Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 416

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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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416. Sometimes you need to do foolish things too.

Bright sunlight streamed through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows of the President’s Office.
Inside, an L-shaped desk with multiple monitors was installed.
Seok-won, wearing a deep purple silk necktie, sat there reviewing approval documents.
At the sound of a knock from outside, Seok-won lifted his head.

“Come in.”

Na Seong-mi carefully opened the door and entered.

“President Go Young-il from Daehung Securities is here.”

Seok-won glanced at the watch on his wrist, then looked at Na Seong-mi standing before him.

“Time really does fly. Tell him to come in.”
“Yes.”

Na Seong-mi answered with a slight bow and left, closing the door behind her.
Shortly after, Go Young-il, president of Daehung Securities, walked in wearing a gray suit.
Rising from his chair and coming around the desk, Seok-won extended his hand first with a warm smile.

“Welcome.”

President Go Young-il grasped his hand and laughed heartily.

“I hope I’m not interrupting your busy schedule.”
“Not at all.”

Seok-won raised one arm, gesturing toward the sofa.

“Please, have a seat and let’s talk comfortably.”
“Thank you.”

As Seok-won took the seat of honor in the center, clearly demonstrating the nature of their relationship, President Go Young-il naturally moved to the sofa on the right and sat down.
Crossing one leg, he spoke casually.

“What would you like to drink?”
“Coffee will be fine, something simple.”

Seok-won turned his head to glance at Na Seong-mi, who stood quietly beside him.

“Bring us two coffees, please.”
“Understood.”

After Na Seong-mi gave her brief reply and stepped out, Go Young-il chuckled softly while gazing at the monitors and Bloomberg terminals arrayed across his desk.

“Your leadership has been absolutely brutal on our securities PI team lately.”
“What do you mean by that?”

Seok-won’s expression turned puzzled at this unexpected remark.

“With the unprecedented market collapse from the foreign exchange crisis, everyone’s performance has been dismal. Yet Daeheung Venture Capital—the only firm under your stewardship—is somehow delivering remarkable results even in these treacherous conditions. It’s rather awkward for the rest of us, wouldn’t you say?”

Seok-won let out a soft laugh at Go Young-il’s lighthearted quip. He seemed to have grown considerably softer and more personable since assuming the presidency, quite different from his initially reserved demeanor.
Seok-won found this a welcome change and matched his laughter with genuine warmth.
Seok-won inwardly thought it was a good change and nodded along with a slight smile on his face.

“Of course not. While Daeheung Venture Capital outperforms us, the early warning you provided allowed us to adjust our positions ahead of time. Unlike other securities firms that suffered catastrophic losses, we’ve managed to hold our ground. That alone is a victory.”
“That’s not possible. While we may not match Daeheung Venture Capital, we still managed well compared to other securities companies that suffered massive losses, thanks to your early warning that allowed us to close our positions ahead of time. That alone was a good call.”

Go Young-il shrugged and continued speaking.

“It’s just that the comparison is against someone overwhelmingly superior.”

Just then, Na Seong-mi returned and set down two cups of coffee, their rich aroma filling the air, before departing once more.
Seok-won interlaced his fingers and leaned back against the sofa, then asked.
Seok-won interlaced his fingers, leaned back against the sofa, and asked.

So what brings you here today?

Go Young-il straightened his posture and brought up the matter with a rather serious demeanor.

“I thought it would be difficult to finish before the Lunar New Year at the earliest, so this is welcome news indeed.”
“I thought it would be difficult to finish even by Lunar New Year at the earliest, so that’s great news.”

Seok-won picked up the teacup before him and continued speaking.

“It seems the two bank presidents are cooperating faithfully without resorting to strikes.”
“The promised bonuses have proven quite effective—they’re being very proactive. There are some employees who oppose the merger, but the two bank presidents are handling them well through persuasion or pressure, so it shouldn’t become a major issue.”
“Good to hear the money is doing its job.”

Seok-won took a sip of coffee and set the cup down.

“With Ilhan Bank, Hansung Bank, and four finance companies all merging into one, there’s considerable overlap in branch locations and employee responsibilities.”
“That’s inevitable when consolidating within the same industry.”
“To cut costs and improve efficiency, we’ll likely need to close over 40 branches nationwide and lay off approximately 5,000 employees.”

With that, he placed the restructuring plan before Seok-won.
After calmly reviewing the documents, he looked up and met Go Young-il’s gaze.

“5,000 is just under a quarter of the total workforce.”
“That’s correct.”
“That excludes the two bank presidents and retiring executives, I assume.”
“Of course.”

Seok-won tapped the documents with one hand, deliberating briefly before reaching a decision and speaking again.

“Let’s keep everyone on board.”
“Pardon?”

Given Seok-won’s emphasis on efficiency, Go Young-il had naturally expected him to approve of eliminating unnecessary personnel.
But this unexpected response left the president visibly taken aback.

“…You mean we shouldn’t conduct layoffs?”

Seok-won replied as Go Young-il blinked in confusion.

“That’s right.”

Go Young-il’s face showed clear bewilderment and discomfort.

“If we do that, we’ll waste too much money on salaries and other unnecessary expenses.”
“I see it differently.”
“…?”
“On the surface, these employees might seem like wasted resources, but they’ve all worked at the bank for at least three years or more, making them skilled professionals in their field.”
“Since the layoff targets are deputy managers and above, excluding new hires, they’re naturally accustomed to their work. But there’s no reason to divide tasks that one person could handle among three or four people, is there?”

Though Seok-won had guaranteed him sufficient tenure, Go Young-il, now president of the merged bank, felt a strong desire to streamline operations and cut excess fat for faster normalization.

“Think about the military. Sergeants near the end of their service just slack off lazily, and newly enlisted privates are too inexperienced to trust with anything, so the corporals and lance corporals end up doing all the real work.”
“….”
“Companies work the same way. It’s no exaggeration to say that deputy managers and section chiefs who’ve mastered their duties are what actually drive the company forward.”

Seok-won continued speaking as he watched Go Young-il listen quietly.

“You know well that no matter how prestigious a university someone graduates from, it means nothing once they join a company—they have to learn everything from scratch.”
“That’s… true enough.”

Go Young-il nodded in agreement.

“When a new employee joins, it takes at least six months of time and money to train them to become a fully productive member. Wouldn’t it be a shame to simply fire all those talented people you’ve invested so much effort in developing?”
“Of course, it’s true that many of those targeted for layoff are skilled employees. But there’s no real reason to continue employing unnecessary personnel, is there?”

Go Young-il still emphasized the necessity of layoffs, as if convinced his thinking was correct.
Even skilled workers couldn’t help the company if they were sitting idle with nothing to do.

“Then why not make sure there’s no surplus workforce in the first place?”
“Pardon? How would you do that?”

Seok-won gestured for him to listen as he responded to the skepticism.

“First, we reorganize the existing branches so they don’t overlap, and open new branches in areas that are currently underserved.”
“That would reduce idle personnel somewhat, but the total number of employees would still be excessively high.”
“The surplus staff would undergo retraining and be reassigned to departments that need more hands or are looking to expand—the IT department, asset management, installment financing, that sort of thing.”
“I’m not sure about that. Some work, like computers, requires specialized knowledge, so even with training, some people won’t be able to keep up. And more importantly, the costs would be substantial. I’m not convinced it’s necessary to go that far.”

From a manager’s perspective, it would seem simpler to just lay people off rather than incur the bothersome and seemingly unnecessary expenses.

“You’re right that it would cost quite a bit. Even with effort, some people will inevitably fail to adapt and fall behind. But this merger happened because of survival in the midst of the foreign exchange crisis. Precisely because of that, I’d like to show that we don’t discard the employees who’ve dedicated themselves like worn-out shoes at our most difficult moment—instead, we protect and nurture them to the very end. That’s the only way employees will develop loyalty to the bank and follow us with trust.”
“Hmm….”

Go Young-il listened intently to Seok-won’s words, turning them over in his mind before exhaling deeply and looking up.

“It seems like you’re deliberately taking the harder path when an easier one is available…”

Go Young-il’s words trailed off as a faint smile crossed his lips.

“To be honest, I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of laying off five thousand employees either. Your approach doesn’t seem like a bad idea at all.”

Seok-won nodded, as if approving of the decision.

“Rather than immediately resorting to mass layoffs right after the merger, if we embrace everyone and navigate through this difficult period together, it will become an opportunity for faster integration into a unified whole.”
“Understood. I’ll revise the plan based on what you’ve said and bring it back to you.”

Go Young-il then spoke as if the task were quite substantial.

“It looks like I’ll need to completely overhaul the normalization plan we’ve been developing all this time.”

Though the workload had increased, his expression appeared considerably brighter than before.

“It will be challenging work, but it’s the better direction for everyone, so let’s proceed that way.”
“Understood.”

Go Young-il paused thoughtfully before adding a question.

“And the name for the newly merged bank hasn’t been decided yet. Do you happen to have any thoughts on what it should be?”

Seok-won, who had already given this consideration, answered immediately.

“What about WB Bank?”

Go Young-il, unable to immediately grasp the meaning, tilted his head and asked carefully.

“Could you explain what it stands for?”
“It’s taken from the first letters of my grandfather’s pen name, Ubo, in English.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, the late Chairman’s pen name was indeed Ubo.”

That was why the Public Interest Foundation operated by Daeheung Group was named Ubo.

“Exactly. It means we’ll grow steadily alongside our customers, just as an ox walks with slow, deliberate steps.”
“WB Bank, then….”

Go Young-il repeated the name silently to himself a few times before his expression brightened.

“It’s a bit unusual to have English in a bank’s name, but the meaning is sound and it seems fitting.”
“Then let’s go with that.”
“Yes, we’ll proceed accordingly.”

After discussing the operations of the newly merged bank for some time longer, Go Young-il rose from his seat.

“Then I’ll take my leave now.”
“If any difficulties arise, contact me immediately.”
“I will.”

Go Young-il bowed respectfully before turning and exiting.
As the door closed, Seok-won moved toward the expansive floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the President’s Office and stood before it.
Gazing out at the city streets blanketed in fresh white snow, Seok-won murmured quietly to himself.

“Now that we’re proceeding with the economic restructuring demanded by the IMF, unemployment will skyrocket. There’s no need for me to add to those numbers.”

Even with retraining and reassigning idle personnel as much as possible, the merger of two major commercial banks and four finance companies inevitably created inefficiencies.
But with money in abundance, such costs were entirely manageable.

“Well, it may seem wasteful, but sometimes foolish gestures are necessary.”

Seok-won smiled faintly, savoring the sight of snow falling outside.

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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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