Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 475

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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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475. I’ll make quite a profit from the fire sale happening in Korea.

With a brief chime, the elevator doors slid open and Yu Jong-hun, a senior economics reporter at the Geumseong Daily News, stepped out into the Underground Parking Lot.
The distinctive musty air of the underground garage greeted him.
Yu Jong-hun, his hair grown out in a shaggy mane and his necktie loosened, ambled casually between the thick concrete pillars, surveying the cars packed densely in every available space.

“Where is it?”

Yu Jong-hun muttered with mild irritation, hands thrust into his trouser pockets as he glanced about.
Then he spotted a familiar Sonata II parked beside a concrete pillar painted white with “A12” marked on it, and he stopped in his tracks.
After checking his surroundings to see if anyone was watching, he walked straight toward the Sonata II.
He quickly reached out, opened the car door, and climbed into the passenger seat.

“Reporter Yu. It’s been a while.”

As he turned his head to the side, Lee Chul-gyun sat in the driver’s seat in the darkness, wearing a thin jacket, and smiled.

“Why did you ask me to come all the way down here? We could’ve just talked on the phone—I’m busy.”

At Yu Jong-hun’s indifferent tone, Lee Chul-gyun rested one hand on the steering wheel and spoke in a measured voice.

“I came looking for you because I have an exclusive story to give you. But if you’re busy, I suppose there’s nothing I can do.”

At the word “exclusive,” Yu Jong-hun’s eyes gleamed and he immediately straightened in his seat.

“Did you just say exclusive?”

True to form as a reporter perpetually starved for scoops, he took the bait instantly, and Lee Chul-gyun wore an inward expression of satisfaction.
But without showing it at all, he spoke as if tossing out the words carelessly.

“It’s a big story, but it’s a shame it didn’t work out.”

Yu Jong-hun then turned his entire body to face him and urged him to speak quickly.

“What’s wrong with you?”
“You said you were busy.”
“That’s just an excuse. You came all the way to the company to give this to me, didn’t you?”
“It could also go to a reporter at Sechang Daily News.”

At the suggestion that the scoop could be handed over to a rival newspaper, Yu Jong-hun’s face grew even more urgent.

“Come on, not between us. You helped me a lot with the Donghae Group matter last time.”
“That’s exactly why I came. But what can I do if you say you’re busy?”
“Ah, for crying out loud.”

Yu Jong-hun, his brow furrowed, shook his head in defeat.

“Sorry for complaining. The editor-in-chief has been nagging me since this morning, so I guess I was just irritated.”
“What did the editor-in-chief say?”
“The same thing every day. Stop loafing around the office and bring me some kind of exclusive—as if that’s easy.”

With that, Lee Chul-gyun pulled out a rather thick manila envelope from the door pocket.

“If you take this to him, the editor-in-chief won’t nag you for a while.”
“What is it?”

Yu Jong-hun quickly took the envelope and pulled out its contents to examine them.
Lee Chul-gyun, glancing at him as he turned on the overhead light and studied the documents intently, rolled down the driver’s side window slightly.
He then pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and, with practiced ease, extracted one and placed it between his lips.
Lighting it with a disposable lighter, he rested one arm on the window frame and, with a relaxed demeanor, drew the smoke in deeply and exhaled.
As the car quickly filled with cigarette smoke, only the occasional sound of Yu Jong-hung turning pages could be heard.
After some time had passed, Lee Chul-gyun stubbed out the cigarette, burned down to the filter, into a half-empty coffee can.
The butt, soaked and soggy from mixing with the remaining coffee, hissed out white smoke as it extinguished.
Then Yu Jong-hun, having finished reviewing all the contents, looked up at Lee Chul-gyun with a flushed, excited face.

“Is it worth using?”

As Lee Chul-gyun rolled the window back up and asked, Yu Jong-hun answered with an excited voice.

“Just like you said, if I show this to the editor-in-chief, he’ll be absolutely thrilled. How on earth did you find out all of this?”
“You don’t need to know that. Can you run a big story on the front page tomorrow? If you’re not confident, I’ll toss it to the reporter at Sechang Daily News instead.”

At that, Yu Jong-hun clutched the envelope protectively behind his back, wary that Lee Chul-gyun might snatch it back.

“Of course. If they refuse, I’ll grab the editor-in-chief by the collar and force it onto the front page myself. Enough about that bastard’s room reporter.”
“Hehe, understood.”

Yu Jong-hun still seemed uneasy, keeping the document envelope behind his back as he glanced sideways at Lee Chul-gyun.

“But everything written here is true, right?”
“Yes. Even after seeing all the evidence, you still can’t believe it?”

When Lee Chul-gyun’s expression turned sour, Yu Jong-hun quickly shook his head.

“I’m just double-checking once more.”
“Hmph.”

Lee Chul-gyun let out a light snort and placed the empty canned coffee into the cup holder inside the car.
Meanwhile, Yu Jong-hun, cradling the document envelope protectively in his arms, furrowed his brows as he spoke.

“If what’s written here is true, the Rothschild Fund are nothing but complete scoundrels.”

Lee Chul-gyun responded with cold cynicism to Yu Jong-hun’s indignant tone.

“Even now, no matter how desperately we chase foreign investment since the IMF crisis, our government is foolish for being played by these bastards without noticing anything.”

Yu Jong-hun accepted his words with a bitter expression.

“When Brian Peterson, the Rothschild Fund chairman, came to Korea, he went to the Blue House with the Prime Minister and met President Kim Jae-chun, receiving treatment as an honored envoy—all while hiding these dark intentions. How much must they have laughed at us in their hearts.”
“That’s exactly why we can’t let them manipulate us any further.”
“We absolutely must make sure of that.”

Though Yu Jong-hun’s desire to break an exclusive story was immense, he was first and foremost a citizen of South Korea before being a journalist.
The moment I realized the Rothschild Fund’s scheme to betray the Korean government, a sense of duty surged within me to expose their despicable conduct to the people.
Yu Jong-hun sat in his seat, staring down at the document envelope he held tightly in his hands, and muttered to himself.

“If this gets reported, South Korea will be turned upside down.”

Then Lee Chul-gyun spoke in a dry voice.

“With something this massive being devoured, there’s no way to hide it, is there?”
“True enough.”
“If it’s going to blow up anyway, it’s better for my mask to slip before the Rothschild Fund drains everything and walks away clean.”
“That’s a fair point.”

Yu Jong-hun nodded heavily, his expression resolute.

“I’ll need to move quickly if I’m running the story tomorrow.”

Then he turned to Lee Chul-gyun and spoke.

“I’ll buy you a drink later.”
“Forget the drink—just consider it a favor owed.”
“Fair enough.”

Yu Jong-hun answered with a thin smile, then opened the car door and stepped out.
Lee Chul-gyun watched through the rearview mirror as Yu Jong-hun receded into the distance, a document envelope clutched in one hand, his pace brisk.
Once Yu Jong-hun had completely vanished from sight, Lee Chul-gyun pulled his phone from his jacket and made a call.
After the line rang two or three times, Seok-won’s deep voice came through.

[You handled it well.]
“Yes. Tomorrow, the Geumseong Daily News will run a major exposé on the Rothschild Fund on the front page.”
[You made sure there won’t be any problems later, I trust.]

Lee Chul-gyun glanced up, briefly checking the rearview mirror in the direction where Yu Jong-hun had disappeared moments before, then answered.

“He’s a man of few words, so you needn’t worry.”
[Good work. The trigger’s been pulled—let’s see how the situation unfolds from here.]

Lee Chul-gyun tucked his phone back into his jacket pocket.
Then he started the engine, maneuvered the car out of the Underground Parking Lot.

* * *

In the Estate Study of a residence located in Long Island South Hampton, New York, Brian Peterson, chairman of the Rothschild Fund, was on a call with John Howell, the branch manager in Korea.

[The creditor consortium has agreed to accept the sale plan we proposed.]

Peterson, dressed casually in a knit cardigan, wore a thin smile as he crossed the plush carpet and moved toward the table along the wall.

“It’s not like there’s just one or two Korean companies that have gone bankrupt and collapsed. With the exchange rate bouncing back above 1,500 won and showing signs of instability, they really had no other choice.”
[You’re absolutely right. And the Manyoung Machinery strike that occurred last month worked in our favor as well.]

Chairman Brian Peterson picked up the whiskey bottle on the table, uncapped it, and poured the golden liquid halfway into a crystal glass.
He set the bottle back down and grasped the glass with one hand as he spoke.

“Exactly. If it hadn’t been for that, the creditor consortium would have been much more stringent, trying to minimize the debt forgiveness amount. But thanks to the union’s timely strike, we were able to proceed with the work far more smoothly.”
[With turmoil both inside and outside, there was concern that handling the Hansan Group could drag on, so the creditor consortium was eager to dispose of the troublesome matter quickly.]

Chairman Brian Peterson returned to the luxurious solid wood desk by the window and spoke as he settled into his chair.

“I was even prepared to raise the sale price by around 100 million dollars if there was strong resistance, but things worked out well.”
[Exactly. If we’d known it would go this smoothly, we could have lowered the sale price a bit more.]
“That’s what I regret. If we had, we could have extracted additional commissions.”

The Rothschild Fund had made secret agreements with foreign companies interested in acquiring four major subsidiaries of the Hansan Group to be put on the market, arranging to receive separate commissions based on the amount of debt forgiven.
Using public funds created from Korean taxpayers’ blood and sweat, they were forcing the repayment of debts for companies being handed over to foreign entities, while the Rothschild Fund was secretly siphoning off money as it pleased.
Chairman Brian Peterson leaned back in his chair, took a sip of whiskey, and savored the aroma in his mouth.

“You’ve wrapped up your discussions with Chairman Lim Jong-myung to ensure there are no problems proceeding with the sale, correct?”
[Of course. He initially opposed the sale, but promised to cooperate if we protect his shareholding from being lost.]

When the Hansan Group first fell into crisis and eventually entered court receivership, Chairman Lim Jong-myung had publicly announced that if the creditor consortium forgave some of the debt, he would step back from active management of the group and relinquish all of his shareholdings.
But the secret dealings he was conducting with the Rothschild Fund were completely contrary to what he had said with his own mouth.
Even as the group was being torn to shreds and sinking, the captain, Chairman Lim Jong-myung, was ignoring his employees and trying to secure only his own share—such selfish behavior that Chairman Brian Peterson let out a contemptuous snort.

“Since we’re not taking any losses anyway, let’s proceed with it that way.”
[Yes.]
“Now that the debt forgiveness issue is resolved, don’t drag it out. Contact the French Lafarge and Senseige, UBS Capital consortium, and others who’ve agreed to purchase the companies, and let’s finish the sale.”
[Understood.]
“Oh, and didn’t you say the government recently decided to inject public funds into Minguk Life, which entered court receivership, normalize it, and then sell it?”
[That’s correct.]

Chairman Brian Peterson’s eyes gleamed with avarice as he spoke.

“Let’s work on getting us to handle the restructuring just like we did with the Hansan Group.”
[Yes. I’ll see to it.]

After ending the call, Chairman Peterson’s face was brimming with satisfaction as things in Korea unfolded smoothly.
As he finished the whiskey in his hand, the distinctive oak aroma brushing across his nostrils and the smooth finish made him feel even more pleased.
Setting down the empty glass on his desk, Chairman Peterson spun the globe positioned beside it, then pointed his finger at Korea and stopped it.

“Thanks to the fire sale happening in Korea, I’ll be making quite a profit.”

Chairman Peterson murmured with a smile, his lips curling upward.

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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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