Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 314

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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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314. The situation should be resolved with just the Hanwha Group.

After a week of daily negotiations with Microsoft, Seok-won ultimately agreed to sell Hotmail for $470 million.

[Four hundred and seventy million dollars!]

Roy’s excited voice came through the speakerphone, followed by cheers from the co-founders in the background.
Seok-won nodded with a faint smile.

“That’s right.”
[We got $170 million more than the initial offer! We definitely made the right choice trusting you.]
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make you all billionaires as promised.”
[Insane. Were you really trying to get $500 million?]

From this deal, Roy and his friends who created Hotmail each walked away with $94 million.

“Of course. But Alexander is no pushover either, so we settled on $470 million.”

Roy, though not visible, shook his head at the genuinely regretful tone.

[You’re impossible. We’re more than satisfied with this.]
[Right. We were tempted by $300 million, but thanks to you, we’re getting an extra $34 million.]
[Now we’re all multimillionaires!]

Professor Frank and Vanegi chattered excitedly beside Roy.
Seeing everyone so delighted—as if they would have popped champagne if they had any—Seok-won laughed and responded.

“So you all agree to this amount?”
[Of course.]

The other two chimed in eagerly after Roy.

[Absolutely!]
[Before Microsoft changes their mind, we should sign right away. What are we doing!]

Seok-won listened to the energetic voices and made one final reminder.

“Understood. I’ll meet with Alexander tomorrow and sign the contract formally. Read through the contract copy he faxes over carefully, and if there’s anything that bothers you or seems off, call me right away.”
[Okay. And thank you so much.]
“I should be thanking you—I made a fortune because of this deal.”
[Ha. I suppose so.]

Seok-won slipped both hands into his pants pockets and perched on the edge of his desk as he asked.

“What are you going to do once the money comes in?”
[Well, it’s such an enormous sum that I can’t even imagine it. I have no idea what to do with it. First, I should definitely get myself a nice sports car.]
“That’s not a bad idea.”

Ninety-four million dollars was enough to buy over ten sports cars without anyone even noticing the dent in the account.
And having earned it through such grueling effort, I certainly deserved to enjoy it.
After talking a bit longer, Seok-won pressed the button to end the call and lifted himself off the desk in the Investment Fund Executive Office when something suddenly occurred to him, and he murmured to himself.

“Didn’t Landon Shore say last time that a Lamborghini would cost around 150 million? I can buy one with the money I just made.”

* * *

January 22, 1997. The Chairman’s Office of Mapo Daeheung Group Headquarters in Seoul.
When Park Jin-hyung, the textile division president, knocked and entered, Chairman Park Tae-hong, who had been sitting on the upper end of the sofa smoking a cigarette, turned his head to look at him and spoke in a grave, measured voice.

“Come here and sit.”
“…Yes, sir.”

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, President Park Jin-hyung exchanged a glance with Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, who was already present, then moved to the empty sofa across from him and sat down.
He then carefully opened his mouth, watching the rigid expression on Chairman Park Tae-hong’s face.

“Has something happened, sir?”

Chairman Park Tae-hong, leaning back against the sofa, exhaled a plume of white cigarette smoke.

“Something has happened. A very serious incident, at that.”

Hearing such words from Chairman Park Tae-hong, who rarely made a fuss about anything, President Park Jin-hyung’s expression grew equally grave.
Chairman Park Tae-hong gestured with his chin toward Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, the cigarette still between his fingers.

“Manager Gil. You explain it.”
“Yes, sir.”

Gil Seong-ho, the Chief Secretary, delivered news that would soon send shockwaves through the financial world and the nation, his voice rigid with tension.

“It appears Hansei Steel will declare bankruptcy sometime tomorrow.”
“…!”

Park Jin-hyung, his eyes widening in alarm, lurched forward in his seat and demanded urgently.

“Just yesterday, I heard that the Industrial Bank and three other creditor banks were providing additional funding. Are you saying that fell through?”
“That’s correct. However, when Chairman Choi Byung-moo refused the creditor banks’ demands for additional collateral in the form of the family’s shares and a management rights waiver, the situation apparently shifted sharply toward bankruptcy proceedings.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong clicked his tongue and shook his head in disapproval.

“That greedy Chairman Choi refused to let go of his steel company even as his ship was sinking in the storm.”

Park Jin-hyung, contemplating the massive aftershocks that would soon ripple through Korea’s economy and society, asked with an expression of disbelief.

“I understand the financial sector’s loans to Hansei Steel amount to several trillion won. Are you saying the Blue House simply allowed the bankruptcy to proceed?”

If the nation’s 14th-largest conglomerate, burdened with trillions of won in debt, collapsed, it would trigger cascading bankruptcies among countless subcontractors and mass unemployment, dealing a devastating blow to both the economy and society at large.
This was precisely why the Blue House and government typically poured tax money into rescues—the very reason the saying “too big to fail” existed.

“The Blue House would certainly want to prevent Hansei Steel’s bankruptcy. However, it seems they’ve decided not to intervene, especially since opposition parties are fiercely criticizing any preferential loans to a company already drowning in trillions of won in debt. Moreover, rumors have surfaced that influential figures from the ruling party and the president’s son were behind the bank’s massive loans to Hansei Steel.”

Park Jin-hyung nodded heavily.

“With the political arena already in turmoil over the OECD accession being rushed through, they couldn’t afford to make a misstep and invite even harsher opposition attacks. So they’ve washed their hands of it entirely.”
“Chairman Choi gambled that the Blue House and government would bail him out, never imagining it would come to this. His own greed became his undoing.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong let out a cynical laugh, remarking that he’d always known Choi would come to a bad end.

“I never thought it would actually happen, but Seok-won warned us about this, and Hansei Steel really has gone bankrupt.”

As Park Jin-hyung muttered with a complicated expression, Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded as if relieved beyond measure.

“Indeed. If it weren’t for that boy, we could have been dragged down with them.”
“Exactly. Fortunately, we converted all our short-term loans to long-term ones as the young president advised. Otherwise, we would have faced serious difficulties when liquidity dried up in the market.”

With the nation’s 14th-largest conglomerate bankrupt and a loan crisis of five trillion won erupting, it was certain that capital flows would freeze for some time.

“On top of that, the exchange rate has climbed since then, so we’ve made currency gains on the dollars we converted in advance. We’ve profited considerably in multiple ways.”

At Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho’s words, Chairman Park Tae-hong held a cigarette between his lips and broke into a faintly satisfied smile.

“He’s my son, but his ability to read the times and seize opportunities is truly exceptional.”
“Indeed. From the Midopa Department Store incident last time to this matter, if it weren’t for Seok-won, we would have suffered a tremendous loss.”

Though he did nothing but praise, there was no hint of jealousy in President Park Jin-hyung’s voice.
Rather, he seemed to take pride in the existence of his accomplished younger brother.

“That’s right.”

Chairman Park Tae-hong nodded, then his expression hardened once more.

“In any case, thanks to my second son, we can weather this immediate crisis, but the future is what concerns me.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho then expressed his concerns about the economic situation ahead.

“With the economy already struggling, and now Hansei Steel’s default on top of it, consumer sentiment will likely contract even further.”
“It will. When the economy falters, people instinctively tighten their purse strings.”

As consumption declined, Midopa Department Store—the flagship subsidiary and cash cow of the group—would inevitably take a hit to its sales.
Chairman Park Tae-hong suddenly recalled what might have happened had he not heeded his second son’s advice and instead resumed the expansion of the Chinese manufacturing plant, increasing investments before this crisis struck. A chill ran down his spine.
Most likely, the group would have faced a severe cash crunch and been shaken to its very foundation.

‘My second son has saved me and the group once again.’

With his trust and confidence in Seok-won deepened, Chairman Park Tae-hong looked around at his eldest son seated on one side and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, his expression turning grave.

“Everyone likely anticipates this, but Hansei Steel’s default will have considerable ripple effects. So we need to strengthen our austerity measures further and secure as much cash as possible, preparing for the worst-case scenario.”
“Yes.”
“We’ll do exactly that.”

Following President Park Jin-hyung, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho immediately echoed his agreement.

‘I pray this ends with just Hanwha Group.’

Chairman Park Tae-hong brought the cigarette in his hand to his lips and prayed silently, but the gathering storm clouds were far too thick and fierce for such hopes.

* * *

Late dawn.
Seok-won lay asleep on the expansive penthouse bed, cradling a tall, brown-haired beauty with a pristine white back in one arm, their bodies aligned in peaceful slumber.
When his phone suddenly pierced the dawn silence with its ring, Seok-won’s eyes opened, and Debra beside him stirred, wrapping the blanket around herself.

“Mmm.”

Seok-won gently patted Debra’s back as she nestled against him, reaching for his phone with his other arm.

“Who could it be at this hour?”

Debra asked in a drowsy voice.

“It’s nothing important. Go back to sleep.”

Seok-won whispered softly, pressing a light kiss to her forehead before rising from the bed.
As his embrace vanished, Debra’s brow furrowed slightly at the emptiness, but she soon drifted back into slumber, her breathing becoming deep and rhythmic once more.
In the meantime, Seok-won slipped on a robe draped over a chair and stepped out of the bedroom to answer the call.

“Hello.”
[It’s me.]

Sensing something stiff in Lee Chul-gyun’s voice, Seok-won shuffled toward the terrace’s floor-to-ceiling windows in his slippers and asked.

“What’s the matter at this hour?”
[Something urgent came up, so I’m calling to inform you.]

Detecting that something serious had occurred from Lee Chul-gyun’s unusual demeanor, Seok-won adjusted his grip on the phone and spoke.

“What is it?”
[Hansei Steel just defaulted on a 1.5 billion won promissory note that was due at the Samseong-dong branch of Borim Bank. This is their first default.]
“…!”
[There are also promissory notes worth around 60 billion won from eighteen other creditor banks. Based on how things are unfolding right now, it looks like all of them will default today.]

Realizing that the crisis he had been dreading had finally erupted, Seok-won’s face hardened as he spoke.

“What’s the situation with the Blue House and the creditor consortium?”
[Given that discussions are emerging about freezing receivables and payables to prevent cascading defaults among subcontractors, and court receivership proceedings, it appears they’ve decided to let Hansei Steel go under without any bailout.]
“If they had any intention of saving Hansei Steel, they wouldn’t have allowed the first default to happen in the first place. Wouldn’t you agree?”
[The problem is that if Hansei Steel collapses, there’s a significant risk of cascading defaults among affiliated subsidiaries that have provided payment guarantees. Apparently, the moment news of the default spread, promissory notes from Hanwha Group affiliates in the Myeongdong Private Loan Market became worthless.]

Seok-won gazed down at Central Park, shrouded in darkness beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass window, and answered quietly.

“It’s obvious that collecting payment will be difficult, so even I wouldn’t touch Hanwha Group promissory notes. It seems Chairman Choi Byung-moo’s fortune has run its course.”
[Do you believe Hanwha Group will completely disintegrate from this incident?]
“With steel—which comprises the majority of the group’s total assets—in default, and financial sector loans alone reaching trillions of won, there’s no way the group can survive.”

As Seok-won replied matter-of-factly, Lee Chul-gyun also agreed that Chairman Choi Byung-moo and Hanwha Group would find it difficult to make a comeback.

“Keep me updated regularly on how this situation unfolds.”
[Understood.]

After ending the call, Seok-won stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the darkness beyond, and murmured softly to himself.

“Now it begins.”

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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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