thick carpet, a coffee cup flew through the air and shattered against the wall into countless pieces.
“You damned fool! I trusted you with everything, and you betray me like this?”
Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s roar echoed so loudly throughout the room that it seemed to shake the very walls.
As I stopped in my tracks and looked up, I saw Chairman Woo Yong-gap glaring at me with a face flushed crimson with rage, while Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol and the Group’s key executives sat on the sofa on either side of him.
Among them, I spotted Kwon Seung-seop, the president of Donghae Mutual Credit Union, sitting with a deathly pale face and fidgeting nervously—and in that moment, I realized that Chairman Woo Yong-gap had already discovered everything, so I bit my lips tightly.
“You said you’d secured a new foreign investor, but it turns out that money was secretly embezzled from the credit union!”
As he continued his tirade, repeatedly striking the armrest of the sofa with his palm, I met his gaze directly and responded.
“It was an unavoidable choice to secure victory in the equity battle and firmly establish control over Midopa Department Store’s management rights.”
Seeing that I showed no sign of remorse whatsoever, Chairman Woo Yong-gap let out an exasperated breath.
“You cause a disaster and then have the audacity to act like you’ve done something right!”
“If we back down now, everything we’ve invested so far will be wasted, and we cannot allow that to happen.”
Rather than bowing my head, I countered strongly.
At my response, Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol let out a small sigh and shook his head, while the gathered executives could not hide their expressions of shock.
No matter what, they had not expected me to be so brazenly shameless after creating such a dire situation.
Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s shock was particularly severe—his face had turned such a deep crimson that everyone worried he might collapse at any moment.
“I must be insane to have trusted that reckless fool and entrusted him with everything!”
Chairman Woo Yong-gap trembled with rage and disappointment.
Recalling that just recently he had nearly suffered a serious episode due to his blood pressure, Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol hurriedly tried to calm Chairman Woo Yong-gap upon seeing his state.
“It’s not good for your blood pressure. Please calm yourself.”
But Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s anger only intensified, and he raised his voice further.
“How can I calm down watching that fool’s antics!”
“Your physician warned that if you collapse again, it will be serious, so you must be especially careful.”
“Watching that bastard cause trouble continuously—I’d rather just close my eyes and be done with it!”
With that, Chairman Woo Yong-gap glared fiercely at me, still standing at the door.
Though Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol could not hide his concern, he found himself unable to say anything further.
“How are you going to clean up the mess you’ve made?”
Chairman Woo Yong-gap pressed the question with intensity, his eyes hardening.
“I’m not sure how the opposition lawmakers discovered the loan, but since these are companies based abroad rather than domestically, a thorough investigation will be difficult.”
“Fine, we can overlook the paper companies overseas, but what about the credit union? Even a cursory examination will immediately expose the fraudulent nature of the loan.”
As Chairman Woo Yong-gap said, it was merely a temporary measure to buy time—not a fundamental solution.
Then Woo Ho-geun, seated to one side, glanced at Kwon Seung-seop, the president of Donghae Mutual Credit Union, and replied in a measured tone.
“If we frame this not as a deliberate illegal loan for M&A financing, but as a mistake in the internal review process or a rogue employee’s personal misconduct, we can deflect the blame.”
At the blatant suggestion that he would be made a scapegoat, all color drained from President Kwon Seung-seop’s face.
“That… what do you mean? I only followed the executive’s orders.”
Woo Ho-geun regarded President Kwon Seung-seop with cold indifference as he stammered his protest.
“I apologize, but President Kwon will need to take the fall for the group. In exchange, we’ll assemble an expensive legal team to ensure you receive the minimum possible sentence, so don’t worry.”
“What? No, this doesn’t make sense. How can I alone…?”
Suddenly burdened with all responsibility, President Kwon Seung-seop broke into a cold sweat and turned his head toward Chairman Woo Yong-gap seated at the head of the table, clinging to him like a drowning man grasping at straw.
“Chairman…”
But Chairman Woo Yong-gap remained silent for a moment, his expression hardened, before his voice emerged, subdued.
“You’ll have to make a sacrifice for us.”
At that, President Kwon Seung-seop’s face fell into despair as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.
Woo Ho-geun, who had orchestrated all of this, should have borne the responsibility and faced punishment, yet not a single executive present dared voice such a thing.
Chief Secretary Jeon Hae-cheol also grimaced as he watched President Kwon Seung-seop’s expression of resignation.
Then the outer office grew noisy, and with an urgent knock, a secretary entered with a flustered expression.
“What is it!”
Chairman Woo Yong-gap barked irritably.
The secretary, bowing apologetically, glanced sideways at Woo Ho-geun before stammering to speak.
“Well, that is… people from the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office have arrived.”
“The Southern District Prosecutor’s Office?”
As Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s brow furrowed in displeasure, the secretary’s staff member answered cautiously.
“Yes, sir.”
“What business does the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office have here?”
“They… they say they’ve brought a warrant.”
“What!”
The moment Chairman Woo Yong-gap raised his eyebrows, the door burst open and three men entered without permission.
“It appears you were in a meeting. Please forgive the intrusion.”
“Who are you people!”
As Woo Ho-geun glared and demanded answers, the man in a suit standing at the front, wearing horn-rimmed glasses, produced a prosecutor’s badge and held it in one hand as he spoke.
“We’re from the Southern District Prosecutor’s Office Financial Investigation Division 1.”
“…!”
The man continued speaking, his cold gaze fixed directly on Woo Ho-geun.
“You yourself know better than anyone why we’ve come.”
He then withdrew a warrant from his inner pocket, unfolded it, and displayed it.
“We are placing you under arrest, Woo Ho-geun, on suspicion of stock price manipulation involving Boseong Communications. You have the right to remain silent, and anything you say from this point forward may be used against you in court… If you cannot retain counsel, a public defender will be appointed. Of course, given your wealth, you’ll likely assemble a well-connected legal team with considerable influence, but still.”
The man spoke with cold contempt as he observed Woo Ho-geun’s face turning rigid.
“I heard on the radio news on the way here that additional charges will likely be added soon. If that happens, it won’t be easy to escape with a suspended sentence.”
Though Woo Ho-geun glared fiercely, the man—having conducted such operations more than once—gestured to the investigators who had accompanied him.
“What are you waiting for? Take the suspect into custody.”
“Yes, sir.”
Two burly investigators stepped forward and seized his arms from both sides.
“Let go of me! Do you know who I am? You all want to die!”
Woo Ho-geun struggled fiercely, but such resistance was futile against their grip.
“Please, stay calm.”
“If you keep resisting, we’ll have to use force.”
The investigators, their bodies honed by rigorous training, pressed down hard on Woo Ho-geun’s shoulders and subdued him in one swift motion, then snapped cold handcuffs around his wrists.
“Father! Don’t just stand there watching—do something! Let him go, damn it!”
Woo Ho-geun continued to curse and thrash about desperately.
But ultimately, he could not overcome the investigators’ strength and was dragged out of the room.
“Father! Father….”
“Geez, what a racket.”
The man who had brought the warrant muttered while picking at his ear.
The sight of him screaming and being dragged away was so unseemly that it was painful to witness.
“That fool is going to destroy the company.”
Chairman Woo Yong-gap slumped helplessly against the sofa, covering his face with his palm as he lamented.
What kind of situation was this because of his incompetent son?
Chairman Woo Yong-gap clenched his teeth as darkness clouded his vision.
* * *
A few days later.
[
Donghae Mutual Credit Union’s 32 Billion Won Illegal Loan Allegations Confirmed as Fact
The Southern District Prosecutor’s Office Financial Investigation Division 1 announced that the illegal loan allegations against Donghae Mutual Credit Union, which surfaced during the recent National Assembly questioning of the government, have been confirmed as fact.
In connection with this case, the prosecution has arrested and is investigating five individuals, including President Kwon Seung-seop, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes.
Furthermore, this case was carried out under the direction of Woo Ho-geun, Executive Director and eldest son of Donghae Group Chairman Woo Yong-gap….]
The morning newspaper for today, featuring a large article about Donghae Mutual Credit Union, lay spread open on the table.
Chairman Park Tae-hong, seated with his eldest son Park Jin-hyung, president of Park Textile, and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho on either side, gazed silently at his second son for a moment before asking.
“Did you have a hand in this as well?”
Park Jin-hyung and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho looked at him with curious eyes.
Seok-won, receiving their gazes, gave a light shrug of his shoulders.
“Stock price manipulation was something I had in mind, but this was unexpected. To be honest, I never thought Woo Ho-geun could be this foolish.”
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho then adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and asked.
“So you’re saying the revelation about Donghae Mutual Credit Union during the National Assembly’s questioning of the government was just a coincidence?”
Seok-won merely offered a faint smile and did not answer.
Seeing that, Chairman Park Tae-hong realized that his hand had touched this matter as well, and he let out an astonished exclamation. Park Jin-hyung and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho likewise could not hide their expressions of surprise.
“With the revelation that Donghae Peregrine Securities was connected to the Securities Supervisory Authority corruption scandal and the stock price manipulation case, and now with this mutual credit union incident erupting, they won’t be able to continue the hostile M&A against Midopa Department Store anymore.”
Seok-won dismissed their gazes without concern and spoke.
“When I’m drowning in my own troubles, I won’t have the mind to covet another’s rice cake.”
Chairman Park Tae-hong, nodding slightly, spoke with a noticeably more relaxed tone.
Then his eldest son, Park Jin-hyung, added his words.
“That’s right. Especially since this incident is entangled with the funds for purchasing Midopa Department Store shares, their position has become even more difficult.”
“Yes. You’re right.”
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho also smiled, his expression showing he could finally set down his worries.
“If things go this way, the extraordinary general meeting that Donghae Group demanded will fizzle out, just as the younger president said.”
“Right. That’s how it will be.”
Chairman Park Tae-hong gazed at Seok-won with eyes that were both satisfied and proud.
“So now our struggle with Donghae Group is finally concluded.”
Then Seok-won raised one corner of his mouth and laughed with meaningful intent.
“No. The losses we suffered because of the equity battle are enormous—we can’t end it like this.”
“Huh?”
Chairman Park Tae-hong and the two others looked at him with bewilderment.
“Since the other party initiated the conflict as the aggressor, we should recover damages with interest included.”
“Is that even possible?”
Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned forward in his seat, his interest piqued.
“Of course they’ll resist compensation at first, but we need to make it inevitable. That’s precisely why I’ve been acquiring shares in Donghae Oil.”
Seok-won smiled, his teeth gleaming as he spoke.
Now it was time for the Donghae Group to brace itself for the blow.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————