The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 30

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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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Regression of a Fallen Chaebol’s Third Generation — Episode 30
One week later, Seonjin Aluminum Chairman’s Office.
“Park Nam-gyu?”
Kang Byeong-chul frowned as he skimmed the documents handed to him by the planning director.
“Yes. Originally, he was quite famous in Myeongdong as a specialist in money laundering and stock manipulation, but lately he’s been looking for new partners in Myeongdong.”
“Is that so? Why Myeongdong instead of Yeouido if he’s a stock trader?”
“That’s… do you happen to know about the Bukchon Ant?”
Kang Byeong-chul nodded. He knew well—very well. No one in a chaebol family could avoid knowing that name.
At least since the Real-Name Financial System took effect, there was only one clean window through which to borrow large sums without traces.
Clean transactions, a tight mouth—a formidable operator.
“I know him well.”
“It seems he got caught trying to manipulate stocks with the Bukchon Ant’s money and was driven out.”
“That man hates having anyone mess with his own money, doesn’t he?”
“Yes. So he was essentially buried in Yeouido and pushed down to Myeongdong. Now that Myeongdong loan sharks have recently turned their eyes toward direct investment rather than simple lending, it seems he’s trying to make a comeback there.”
“Is that right?”
Kang Byeong-chul stroked his chin and decided the man was suitable. Few people were easier to manipulate than someone who’d already been discarded once.
“But we don’t have separate money to give him either. Is he still workable?”
“It seems he’s recently found another financial backer in Myeongdong and is boasting that he has plenty of money.”
“Hmm, if he has a backer, that’s not bad. Where’s this new backer from?”
“That’s… only rumors of a rising big player are spreading through Myeongdong.”
“But there is a real person behind it?”
“Yes. Park Nam-gyu may not know other details, but he doesn’t lie when it comes to money.”
Kang Byeong-chul’s lips curved upward with a bitter smile. A desperate man, starved and driven into a corner, yet his skills were already proven and he had secured a money supply. There was no better hand to play without getting one’s hands dirty.
‘A discarded man… easy to handle.’
Moreover, since the man had blemishes, he was perfect for cutting ties later if problems arose.
“Is his background solid?”
“Yes. An investigation shows he has a fraud record, but his mouth is relatively tight. Above all, since he’s trying to make a comeback now, he seems ready to do whatever he’s told.”
Kang Byeong-chul tapped his fingers on the desk.
His deliberation was brief.
“All right, let’s meet him once.”
“I’ll arrange a meeting. When would you like?”
“The sooner the better. Tell him to come this evening right away.”
“Understood.”
As the director bowed and left, Kang Byeong-chul watched his departing figure with satisfaction and nodded to himself.

* * *
A high-end Japanese restaurant in the Foothills of Bukhansan.
Kang Byeong-chul sat at the head of the private room, while a man knelt on the tatami floor, bowing so deeply his body was nearly flat.
“It is an honor to meet the Chairman. I am Park Nam-gyu.”
Kang Byeong-chul nodded gravely, his gaze full of assessment.
“So I hear you made quite a name for yourself in Yeouido.”
“No, sir. Since men like me don’t earn money cleanly, my name simply became known more easily. It is shameful.”
Watching Park Nam-gyu speak so frankly and unguardedly about his own lack of propriety, Kang Byeong-chul smiled with a hint of surprise.
“Is that a flaw? To make money, we must ultimately draw tears from other people’s eyes. You only need ability.”
“Chairman, I am honored you speak that way. Your capacity is truly different from ordinary men.”
Park Nam-gyu bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the ground, flattering him shamelessly.
“All right, enough of those greetings. Sit down. Your neck must be hurting.”
At those words, Park Nam-gyu quickly raised his head and carefully sat beside him.
“Do you drink?”
“I will if you offer it, Chairman.”
As Kang Byeong-chul lifted a bottle of sake, Park Nam-gyu respectfully accepted the cup with both hands.
“You must have heard from Director Jung?”
“Yes, I heard that the Chairman is assembling an important equity stake in a company.”
“That’s right. You know Seonjin Trading Company?”
“Of course. There are rumors spreading that foreign investors are eyeing it recently. And the stock price keeps rising without limit.”
“Yes, it’s my nephew’s wife’s company, and I can’t let foreign investors take it.”
Park Nam-gyu turned his head and downed the sake Kang Byeong-chul had poured in one gulp.
“So as the family’s elder, I’m trying to protect it. It’s helping my nephew.”
“Of course, sir. With a man like you, Seonjin Group could never be shaken. I was truly moved by your great virtue and generosity!”
It was overwrought flattery, but Kang Byeong-chul wasn’t displeased. Though Park Nam-gyu’s behavior was transparent, what mattered now wasn’t the substance but the behavior itself.
The way the man understood his place and bowed to it.
This was exactly the kind of person Kang Byeong-chul wanted.
“But there’s a problem. Can you solve it for me?”
“Just tell me, sir. I would stake my very life on it.”
“I’m short on liquid capital.”
At Kang Byeong-chul’s confession, Park Nam-gyu put on a worried expression.
“Why? Do you need liquid capital to move forward?”
“No, sir. Since you said you’re short on liquid capital, I’ve been thinking about where I should obtain it. Our job is to bring money to you, after all.”
“So, can you get it?”
Park Nam-gyu seemed to think for a long while, then eventually nodded.
“Yes. If I contact a financial backer I’ve known for a while, I should be able to borrow it.”
“A backer? Is he a loan shark from Myeongdong?”
“No, sir. Recently on the Yeouido scene, there’s a new financial backer providing liquid capital to men like me. I don’t know his identity.”
“You don’t know? Then how do you contact him?”
“I have a middleman. This business works through connections, after all.”
“You don’t know who your backer is? That makes me a bit uneasy.”
“Chairman, in this business, it’s actually safer not to know each other’s identities. The more you know, the more responsibility you bear.”
“… There is some logic to that.”
Kang Byeong-chul nodded slowly. An unknown backer.
If the money was solid, nothing could be better.
“How much can you borrow?”
“I’ll try to borrow enough to purchase the equity stake the Chairman desires. My backer is said to have quite a large capacity.”
At Park Nam-gyu’s answer, Kang Byeong-chul laughed heartily.
“Good. Then we need to acquire 4% of Seonjin Trading Company’s shares. Think you can do it?”
“I’ll try my best. However, it may take some time. To acquire it without affecting the stock price too much…”
“No, no. We don’t have that kind of time anymore. The stock has already taken off, so don’t worry about what others think. Just push forward with speed.”
“Understood. I’ll proceed with speed as the priority.”
“And remember this: my name and Seonjin Aluminum’s name must never come out. We’ll disguise the Myeongdong money as speculative capital.”
“Of course. You can be assured.”
“If the plan goes well, I’ll pay you a higher price later.”
At those words, Park Nam-gyu bowed again.
“I’m honored to serve you. I’ll do my best.”
Kang Byeong-chul nodded.
“Good. I think I’ll be seeing a lot of you.”
Kang Byeong-chul refilled the empty cup, and Park Nam-gyu turned again and drained it, but on Park Nam-gyu’s face—unseen by Kang Byeong-chul—a smile had taken root.

* * *
10 p.m. at home.
I was leaning back on my bed, taking a call from Choi Seong-hun.
-Park Nam-gyu has just returned from meeting with Chairman Kang Byeong-chul.
“Already?”
A week ago I had instructed Choi Seong-hun to recruit Park Nam-gyu.
The last update said they were setting up an office in Myeongdong and working on disguising the new backer’s funds.
I’d expected it would take at least two weeks, but it seemed the other side was in a hurry.
-Yes. This afternoon, Seonjin Aluminum suddenly contacted us, and he just came back from the meeting. As we predicted, Chairman Kang’s side didn’t provide liquid capital but instead proposed acquiring an equity stake.
It was a reading of Kang Byeong-chul’s greed and financial shortage that proved spot-on.
He wanted to secure shares with other people’s money, and Park Nam-gyu fit that need perfectly.
“That’s good. How did Park Nam-gyu react? Did he by any chance go over to their side…?”
-I don’t think you need to worry about that. I have a piece of information that prevents Park Nam-gyu from betraying us. As I mentioned before…
Ah, Choi Seong-hun was holding onto critical information about Park Nam-gyu’s stock manipulation fraud.
That information was serving as a shackle keeping Park Nam-gyu bound.
-But what worries me is that if I get entangled with this man and proceed with this work, we also risk legal involvement in fraud.
“No. Director Choi, please don’t do anything that could cause legal problems on your end.”
Of course, Park Nam-gyu didn’t know I was behind him.
He only recognized Choi Seong-hun as his new sponsor.
From the start, he was a piece to be used and discarded, not one to be kept to the end.
“Tomorrow I’ll tell Executive Director Jung Tae-sung to hand over documents related to Ribbon Capital’s shareholdings to Park Nam-gyu.”
Choi Seong-hun fell silent for a moment, then quickly grasped my intention.
“The strategy is this: we’ll make Park Nam-gyu falsely report to Chairman Kang that he’s acquired the 3% equity stake that Ribbon Capital holds.”
Kang Byeong-chul would believe Park Nam-gyu. When Park Nam-gyu said he’d acquired shares with money from the new Myeongdong backer, Kang Byeong-chul would take comfort and mistakenly believe they’d secured 30% of shares.
“And later, during the shareholder showdown, we’ll recover the power of attorney for those shares.”
-Then Chairman Kang will feel assured, believing he’s succeeded in securing voting rights.
“Yes. We simply make him feel secure and believe he’s gathered enough shares. The biggest danger is when our opponent tries with all their might to acquire more shares.”
-It’s a decent strategy. We definitely need to prevent them from acquiring more shares.
“In the meantime, we’ll acquire more shares through SJ Holdings.”
Choi Seong-hun listened quietly to my words, then spoke up.
-But will they be satisfied with just 30%? Wouldn’t they try to acquire more?
“Leave that part to me. Through Ribbon Capital, if we increase the shares we’ve secured and create that much empty space, it should work.”
I wasn’t planning to sit idle either.
“So please convey things well to Park Nam-gyu so he doesn’t lose Chairman Kang’s trust. He’ll only trust Director Choi.”
-Yes, understood. Trust me. I’ll handle Park Nam-gyu well.
After hanging up, I let out a long breath.
“Let’s see—we can’t just end it this way. We need to acquire more shares too.”
Thinking that, I picked up the phone and called Jung Tae-sung.
-It’s Jung Tae-sung, sir.
“We need more Seonjin Trading Company shares. Ribbon Capital needs to secure at least 4.5%.”
-Ribbon Capital’s funds have all been used to secure shares. SJ Holdings has about 20 billion won left. Should I transfer that as a loan?
No, that money had other uses.
“No. As I mentioned before, use the remaining 200 billion from SJ Holdings to purchase thematic stocks related to the current administration.”
If the future hadn’t changed, an impeachment crisis would soon begin. And with the general election having taken place, it was the time when political themes were flourishing.
The money in SJ Holdings had to keep growing.
“And arrange a meeting with Kim Jong-su of the Bukchon Ant. We need to secure funding for Ribbon Capital from there. Tomorrow itself.”

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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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