Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 99

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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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99. A signal that we’re almost at the peak now.

“Chief Secretary has arrived, Chairman.”

Park Tae-hong, seated at his broad mahogany desk reviewing approval documents, straightened his upper body at the words of his secretary Jung Yun-kyung.

“Tell him to come in.”
“Yes, sir.”

After Jung Yun-kyung left, Gil Seong-ho, the Chief Secretary in a gray suit, entered the office shortly after. Park Tae-hong, removing the magnifying glasses he’d been wearing and setting them down on the documents, gestured toward the sofa in front of him with one hand.
Chairman Park Tae-hong removed the magnifying glasses he had been wearing and placed them on the documents, then pointed to the sofa in front of him with one hand.

“Yes, sir.”
Yes.

As Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho sat down on the sofa to the right, Chairman Park Tae-hong stood up and spoke to Jung Yun-kyung, who was standing in front of the door.

“Understood.”
I understand.

While Jung Yun-kyung stepped out briefly, Chairman Park Tae-hong came around the desk and sat in the center seat of honor.
“During your last health checkup, didn’t Dr. Kim say it’s time for you to start taking care of your health? Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to reduce your smoking.”

“How much longer will that make me live? It’s better to do as I please than to restrain myself and live miserably.”
“So what if I live a bit longer? It’s better to just do what I want than to live feeling suffocated by holding back what I want to do.”

Park Tae-hong, the chairman, let out a scornful laugh as he exhaled white cigarette smoke.
Just then, Jung Yun-kyung entered with a knock, carrying a tray.
At that moment, Jung Yun-kyung came in carrying a tray with a knock.

Excuse me.

Jung Yun-kyung set down a teacup in front of each of Park Tae-hong and Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho, bowed slightly at the waist, and then immediately left the room.
As the fragrant aroma of coffee beans wafted through the air, Chairman Park Tae-hong leaned back against the sofa and asked Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho a question.

“Did you read through everything I gave you yesterday?”
“You mean the Public Interest Foundation matter, sir.”
“That’s right.”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho straightened his posture and spoke in a notably serious tone.

“To be honest, I was amazed I hadn’t thought of this sooner.”
“You would be. I had the same reaction when my second son brought me the proposal—I nearly jumped out of my seat.”

Since matters of inheritance were sensitive, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho carefully gauged Park Tae-hong’s expression before proceeding cautiously.

“If we utilize the Public Interest Foundation, we can certainly reduce the inheritance and gift tax burden when transferring group management rights to your eldest son.”
“If I pay all the taxes, my already meager stake will shrink even further. Just reducing that is a tremendous advantage.”
“Exactly. And on top of that, we gain the justification of contributing to society.”
“Indeed.”

Park Tae-hong held a cigarette between his fingers, a deep smile spreading across his lips.

“I save on taxes while earning praise instead of criticism. That’s what you call killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it?”
“It is, sir.”

Watching Park Tae-hong’s evident satisfaction, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho added further.

“However, if we place too large a stake in the Public Interest Foundation, we risk being accused of illegitimate succession.”
“Excess becomes poison in all things. You’re right about that.”

Park Tae-hong drew deeply on his cigarette, exhaled slowly, and looked at Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho.

“What amount do you think would be appropriate?”

Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho answered immediately, as though he had already considered this.

“I believe transferring 9.6%—half of your 19.6% stake in Midopa Department Store—to the Public Interest Foundation would be suitable.”
“You’re accounting for the fact that the department store holds textile shares?”

As Park Tae-hong grasped the crux of the matter, Chief Secretary Gil Seong-ho elaborated further.

“Since Midopa Department Store is the largest shareholder with 32.8% and effectively controls the textile company, if you maintain firm control of the department store, you can sustain stable management rights over the group.”

Park Tae-hong nodded slightly to himself as he mentally reviewed the group’s governance structure.

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
“I believe it would be better to utilize the existing Ubo Foundation rather than establishing a new Public Interest Foundation.”

The Ubo Foundation was a scholarship foundation established under the name of Ubo, the pen name of Park Yong-joo, Park Tae-hong’s father and the group’s founder.

“If we amend the existing bylaws to add public interest projects, that would certainly be much more efficient.”
“Yes, sir.”

After taking one final moment to carefully organize his thoughts, Park Tae-hong solidified his resolve.
He then stubbed out his cigarette, which had burned down to almost nothing, in the crystal ashtray on the table and issued his instructions.

“Prepare a detailed implementation plan and bring it to me.”
“Understood.”

* * *

[Sampoong Department Store Closure Order Issued Due to Collapse Risk; Building Sealed
The Sampoong Department Store, which had been suspected of illegal expansion and shoddy construction, has been ordered to cease operations immediately and the building sealed following Seoul City’s emergency safety inspection, which determined there was a risk of collapse.
According to experts who participated in the safety assessment, the building’s pillars and fifth-floor ceiling showed severe cracks, with concrete particles and aggregate spalling off.
Accordingly, Seoul City issued an operational closure order effective at midnight today and has implemented strict access controls following the building’s closure.
The government stated it would take rigorous follow-up measures to ensure public safety is not threatened in the wake of this incident, which occurred amid heightened anxiety over poorly constructed buildings following the recent Seongsu Bridge collapse.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating whether any illegal activities occurred during the process of obtaining permits for the department store’s construction, including changes in use and expansion….]

According to experts who participated in the safety inspection, it was revealed that the building columns and the fifth-floor ceiling were in a serious state of cracking, with fine concrete particles and aggregate falling off.
Accordingly, Seoul has issued a business suspension order effective from midnight today and is strictly controlling building access following closure measures.

Meanwhile, police are investigating whether there were any illegal activities in the process of changing the building’s purpose and obtaining permits for expansion during the construction of the department store.

Seok-won, who had come to have his shoes shined during his lunch break, sat in the chair and felt his eyes flicker as he read the article about Sampoong Department Store in the newspaper.
After Goryeo Daily News broke the exclusive story, the Sampoong Department Store issue became a major headline, just as expected.
Then, the city of Seoul launched an emergency safety diagnosis, and the results were as reported in the article.

‘With this, accidents at Sampoong Department Store will no longer occur.’

However, with anxiety about shoddy construction spreading throughout society, the atmosphere only grew worse, and customers’ distrust and suspicions continued to mount.
Eventually, Seoul City launched an emergency safety inspection, and the results were exactly as reported in the article.
The moment Seokwon became convinced of that fact, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
‘With this, the Sampoong Department Store accident won’t happen now.’
At that time, the boy, whom I had become quite close to after visiting the shoe store a few times, placed the polished shoes neatly in front of me and said,

However, this time I had managed to prevent the Sampoong Department Store collapse—a disaster that would have claimed far more lives.

It felt like setting down a heavy stone that had been pressing against my chest.
Just then, a boy who had become quite familiar to me after visiting the Shoe Repair Shop several times carefully laid out the polished shoes in front of me and spoke.
He smiled slightly and complimented the boy sitting in front of him.

“Your skills have improved a lot.”

The shoes, with every speck of dust meticulously removed and shoe polish applied with care, gleamed with a lustrous shine.

“Hehe. Do you like it?”
“Your skills have improved considerably.”
“Is that so?”

Kyung-woong Kim slyly accepted the joke and shrugged his shoulders.
“Hehe. Do you like it?”
“I do. At this rate, you could open your own shop, Kim Kyung-woong.”
“Really?”
Then, he took out his wallet from his inner pocket, took out a 10,000 won bill, and held it out.

Known in this neighborhood as either the shoe repair boy or that kid from the shop, Kim Kyung-woong primarily made deliveries and pickups around the office buildings, and from dealing with so many adults, he had developed a natural charm and quick wit.

I chuckled softly and, still seated in the chair, used a shoehorn hanging nearby to slip on the shoes.

“It’s okay. It’s a commemoration of the first time Kyung-woong shined your shoes for you, so keep the change for yourself.”
“Just a moment.”

As Kim Kyung-woong accepted the bill and moved to give me change, I waved my hand dismissively.
Seokwon himself smiled proudly at the sight of his always bright and steady appearance without any wrinkles.

“Oh! Really? Thank you so much!”

Kim Kyung-woong beamed with delight, his face breaking into a wide smile.
His unwavering brightness and earnest demeanor were such that I couldn’t help but smile with genuine pride.

‘I wonder if Manager Oh felt this same warmth whenever he brought his shoes to me to be polished.’
“okay.”
Seok-won felt a warmth bloom in his chest at the sudden thought.

Seokwon frowned and asked.

“Sure.”
“It’s about stocks. If you do that, can you really make money easily?”

Seok-won furrowed his brow and asked.

“Where did you hear something like that?”

With the opening of the market, the stock market, where foreign investment money poured in like a tide, was literally continuing a great boom, recovering 1,000 points in the KOSPI for the first time in five years and repeatedly hitting record highs.
Kim Kyung-woong didn’t even notice that Seok-won’s expression had soured, and he continued chattering earnestly.

“They said that since everything’s going up in this bull market, if you just buy stocks of any newly listed company, you can easily make three or four times your money in a month.”
“I was honestly tempted because I heard I could make a lot of money quickly.”

As stories of people making fortunes through stocks spread, even those who had never shown any interest in investment before were opening securities accounts for the first time, and a stock market craze was sweeping through the nation.

“So you want to trade stocks?”

When Seok-won, who was always smiling, looked at him with a straight face, Kim Gyeong-woong looked at him, feeling intimidated because he felt like he had done something wrong.
Seok-won watched Kim Kyung-woong scratching the back of his head for a moment, then spoke with a stern expression.

“There’s no such thing as easy money in this world. And if someone makes money, someone else loses it—and that someone could be you.”
“Yes. Listening to the general manager, I guess my ears were fluttering because I was listening to someone else again.”

Seeing this, Seok-won thought he’d reacted too harshly, so he softened his expression and offered advice in a gentler tone.
Seokwon tried to comfort her, but it seemed like she was fussing needlessly, so he got up without a word.

“Yes, sir. Hearing what you say, I realize I was swayed by what others told me again.”
“goodbye.”

Seok-won considered comforting him but thought he was being unnecessarily meddlesome, so he rose silently.
Seokwon walked into the company building and was on his way to take the elevator, but a thought suddenly occurred to him and he stopped dead in his tracks.
“I should be going now. Keep up the good business.”
“Goodbye, sir.”
Although the heating was good, the heat from the people gathered in the auditorium was warming the surrounding air.
Kim Kyung-woong quickly got to his feet and bowed respectfully.
As Seok-won entered the company building, he suddenly paused mid-stride, struck by a thought that had just occurred to him.

As he passed through the automatic doors, he felt a wave of warmth despite the winter season.
While the heating system was certainly efficient, the sheer energy of the crowd gathered in the Trading Floor was warming the air around them.

Women carrying shopping bags and baskets, mothers pushing strollers—a cross-section of humanity, young and old alike, filled the expansive Trading Floor to capacity.

“If you buy this stock, you’ll definitely double your money.”

The woman, who became anxious after hearing the words of the securities company employee, quickly handed out an envelope containing cash.

“Then please buy it quickly! Is this okay?”
“Absolutely. If you don’t buy now, you might never get another chance at this price.”

Seized by urgency, the woman quickly thrust an envelope of cash toward the employee.
When I looked around, the same scene was happening everywhere at the window.
“Then buy it quickly! This should be enough, right?”
“I’ll process it right away.”

The Securities Company employee inserted the cash from the envelope into a counting machine, tallied it, and immediately executed the purchase order.

Women using their children’s academy fees to buy stocks, university students pooling shares of recently listed companies based on tips from friends of friends, ordinary people drawn in by curiosity as everyone seemed to be making money these days.

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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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