The Return of the Ruined Chaebol's Third-Generation Heir - Chapter 75

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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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The Fall of a Chaebol Heir: Regression — Episode 75
Seven in the morning.
Park Han-su opened the newspaper first, as he always did.
Economics page first, finance section next, society pages last — a forty-year habit.
Rustle.
Lower half of the front page, Taesung Daily News.
A single article caught his eye, marked with the label “Exclusive.”
[Exclusive — Jungseong Construction Deployed Affiliated Press in Savings Bank Acquisition to Induce Bank Run]
Park Han-su’s hand froze.
The article claimed that before Goryo Economic Daily published the piece on Seongshin Savings Bank’s insolvency, editors at the top had dictated the direction and tone of the story.
The journalist hadn’t written it independently — it had come down from above.
Goryo Economic Daily was a subsidiary of Jungseong Group, and the timing of the article coincided exactly with when Jungseong Construction was pursuing the acquisition of Seongshin Savings Bank.
[A Financial Supervisory Commission official stated that if true, it could constitute market manipulation.]
That line appeared at the end of the piece.
“…… Yes. So it was you.”
Park Han-su murmured without lifting his eyes from the newspaper.
He’d known.
Jung Hyun-il storming out in anger. Then the article breaking days later. The timing was too perfect.
He’d harbored suspicions. He’d simply lacked proof.
Slap.
Park Han-su threw the newspaper across the table and splashed his face with cold water.
The more he turned over the article’s contents, the more vividly the bank run came back to him.
People queuing from dawn in front of the main branch.
Depositors standing with withdrawal slips in hand, their faces etched with anxiety.
Even a traditional market vendor from the Eunpyeong Branch had reportedly asked, holding his passbook to his chest, whether this branch was closing too.
These bastards had put all those people in that line.
“You said you’d save common people finance.”
Park Han-su’s voice dropped low.
The same mouth that had spoken of saving common people finance had issued orders to an affiliated newspaper, driving ordinary people into panic.
He’d killed their bank, then turned around offering to buy it.
“Yes. I almost handed it over to this scum.”
Park Han-su’s hands trembled.
To stop the bank run, he’d been prepared to give Seongshin to Jungseong Construction.
If Kim Jong-su hadn’t come when he did and put out that urgent fire…….
Park Han-su’s gaze drifted slowly toward the wall. Several photographs hung there, and one caught his eye.
“…….”
December 1998. The opening day of the Eunpyeong Branch.
After the IMF Crisis hit and commercial banks withdrew, he’d hung his sign in that alley where everyone said he was insane.
In the photo, he stood with four staff members.
His suit was wrinkled and his face was weathered, but he was smiling.
“…… Yes. That was it.”
Park Han-su stared at the photograph for a long time.
—We’re not building something new. We’re restoring the bank you created in the first place, Chairman.
Words from a few days ago, spoken by someone who looked young, came back to him.
“I suppose it’s time to decide.”
Having muttered those words to himself, Park Han-su returned to his desk and picked up the telephone receiver.

* * *
Thud.
The Taesung Daily News flew across the desk.
“How did this happen!”
Jeongseong Group Chairman’s Office.
Chairman Jung Min-woong shouted at his son, Jung Hyun-il, who hung his head in shame, pointing at the newspaper with his finger.
“Jungseong Construction’s name is plastered on the front page of Taesung Daily. It says you induced a bank run using affiliated press! You’ve been saying yes to everything, and now you’re doing this?”
Jung Hyun-il couldn’t respond.
He couldn’t deny it. He was the one who’d issued the orders to Goryo Economic Daily.
“…… I can explain the circumstances.”
“I don’t need circumstances or anything else.”
Jung Min-woong slammed the desk.
“The Ministry of Strategy and Finance hasn’t picked up since this morning. Same with the FSC! The people I was talking to yesterday stop answering the moment the name Jungseong comes up! Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Jung Min-woong approached his son, who kept his head lowered.
“Seongshin is done for. There’s no one in government left to stamp our approval. You created this situation!”
“Father, the other party is a private moneylender. It was the fastest way to neutralize them…….”
“And this is what you’ve accomplished?”
Jung Min-woong’s voice thundered through the entire office.
“You orchestrated a bank run using affiliated press to swallow one savings bank? Are you too stupid to realize what happens when that comes to light?”
“…….”
“If the name Jungseong reaches the authorities, it’s not just Seongshin that’s finished. Construction permits, redevelopment approvals, Project Finance authorizations — everything connected to the government will go up in flames.”
Jung Hyun-il’s jaw clenched.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought that far. He’d simply believed they wouldn’t get caught.
“Other media outlets are already running follow-up investigations, and in a day or two Jungseong Group will be splashed across the front page! You tried to swallow one bank and you’ve put the entire group on fire!”
Jung Min-woong stepped in front of Jung Hyun-il, looking down at his son’s eyes.
“Step down as president of Construction.”
Jung Hyun-il’s eyes wavered.
“…… Father.”
“You’re not capable of more than that. I can’t entrust the foundation of our group to you. Stand down.”
“Father!”
Jung Hyun-il raised his head and raised his voice for the first time.
“Just give me one more chance. I can fix this. If I can clarify things with the authorities and handle the press response properly…….”
“One more chance?”
Jung Min-woong cut him off as if unwilling to hear another word.
“Do you still not understand what your actions have caused? Fix it? If you could have fixed it, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place!”
Jung Hyun-il’s shoulders shrank.
“Stay out of sight until the dust settles. Don’t let me see your face again!”
Jung Hyun-il’s mouth opened, then closed.
In his father’s eyes lay not just anger but contempt.
Jung Hyun-il bowed his head deeply.
Knock-knock.
At that moment, a knock sounded and the planning director entered the room.
“Chairman.”
Jung Min-woong’s eyes sharpened.
“…… What is it? We’re in the middle of a conversation. Speak later.”
“This requires immediate reporting and action, Chairman.”
“What is it?”
Director Park paused, then continued.
“It appears the prosecutors have launched an investigation into the Goryo Economic Daily matter.”
The office fell silent, and Jung Min-woong’s gaze slowly turned back to his son.
“Director Park.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Remove this bastard from the company at once! Unless he’s actually trying to destroy us…… And immediately assemble the legal team. Start the response meeting!”
Jung Hyun-il could only bow his head even deeper.

* * *
“Representative Kang.”
Ribbon Capital Office.
I sat across from Chairman Kim Jong-su.
Two cups of coffee sat on the table, but Kim Jong-su called to me without touching his cup.
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Be honest with me.”
Kim Jong-su folded his arms and looked at me.
“That Taesung Daily article. That’s your work, isn’t it?”
“Why would you think that?”
“Ha, this guy’s playing innocent.”
Kim Jong-su let out a dry chuckle.
“The timing’s too clean. I worked out the angles, and now should be when Jungseong gets stripped by Yoon In-chul and they come after me. And boom — the article drops. Coincidence?”
The grit of the Bukchon ant king was still alive.
“I secured an insider at Goryo Economic Daily’s editorial department. I gathered evidence that the bank run article was ordered from above, not independently reported. I passed it to Taesung Daily.”
“…….”
“I concluded that Jungseong Construction would move the authorities to push you out. A frame where a private moneylender acquires a savings bank would be burdensome for the authorities to approve.”
Kim Jong-su’s eyes shifted.
“So you dropped it first.”
“Yes. Before Jungseong could move the authorities, I flipped the board so they’d exclude Jungseong first. The authorities can’t approve a company that orchestrated a bank run using affiliated media.”
Kim Jong-su stared at me in silence for a long moment.
Then he slowly nodded.
“What happens to Jungseong Construction now?”
“They’re completely out of the running for Seongshin acquisition, wouldn’t you say? All their government channels are cut off. Plus, there’s word that prosecutors are launching an investigation into the Goryo Economic Daily matter.”
“Prosecutors too?”
“Once they trace the article’s order chain, it inevitably leads to the top of Jungseong Construction. It qualifies as market manipulation.”
Kim Jong-su leaned back in his chair.
“So the only thing left is Chairman Park’s decision.”
“Exactly.”
With Jungseong eliminated, only Kim Jong-su’s consortium remains as an acquisition candidate. Even if Park Han-su refuses, the voluntary sale deadline just runs out, and eventually the authorities will push through forced sale. Then Park loses the ability to control price and conditions.
The answer had already narrowed to one.
“If what you’re saying is true, he should be calling soon.”
“I’m confident, but I don’t know. The human heart — the older you get, the less you understand it.”
“Ha, that’s something a man in his fifties would say.”
Kim Jong-su was about to say something.
Buzz.
A vibration sounded from inside Kim Jong-su’s jacket pocket. He pulled out his phone and checked the screen.
His eyes widened once.
“…… Hold on.”
Kim Jong-su answered the phone.
“Yes…… Yes, this is Kim Jong-su.”
His expression began to change.
The taut face relaxed, and wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes.
And his mouth slowly curved upward.
“…… Yes. I understand. Thank you, Chairman.”
Kim Jong-su hung up and looked at me.
The hand holding the phone trembled slightly.
“It’s done.”
“Sir?”
“Seongshin Savings Bank. We’re acquiring it.”
I didn’t respond immediately to those words.
It was exactly as I’d anticipated. But there’s a difference between anticipating and actually hearing it.
Something loosened in my chest, and a cool sensation ran down my spine.
“Did Chairman Park call directly?”
“He did.”
Kim Jong-su nodded.
“He said he wanted to meet and discuss conditions. His voice was resolute. You could feel it was a decision made after long deliberation.”
Kim Jong-su smiled at me.
“Representative Kang.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
The words were brief, but something flickered in the corners of his eyes — different from the private moneylender’s smile I’d seen in Myeongdong.
“To be honest, when you first brought the consortium structure, I was skeptical. Attaching Yoon In-chul, setting up a new name, painting a picture the authorities could swallow. The logic was sound, but I wasn’t sure it would work.”
Kim Jong-su sat back down.
“But it worked. Everything went exactly as you drew it up.”
“You put in forty billion during the bank run, Chairman. Without that, Park Han-su wouldn’t have even come to the table.”
“Ha.”
Kim Jong-su let out a self-deprecating laugh.
“Don’t give me all the credit. Just let this old man hear that he did well.”
I laughed then.
“You did well.”
“Good, that’s enough.”
Kim Jong-su waved his hand and laughed heartily.
It was a face you rarely saw from him.
I added one more thing, watching that laughter.
“Chairman.”
“What.”
“Project Finance weighting below thirty percent. You have to keep that promise.”
Kim Jong-su’s laughter stopped, and a moment later, the biggest laugh I’d heard from him yet burst out.
“Hahahaha!”
Kim Jong-su slapped his knee, laughing.
“Even at a moment like this, you’re talking business?”
“It’s a promise.”
“Of course I’ll keep it! I always keep my word.”
Kim Jong-su rose, still laughing.
“Good. Now I’m off to meet Chairman Park. He’s such a reedy fellow, he might change his mind again.”
Kim Jong-su opened the door and paused at the threshold once.
“Having someone like you on my side — it’s reassuring.”
I laughed brightly at those words and bowed my head.

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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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