Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 282

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

282. Aren’t you being far too harsh?

The next day.
In the Chairman’s Office at Mapo Daeheung Group Headquarters, Chairman Park Tae-hong occupied the seat of honor on the sofa, with his two sons Park Jin-hyung and Park Seok-won seated on either side, along with Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho.
With a cigarette between his lips, Chairman Park Tae-hong checked the time with an anxious expression, then rolled up his sleeve again and gazed down at his wristwatch, muttering to himself.

“The time is almost up, so why haven’t we heard anything yet?”

Raising his head, Chairman Park Tae-hong’s gaze fell upon his second son, who appeared remarkably composed in contrast to everyone else’s tension.

“Is it possible that Chairman Woo has chosen to fight to the bitter end, contrary to what we wanted?”

Park Jin-hyung, the eldest son, then added his words while his expression grew slightly rigid.

“They say a cornered rat will bite a cat. I’m wondering if we’ve pushed our opponent too hard without giving them a way out.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho nodded his head in agreement, sharing the same concern.
Meanwhile, Seok-won, whose face showed not the slightest hint of urgency, simply shrugged at everyone’s worries.

“Considering the stock price, even 25,000 won per share was an incredibly generous valuation.”
“I’m not talking about that—I mean the equity swap ratio. You cut Donghae Group’s Midopa shares in half and then proposed calculating the Donghae Oil shares to be exchanged at current market rates.”
“So what’s the problem with that?”

Despite being on the same side, Seok-won’s utterly shameless attitude caused not only Park Jin-hyung but also Chairman Park Tae-hong and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho to wear expressions of disbelief.

“You set the valuation criteria in a way that’s extremely disadvantageous to the other party, and you expect them to accept it willingly?”
“That’s right. The terms are unilaterally favorable to us, so the backlash will be significant.”

As Park Jin-hyung leaned forward while speaking, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and nodded in agreement.

“You’re right. Even I think it was excessive.”

Even Chairman Park Tae-hong conceded, but Seok-won tilted his chin up with an unbothered expression.

“Isn’t it natural to suffer losses when you lose a fight? Conversely, if we had lost the equity battle and had our management rights to Midopa Department Store stripped away, would the other side have shown us mercy?”

The three men had no response.

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t have attempted a hostile takeover in the first place. I suspect it would have turned out far more brutal. Frankly, they tried to seize the entire group, while we’re simply selling our shares at a premium. I believe this is well within what a victor can reasonably demand from the vanquished.”

The three men were nearly persuaded by my unwavering confidence, if only for a moment.
But as they considered the terms I’d proposed, they quickly realized that Donghae Group would have to surrender Midopa shares at a price recovering less than half of what they’d invested, while simultaneously paying a far steeper price to acquire their stake in Donghae Oil. They concluded this was indeed an unreasonable demand.

‘It’s satisfying to repay what they’ve done to us, but I’m not sure if Chairman Woo will actually accept this.’
‘Even if Donghae Group is on the defensive, if they decide to fight to the bitter end, we’ll be exhausted too….’
‘I’m worried this could derail negotiations and prolong the management rights dispute.’

Each of the three men churned through their own anxieties.
Whether I sensed it or not, I continued speaking with unshakeable composure.

“After the announcement that we’d acquired Baekje Industrial’s Midopa shares, the stock plummeted in today’s trading, dropping near the 30,000 won range. So we haven’t exactly driven the price down artificially.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong started to mention that Donghae Oil’s stock had fallen as well, but he could roughly anticipate my response, so he held back.
Seeing the three men unable to shake their anxiety, I spoke again with a resigned tone.

“It’s certainly a losing deal, but Donghae Group—or rather, Chairman Woo Yong-gap—will have no choice but to accept our terms.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong then straightened his posture, a cigarette wedged between his fingers, and asked.

“Why are you so certain? Is there something we don’t know about?”

President Park Jin-hyung and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho also looked at me with questioning eyes.

“Because they absolutely don’t want the M&A issue to keep surfacing and cause the Donghae Mutual Credit Union illegal loan case to expand into a full investigation of all the funds used to acquire Midopa Department Store shares.”
“Well, that’s obvious—no one wants to be under Prosecution investigation.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong narrowed his brow.
I looked at him with a hint of disappointment, a meaningful smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

“It will be even more awkward because Donghae Group was a company connected to Former President Roh through marriage.”

At my words, a thought flashed through Chairman Park Tae-hong’s mind, and his eyes widened.

“You’re saying Former President Roh’s slush fund was used to accumulate Midopa Department Store shares!”

Both President Park Jin-hyung and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho were visibly startled by Chairman Park Tae-hong’s exclamation.
If Donghae Group—or rather, Chairman Woo Yong-gap—had indeed secretly tapped into Former President Roh’s hidden slush funds, the situation would inevitably spiral out of control.

“Is that really true?”

Park Jin-hyung swallowed hard and asked the question.

“I don’t know either.”

When I shrugged, Park Jin-hyung’s expression darkened slightly.

“Then what was all that you just said?”
“Donghae Group scraped together every last penny they had to buy even a single additional share of Midopa Department Store stock. In the process, Ho-geun went ahead and did things he shouldn’t have done.”

Since Daheung Group had similarly mobilized all available funds within the group to defend management control, the three men nodded quietly in agreement.

“Setting aside the illegal loans Ho-geun obtained from Donghae Mutual Credit Union, if they had truly exhausted every option by drawing funds through Peregrine Securities Hong Kong with annual interest rates of 10% and call option clauses attached, there’s no way they wouldn’t have touched Former President Roh’s hidden slush fund.”

At this plausible explanation, Chairman Park Tae-hong’s eyes lit up.

“Exactly. If they were in such dire financial straits, even if the money had been entrusted to them by someone else, they wouldn’t have been able to ignore the cash sitting in their own pocket.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho also nodded seriously.

“During the Prosecution investigation, they vehemently denied that Former President Roh, their in-law, had entrusted them with any slush fund, but given the circumstances, there’s no way the money didn’t flow in. They must have withdrawn it this time.”

Only then did Park Jin-hyung’s rigid expression finally relax, as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

“If that’s the case, it seems Donghae Group will have no choice but to accept our demands, no matter how unreasonable they are.”
“Ha. Just thinking about Chairman Woo’s face as he’s forced to accept our demands against his will—it’s like a ten-year case of indigestion finally clearing up.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned back in his chair with an elated smile.
Just then, there was a knock, and Jung Yun-kyung entered and bowed her head.

“It’s a call from Chairman Woo Yong-gap of Donghae Group.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong hastily stubbed out his nearly finished cigarette in the crystal ashtray and straightened his posture.

“Put him through.”
“Yes.”

After Jung Yun-kyung gave her brief response and left, the keyphone on the desk rang not long after.
Seok-won pressed the speakerphone button so everyone in the room could hear the call.

“Hello.”
[… I’ll do it.]

The unmistakable reluctance in Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s voice caused the corners of Chairman Park Tae-hong’s mouth, who sat with his arms crossed, to curl upward.
President Park Jin-hyung, seated across from him, and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho also leaned forward with eager expressions, their ears attuned to every word.

“It seems you’ve made your decision, given that you’re calling.”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap fell silent for a moment before speaking again, his voice heavy.

[Do we really have to go this far?]
“As I mentioned before, it wasn’t we who started this—it was Donghae Group.”

Seok-won replied coldly.
At that, Chairman Woo Yong-gap let out a groan of pain before reluctantly opening his mouth again.

[… I’ll proceed on your terms.]

As the long-awaited answer finally came, President Park Jin-hyung, who had been leaning toward the keyphone with his ears perked up, clenched his fist tightly.
Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho beside him also broke into a broad smile.
And Chairman Park Tae-hong made no effort to hide the smile spreading across his face, his composure fully restored as he radiated joy.
Seok-won’s lips curved into a smile as well, before he composed himself and responded.

“You’ve made the right choice.”
[I’ll send my chief secretary to you this afternoon.]

Chairman Woo Yong-gap seemed eager to end the conversation quickly.
I could almost see the expression of displeasure on Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s face on the other end of the line.

“I also prefer to wrap this up quickly, so let’s proceed that way. Oh, but regarding the equity swap—we’ll settle that as discussed. However, what do you intend to do about the bonds that Peregrine Securities Hong Kong held? For your information, I’m sure you’re aware that I’ve already acquired those bonds.”

I could sense Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s face contorting the moment he heard those words.

[… What do you want?]

Chairman Woo Yong-gap asked in an irritated voice.

“I’d prefer to recover everything in cash, but given Donghae Group’s current financial situation, that won’t be possible. So let’s settle this with assets instead.”

Seok-won answered immediately, as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
Chairman Woo Yong-gap, having already been burned once before, grew wary and countered with suspicion.

[What assets are you talking about?]

Seok-won then voiced what he’d already been considering.

“The new headquarters site in Seocho-dong and the logistics warehouse in Pangyo should roughly match the amount. What do you think?”

Upon hearing this, Chairman Woo Yong-gap ground his teeth and shouted in an angry voice.

[Aren’t you being too much?!]

The Seocho-dong headquarters site was land that Chairman Woo Yong-gap had purchased years ago to build a magnificent new headquarters building that wouldn’t fall short of those belonging to other conglomerates.
It was a cherished project that Chairman Woo Yong-gap had even commissioned a scaled model of—a 47-story structure—which he kept in his office and gazed upon daily.
So when Seok-won casually suggested taking that land, his fury was inevitable.
As Chairman Woo Yong-gap strongly objected, Seok-won spoke in a dry tone.

“If we had lost the fight, you would’ve taken everything. Yet you’re complaining about me taking just this?”
[Hmm.]

Struck by words that pierced his core, Chairman Woo Yong-gap could offer no rebuttal and merely let out a grunt.

“If you’d prefer, you can repay in cash instead.”

Seok-won threw out the words as if it made no difference to him.
Of course, he knew full well that Chairman Woo Yong-gap lacked the means to do so.
Chairman Woo Yong-gap remained silent for a long while before finally answering in a voice that barely contained his suppressed anger.

[We’ll settle it with real estate.]
“Very well.”
[There’s nothing else left to discuss, is there?]

Chairman Woo Yong-gap spoke through gritted teeth.
Seok-won paid no mind and suddenly added something, as if it had just occurred to him.

“Right. Since the M&A failed, you shouldn’t forget that according to the contract terms, you must guarantee five years’ worth of interest.”
[… I’m aware.]

Chairman Woo Yong-gap’s voice came through stiffly.
Seok-won flashed his teeth in a smile and finally nodded.

“Then that settles it.”

Chairman Woo Yong-gap hung up without another word.
Chairman Park Tae-hong, who had been listening intently to the call, burst into laughter and slapped his knee.

“Hahaha! That Seocho-dong property—Chairman Woo treasured that land, and you managed to take it! I might actually sleep well tonight.”

With his son detained, the massive capital poured into the M&A nearly squandered, and now forced to surrender his cherished land, Chairman Woo Yong-gap had every reason to be seething. The Donghae Group had been shaken to its core.
Watching Chairman Park Tae-hong’s evident satisfaction, Park Jin-hyung, the elder brother, shook his head in admiration.

“Thank goodness you’re on my side. If I had to face you as an opponent, I’d have genuine regrets.”

Gil Seong-ho, the Chief Secretary seated beside them, also found himself nodding unconsciously, his expression reflecting the revelation of Seok-won’s true nature.
Seok-won reached for the teacup before him, noticed the coffee had gone cold, set it back down, and spoke in an offhand tone.

“You have to make an example from the start. That way, no one will ever dare underestimate us again.”
“Absolutely. You’re right. A hundred times right.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong gazed at his second son, who felt more reassuring than anyone, and smiled with quiet pride.

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