The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 39

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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 39
Kang Tae-yong, chairman of Seonjin Motors and Seon-woo’s uncle, chuckled to himself while watching the news that spilled from the television, delighted by something.
“My goodness, that stubborn old fool. He tried to swallow the whole thing himself and choked on it. Got himself badly indigested.”
As Kang Tae-yong clicked his tongue, the executive sitting across from him smiled as well.
“Don’t you think so? What’s your take on it, Director Park?”
“Quite right, sir. The chairman’s timing in withdrawing his hand this time has turned out to be excellent. One might even call it a move blessed by heaven.”
“Withdrawing? He pushed me out. Said he didn’t want to look at me anymore. What choice did I have? Well, because he pushed me out, I dodged this mud pit, and he ended up in that mess.”
Kang Tae-yong jutted his chin toward the television. The screen was flooding with pessimistic expert analyses about the causes and future outlook of Seonjin Trading Company’s stock plunge.
[Seonjin Trading Company shares, which had hovered around 70,000 won during the management rights dispute, have continued to hit the lower limit price in recent days, now fallen to the 40,000-won range, and are expected to decline further…….]
At the anchor’s dry yet urgent voice, Kang Tae-yong propped his chin in his hand.
The amusement faded from his eyes, which narrowed as he did the mental arithmetic. He had plenty of numbers to calculate to simply rejoice.
“But you know, even for me, it doesn’t feel like something to be purely happy about.”
“Yes? We haven’t suffered any losses, and we simply need to watch from the sidelines, don’t we?”
“Think long term, long term. Seonjin Group ultimately has to come to me. It’s mine anyway. To make that happen, I need to weaken Trading Company enough and then throttle it, but because my uncle bumbled around, he’s gone and built up the other side’s weight class for nothing.”
Kang Tae-yong tapped the table irritably.
“That woman, Kim Ja-young, came back from the dead and her venom is running hot. She’ll start reorganizing the shareholding structure. She has the pretext now—the government will demand the circular investment be resolved anyway.”
“That may well be the case. And from what I’ve seen, the representative Kim Ja-young does seem to have considerable resolve. The consensus is that her crisis management ability is remarkable.”
What the business world found most surprising in this affair was the rise of someone named Kim Ja-young. It caught Kang Tae-yong off guard to see her, whom he had written off as a figurehead, take direct command and manage the situation herself.
But what truly grated on Kang Tae-yong was not Kim Ja-young’s ability.
“Kim Ja-young is one thing, but that Kim Seok-jun sticking to her side really gets under my skin.”
Kang Tae-yong’s voice dropped low.
“I went and begged him for help, threw a blank check at him, and he wouldn’t budge. Now that man ends up at Kim Ja-young’s side? And at this exact moment?”
Buzz—buzz—
Kang Tae-yong’s mobile phone, resting on the table, vibrated loudly.
He checked the name on the screen, frowned, and yanked the battery from the phone.
Knock-knock—
“I have to find some way to separate Kim Seok-jun from her, or else we lose the leverage…….”
While he was still heating up about Kim Seok-jun, there was a knock, and the secretary entered with a cautious expression.
She was carefully reading the room’s mood.
“What is it?”
“Chairman Kang Byeong-chul of Seonjin Aluminum is requesting a call connection. He says it’s urgent…….”
Kang Tae-yong let out a hollow laugh of disbelief.
“Ah, this is ridiculous. So if he doesn’t get through on the mobile, I should just assume he’s to be ignored, should I? Either he has no sense, or no shame. My uncle is really getting on my nerves.”
In fact, calls had been coming in continuously since morning, but Kang Tae-yong had been ignoring them completely.
“An urgent matter—what nonsense. It’s obvious. I’d bet anything he’s calling to borrow money, but I’m not a charity.”
“Then…….”
“Just tell him I’m out on external business. Or that I’m in a meeting and can’t take the call.”
“Yes, understood, sir.”
“From now on, don’t even report it—just make something up and hang up.”
Once the secretary had bowed and left, Kang Tae-yong turned his attention back to the executive.
“Director Park.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“We need to build up our strength more. Once Seonjin Group restructures its governance, we won’t be able to touch it at our current scale.”
It had been a game that ended in Kim Ja-young’s victory.
“How should we proceed?”
“Seonjin Aluminum will need plenty of cash to weather the aftershock. They’re already gasping for liquid funds right now, so they’ll have to clean up subsidiary equity stakes or something to raise money.”
The executive nodded.
“So you’re saying we should shift our focus to targeting Aluminum first?”
“Exactly. When Aluminum is in crisis, we swallow it. We can’t let anyone else have it, can we?”
“Understood, sir. I’ll mobilize the team immediately.”
Kang Tae-yong nodded and let a smile cross his face.

* * *
“Just a little longer, please. Give me just a little more time.”
Even at Kang Byeong-chul’s pleading, Kim Jong-su—the Bukchon Ant King—remained cold across from him.
“That’s not possible.”
“It’s unfair. I want to dump everything I’m holding onto the market right now. But the authorities won’t grant permission. They say if I move, it’ll shock the market!”
Kang Byeong-chul beat his chest in frustration.
“The Securities and Futures Commission has issued an order prohibiting in-market sales until I submit a disposal plan and receive approval. Right now, the stock price is dropping by the minute outside, but just until the plan gets approved…….”
“Why are you telling me this? If you don’t repay me by tomorrow, I’ll proceed according to the terms of the Promissory Note.”
Kim Jong-su cut him off. His tone made clear he didn’t care for excuses.
“Chairman Kim! Please, just help me once more.”
“You were so confident when you borrowed the money.”
Kim Jong-su’s mouth twisted into something cold.
“I have dealt equally with everyone who has borrowed money from me. You being a chaebol chairman changes nothing. Rules are rules.”
Kim Jong-su rose from his seat.
“If payment is not made by tomorrow, I will take possession of the Seonjin Trading Company equity stake I’ve been holding as collateral.”
……
When Kim Jong-su left the room without hesitation, Kang Byeong-chul collapsed into his chair.
“It’s all…… over now.”

* * *
Kim Seok-jun’s residence, study.
As soon as school ended, I sought out Kim Seok-jun. I had to offer my thanks first, of course, and we needed to discuss what came next.
“Director, I’m grateful. I was able to settle this matter well thanks to your help.”
“Ha ha ha, my boy. I simply moved as you directed me.”
Director Kim Seok-jun laughed heartily and waved a hand.
True, I had orchestrated the game and moved him, as he said.
But he had trusted me completely and performed his role perfectly, going even beyond what I asked of him.
I had no regrets whatsoever in choosing Kim Seok-jun as a partner.
“You’ve worked incredibly hard. No, this time you prevented a catastrophe.”
I lowered my head slightly, embarrassed.
“I often recall how you looked when you first came to me. At first, I thought, what does a high school student know? But now I’m certain—you’re different.”
“You’re being too kind.”
“Your ability to read the game, your drive, your eye for talent like Jung Tae-sung. And that’s not all—your investments, how did you manage those?”
Heat crept up my face.
It was my first time receiving genuine recognition from an adult, someone who had been through everything. I didn’t even know how to respond.
“Seeing you makes me feel like I’ll have face to show the Chairman when I meet him in the afterlife. That I found a proper successor.”
Kim Seok-jun nodded with satisfaction, then asked with a more serious expression.
“So what are your plans from here?”
“The Bukchon funds have begun pressuring Kang Byeong-chul. According to the Promissory Note, he should have to hand over the Trading Company equity stake held as collateral by tomorrow. I’m planning to use the cash buried at Ribbon Capital to acquire that stake back myself.”
Kim Seok-jun’s eyes widened.
“So you’re buying back the 4.5% you sold at 70,000 won per share, and the stock is now at……?”
“In the 33,000-won range.”
“So you’re buying back at half the price. Ha ha ha. Where do you find such a good deal?”
“But by the time Bukchon recovers the stock, I’d wager the share price will have fallen into the 20,000-won range.”
The Securities and Futures Commission was telling them to sell on the market while demanding they submit a plan. The reason given was to avoid shocking the market, but every day the value of Seonjin Aluminum’s Trading Company shares was falling.
This was the scenario: buying back Kang Byeong-chul’s shares at below market price using the money I’d received from selling at the peak.
“Once I acquire the 4.5% stake, I plan to keep it buried at Ribbon Capital. I’ll need it for future management rights battles or when I eventually inherit the company.”
“What about the rest of the capital?”
“I’ll continue to roll it through stock investments.”
“Then what about the equity stake that SJ Holdings is holding? You’ve quietly accumulated over 8%.”
“Unless something unexpected happens, I think it’s best to keep that buried as well. Trading Company will need to reform its shareholding structure, and I’ll need friendly stakes when that time comes.”
If left as things were, Trading Company would face another attack.
Unless my mother and Director Choi Dong-su were fools, they would try to resolve the circular investment structure in the wake of this affair, and I needed to remain as a friendly stake that could help when that happened.
“So Kang Byeong-chul is finished?”
“Yes. For the time being, he won’t be in any position to attack—he’ll have to find a way for Aluminum itself to survive.”
And there was one more person targeting Trading Company. My uncle, Kang Tae-yong.
“Chairman Kang Tae-yong also watched this unfold and learned what happens when you’re reckless, so he won’t touch Trading Company for a while.”
It was time to catch our breath.
For now, I planned to shift my focus away from defending the company’s management rights and concentrate on building up the financial power of SJ Holdings and Ribbon Capital.
“I also need to do things that match my age now.”
“Things that match your age……. Can you come back to normal life while doing this?”
“Of course. I came here straight from school today. I’ll take the College Entrance Examination, go to university. Serve in the military too.”
In truth, the military obligation was the thing that bothered me most about this regression to my youth, but I’d decided not to worry about it anymore.
If you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it, they say.
Having handled this matter well, I needed time to grow even more.
“Good. Do as you see fit. I’ll keep helping you from the sidelines.”
At Kim Seok-jun’s reassuring words, I smiled and nodded.
“I should be going now.”
As I stood, Kim Seok-jun also rose and came toward me.
“Let’s shake hands once.”
I clasped the hand he extended to me.
“You’ve worked hard. I mean that sincerely.”
I released his hand and bowed quietly before stepping out of his home.
Outside, the air of early summer’s dusk greeted me.
‘Now it’s starting to feel real.’
It was a perfect victory—something I’d never experienced once in my previous life.
But there was no time to dwell in sentiment. Now the real beginning starts.
‘I should get home and find new investment opportunities. Next time, I’ll crush them from the start.’

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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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