Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 509

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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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509. Let’s end the interview here.

“He should be back once the meeting concludes. You can simply wait on the sofa.”

Na Seong-mi spoke with an air of composed sophistication, her composure unshaken.
Lee Suk-young, an economics reporter for the influential Hansung Daily News, glanced around the office before joining her senior photographer colleague on the leather sofa positioned in one corner of the Chairman’s Office.
Though she typically favored casual attire, today she had heeded her editor-in-chief’s earnest insistence to dress properly for such an important interview—arriving in a blouse, light gray dress pants, and low-heeled flats.

‘It’s not like I’m going on a blind date. Do I really need to dress up just for an interview?’
‘Then I’ll send another reporter instead.’
‘I apologize. I’ll wear my best outfit.’

Lee Suk-young had quickly swallowed her protest.
Park Seok-won rarely granted media exposure, and securing an exclusive interview with him was an opportunity too golden to lose to another journalist.
That was why she had reluctantly donned the formal attire she seldom wore.
Lee Suk-young cast a subtle glance toward Na Seong-mi standing by the door.
As befitted a chairman’s secretary, she possessed striking beauty, and her clothing was both refined and elegant.

‘…I’m glad I listened to the editor-in-chief.’

Had she arrived in her usual casual wear, she would have felt distinctly out of place.
Lee Suk-young felt fortunate that the outfit she’d selected from her wardrobe was one she’d purchased at considerable expense from a department store, and she slowly surveyed the office from her seat on the leather sofa.
Contrary to expectations that it would be lavishly decorated with expensive items befitting the reputation of the world’s wealthiest man with assets exceeding hundreds of billions of dollars, the space conveyed an overall simplicity and immaculate cleanliness.
On the wall hung a Western painting in Cubist style—a technique that combines multiple perspectives of an object into a single frame—displayed with understated elegance, and beneath it sat a single white moon jar, large and round as a full moon, resting on a table.
The bookshelf, rather than displaying decorative leather-bound volumes untouched by hand, was densely packed with contemporary books and papers across multiple disciplines—economics, history, science, and more.
Though furnished only with essential pieces without unnecessary ornaments, each item was clearly crafted from the finest materials.

‘The atmosphere here is quite different from other conglomerate chairmen’s offices.’

Rather than the typically authoritative and solemn impression one might expect, the space conveyed a practical yet refined aesthetic—likely because Park Seok-won was considerably younger than other major conglomerate leaders.
At that moment, Kim Seon-han, the photographer who had accompanied her, nudged her elbow and gestured with an excited expression toward the Western painting hanging opposite them.

“Did you see that painting?”
“What about it?”
“You don’t actually know what that painting is, do you?”

As Kim Seon-han whispered, Lee Suk-young instinctively lowered her voice as well.

“What’s wrong?”
“It’s the famous Women of Algiers!”
“The fact that you know the title suggests it’s a well-known work.”

Kim Seon-han stared at her with an incredulous expression.

“Even if you’re not interested in art, how could you not know this?”
“It’s possible not to know.”

Lee Suk-young replied curtly, her expression suggesting she found his fuss unnecessary.

“Still, not knowing a Picasso work is rather ignorant, isn’t it?”
“Senior! Did you forget I graduated from Ewha? Top of my class, too.”

Lee Suk-young’s eyes widened as she countered indignantly.

“Did you just say Picasso?”
“Yes, indeed!”

Lee Suk-young’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“You’re telling me that’s an actual Picasso painting!”

Lee Suk-young’s voice had risen involuntarily, and she lowered her head in embarrassment upon noticing Na Seong-mi’s presence.
When Na Seong-mi, standing by the door, subtly averted her gaze to pretend she hadn’t heard, Kim Seon-han gave her a reproachful look.

“Why would we hang a forgery here?”

Lee Suk-young gazed at the Picasso painting on the wall with renewed interest.

“If it’s authentic, it must be incredibly expensive?”
“Of course. Since there’s only one in the world and it exemplifies Picasso’s distinctive technique so well, its value would be even higher. I’m no expert, but it must be worth hundreds of millions.”
“But why is something that should be in a museum here…”

Lee Suk-young swallowed hard at the price.
Meanwhile, Kim Seon-han, who unexpectedly possessed considerable knowledge of art, gazed at the Women of Algiers with admiration.

“Right. I never expected to see a work displayed in renowned museums here.”

Seeing paintings worth hundreds of millions of won hanging so casually on the walls, Lee Suk-young finally grasped with certainty that the owner of this office was the wealthiest magnate in the entire world.
Na Seong-mi, standing quietly to one side, stole glances at the two of them and felt a quiet sense of pride swell within her.
At that moment, the thick wooden door crafted from solid timber swung open, and Seok-won entered in a navy custom-tailored suit.
As Lee Suk-young and Kim Seon-han rose to their feet, Seok-won spoke with a warm smile.

“You must be the Hansung Daily News reporter here for today’s interview.”
“Yes. I’m Lee Suk-young, an economics reporter with the Hansung Daily News.”

Though I knew he was handsome as a model, the reality before me was far more striking than any photograph—and without realizing it, my cheeks flushed slightly as I extended the business card I had prepared.
After accepting the card and examining it briefly, Seok-won tucked it into his inner jacket pocket and shifted his gaze to the side, prompting Kim Seon-han standing beside me to quickly bow his head.

“Kim Seon-han.”

Seok-won glanced at the camera bag resting on the sofa and spoke.

“You must be the photographer.”
“That’s correct.”

Seok-won flashed him a warm smile.

“Please make sure to capture me well.”
“Ha ha. With such fine features, I’m sure the shots will look like magazine spreads no matter how I frame them.”
“Thank you for saying so.”

Unlike Lee Suk-young, who remained somewhat nervous despite her years in the field, Kim Seon-han responded with an easy, natural laugh, matching Seok-won’s warmth.
Seok-won then unfastened his jacket buttons and settled naturally into the center seat, gesturing toward the sofa with one hand.

“Then let’s sit and continue our conversation.”

Coming back to myself, Lee Suk-young sat down again, drew in a breath, and exhaled slowly to calm my racing excitement.
Though I had a tendency to be a bit scattered, my usual composed and sharp demeanor returned quickly, so there seemed to be no need for concern.
Kim Seon-han removed his camera from his bag and mounted it on the tripod placed to one side, completing his preparations with practiced ease.
After taking a few casual shots before the formal interview and warming up the atmosphere with light conversation, Lee Suk-young switched on the voice recorder and placed it on the table.

“First, thank you for giving me this opportunity for an exclusive interview.”

“I’m hardly someone so remarkable that an interview would generate much interest, but I appreciate the thought.”

Seok-won, sitting with one leg crossed, responded with humble grace and composure.

“Recently, Forbes magazine released a list of the world’s wealthiest individuals, and you surpassed Christopher Alexander, the CEO and founder of Microsoft who had held the top position for quite some time, becoming the world’s richest person—quite a shock to everyone. Moreover, after acquiring WB Bank and subsidiaries of Hansan Group that entered court receivership, you’ve recently made headlines by purchasing Minguk Life for a staggering 2.3 trillion won. You’re truly at the center of attention, so if this interview is published, I’m certain many people will seek out the article.”

Seok-won responded with a light smile instead of words.

“May I ask the first question that our subscribers are most curious about?”
“Go ahead.”

Lee Suk-young’s eyes sparkled as she posed the question immediately.

“According to articles in Forbes and Time Magazine, your assets are estimated at over 90 billion dollars. Is that accurate?”

At the curious question, Seok-won smiled faintly.

“I can’t discuss every detail, but it’s roughly accurate.”

Lee Suk-young let out a small exclamation.

“I see. Most people believe you’ve accomplished all this without help from your father, Chairman Park Tae-hong of the Daeheung Group, which is truly remarkable.”
“However, as you’re aware, the value of my holdings in Yahoo, Amazon, Cisco, and other stocks has continued to rise, so I’ve likely surpassed 100 billion dollars by now. Of course, I’d need to calculate the exact figure.”

At his casual remark, Lee Suk-young’s expression shifted to one of astonishment.

“With the dot-com boom heating up the American stock market, that makes sense. My goodness, 100 billion dollars—I can barely fathom how much money that actually is.”

Then, a sudden thought crossing her mind, Lee Suk-young leaned forward urgently.

“If my memory serves me correctly, no one in history has ever possessed assets exceeding 100 billion dollars. That would make you the first person to become a hundred-billionaire.”
“I was fortunate enough for it to turn out that way.”

Seok-won shrugged in response.
From the very start, Lee Suk-young had landed an exclusive scoop, and she clenched her fist with inner delight, grateful to have been assigned this interview.
After conducting the interview for roughly an hour and gathering numerous stories that newspaper subscribers would find compelling, Lee Suk-young reluctantly posed her final question, sensing it was time to wrap up.

“You’re surely aware of the venture company that’s been leading the KOSDAQ craze with a staggering surge exceeding 50-fold in the domestic stock market recently.”
“You’re referring to Goldbank.”
“Yes. I understand that before Goldbank’s listing on KOSDAQ, Bluehole Venture Capital made an angel investment and holds a considerable stake.”
“We held exactly 55 percent.”

Since this was one of several pre-arranged questions, Lee Suk-young had asked without much thought, but she paused at his past-tense response and asked for clarification.

“It sounds like you said earlier that you still held a stake… Does that mean you’ve sold off some of your shares?”

In truth, the reason I’d agreed to this interview today was to publicly disclose that I was divesting my stake in Goldbank, so I answered with composure.

“That’s correct. I’ve already sold half of my existing stake, and I plan to continue liquidating my position until I’ve completely exited.”

Lee Suk-young’s eyebrows shot up at this unexpected revelation.

“Is that really true?”

Kim Seon-han, who had been taking photographs with a tripod set up, also tore his eyes from the camera in surprise and looked at me.

“Yes, it is.”

I gave a small nod.
Lee Suk-young’s body thrummed with the realization of a scoop, and she swallowed her excitement before asking carefully.

“Some experts have pointed out that Goldbank’s steep stock price surge reflects valuations that are excessive compared to actual operational performance and intrinsic corporate value. Is that the reason you’re divesting your shares?”

Meeting her gaze, I spoke evenly.

“While it’s true that Goldbank’s stock price has risen excessively in a short period, I believe this reflects the global momentum being generated by the internet and the explosive growth of the domestic internet market.”
“If that’s the case, the stock price could rise even further—so why are you selling off your stake?”

It was a rather sharp question, but I remained unruffled.

“As you mentioned earlier, Bluehole Venture Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in promising startups, supports their growth, and shares in the profits when expected results are achieved. I invested in Goldbank for that purpose, and since we’ve achieved greater returns than anticipated, I believe our role is complete and it’s time to realize those gains.”
“So you don’t believe the current stock price is a bubble?”
“It may rise further or lose momentum from here, but unless I’m a god, I can’t know that. The point is that I’ve exceeded my target returns, so now I’m simply looking to find other promising ventures to invest in.”

Unsatisfied with my principled answer, Lee Suk-young was about to press further when I rolled up my sleeve and checked the watch on my wrist.

“My, the time has gotten away from us. I’m afraid I have another appointment, so let’s wrap up the interview here.”

Lee Suk-young’s expression fell with disappointment as she tried to say something.

“There’s so much more I’d like to ask, but I suppose it can’t be helped. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.”

Though she would have liked to press further, the clean way I’d cut things off made it clear I was not someone who would fall for clumsy tactics.

“I hope we’ll have the chance to talk again next time.”

Despite the subtle attempt to leave the door open, Seok-won simply smiled without responding.
After Lee Suk-young and Kim Seon-han gathered their equipment and left, I rose from my seat and walked to the window, gazing up at the overcast sky threatening rain as I murmured to myself.

“Now that I’ve done this interview, there shouldn’t be any annoying situations later where people claim I manipulated the stock price.”

Today’s interview could have been the trigger for Goldbank’s stock to plummet, but I didn’t want to be misunderstood over a mere pittance.
Besides, even if the stock price collapsed and I couldn’t sell my remaining shares properly, it didn’t matter since I’d already made sufficient profits.
On the other hand, I hoped this would serve as a warning signal to individual investors who were creating massive bubbles and playing hot potato with financial bombs.

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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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