CH138 | VOC

It all started with a trivial matter.

A minor issue involving mobile phones, worth a few hundred billion won at most.

But this small incident had triggered a war between the giant Daehoo Group and the hidden powerhouse, Chunha Trading, with trillions of won at stake.

And the outcome was clear.

“Damn it!!!!!”

Chairman Kim Hoo-joong’s scream echoed through his office.

He threw everything he could reach and then shouted, “How much did we lose?!”

Kim Sun-woong, his son and vice-chairman, said, sweating nervously as he watched his father’s meltdown,

“About… 2 trillion won.”

Daehoo’s stock price plummeted as the consortium dumped billions of won worth of shares onto the market.

Chairman Kim, who had been trying to minimize his losses by selling gradually, had been forced to dump his shares when he saw the sheer volume being sold by the consortium. But there were no buyers.

The stock price, which had quadrupled, was now plummeting, falling below its original value.

Daehoo Electronics, which had been trading at around 10,000 won and had reached 40,000 won during the tender offer war, was now at 6,000 won.

It was a complete collapse.

And the consortium had orchestrated it.

“Why?! Why are they doing this?!”

The consortium was dumping their shares at the lowest possible price, driving down the price relentlessly.

Chairman Kim couldn’t understand it. They were also losing money. It was a pyrrhic victory, a meaningless bloodbath.

Unless they were sworn enemies, it didn’t make sense.

“Are you sure they have no connection to us?”

“Yes, their parents are ordinary people, and CEO Park Sol had some minor dealings with Daehoo Electronics, worth a few billion won annually at most. And Joongang Investment Corporation has no connection to us either.”

“Are you absolutely sure? What about your or your brother’s illegitimate children…?”

Even as he was saying it, he knew it was absurd, but he couldn’t think of any other reason for the consortium’s actions.

His son waved his hands dismissively. “That’s impossible! I’m 45 years old!”

Park Sol was 30, so it wasn’t possible age-wise.

Chairman Kim slumped onto his chair and muttered, “Then what’s their reason? Just a mobile phone?”

His son said cautiously, “Chairman…”

“What?”

“The shareholders are unhappy about the plummeting stock price.”

He was referring to their friendly shareholders.

“What?!”

“They’re saying they could have made a lot of money if we had sold gradually at the higher price…”

Chairman Kim shouted, interrupting him, “Those bastards! They dare complain at a time like this?!”

They were running out of cash after buying back their shares, and they had payments due soon.

And the stock price would have plummeted anyway, even without their intervention, because of the consortium’s massive sell-off.

“Ignore them!”

“But…”

“Should I use my personal funds to compensate them?!”

“N-no, sir. But we should at least try to appease them…”

“Ugh.” He took a deep breath. “You handle that. And we only recovered 1 trillion won out of the 3 trillion won we spent? That’s a problem. When’s the next payment due?”

“The biggest one is 100 billion won to Fujiki Bank in a week.”

“Sigh, this is a nightmare. If it weren’t for the consortium…”

Daehoo, despite its financial difficulties, was still a powerful company, capable of mobilizing 3 trillion won in funds. They could have overcome this crisis. But with the 2 trillion won loss from the stock market crash, the situation had become dire.

They had overseas construction payments and short-term debts due soon, and at this rate, they would be spending their remaining 1 trillion won just on repayments.

“Delay payments to our subcontractors.”

Squeezing the subcontractors was the easiest solution.

His son nodded. “Yes, sir. They should share the burden. They’re surviving thanks to us.”

“Suspend all new ventures and focus on internal stability. The government is pressuring us to restructure anyway, so let’s pretend to comply and save some money.”

Chairman Kim’s pride was hurt, but he had no choice. His expansion plans had been thwarted by an unexpected enemy.

“This too shall pass. There have always been crises.”

He acknowledged the situation and started planning his next move when his secretary burst into the room, his face pale.

“Ch-Chairman!”

“What now?!”

The secretary, ignoring his outburst, shouted, “TV! CEO Kim Min-sik of Joongang Investment Corporation is giving an interview, and…”

“Turn on the TV! Now!”

Kim Min-sik was calmly addressing the reporters.

And Chairman Kim, his face red with fury, shouted after hearing his announcement,

“Why?! Why is he doing this to me?!”

“You must have some idea of who wants to acquire Daehoo. We’re just offering them 5 trillion won to help them achieve their goal. If the acquisition cost is 20 trillion won, just bring 15 trillion won. If it’s 30 trillion won, bring 25 trillion won. We’ll be a friendly shareholder.”

The rookie reporter said with a puzzled expression, “That’s exactly what he said last time, word for word.”

His senior said in disbelief, “That crazy bastard.”

Kim Min-sik, continuing his speech, suddenly said with a surprised expression, “Oh, wait. With Chunha Trading on board, it’s not 5 trillion won, it’s 7.5 trillion won. My mistake. Anyway, that’s the gist of it. Any questions?”

A reporter raised his hand. “You’re repeating the same announcement you made before. Why?”

“Why? I just reused the same script. It’s the same message.”

Another reporter asked, “So you’re attempting to acquire Daehoo again?”

“Not attempting, we’re doing it. We failed last time, so we’re trying again.”

“Many people lost money because of your and Daehoo’s actions in the stock market. Don’t you feel any responsibility?”

Kim Min-sik shrugged. “Why is it our responsibility? We were trying to acquire Daehoo, but the price was too high, and their defenses were too strong, so we gave up. We lost a lot of money too. We’re trying again because the stock price has fallen.”

Everyone was speechless at his brazen response. The room was filled with the sound of camera shutters.

He looked around the room and chuckled.

“Anyway, we’re acquiring Daehoo. Round two, begin!”

Daehoo Electronics’ stock price, which had fallen to 6,000 won, started rising slightly as the consortium resumed buying shares.

But the price wasn’t rising as quickly as before, as people were now cautious, having been burned once.

And Daehoo was equally cautious.

“They’re hesitant. They think it’s another trap. Chairman Kim, even Daehoo can’t afford to keep spending trillions of won. Isn’t that right?”

I smiled at the man sitting across from me. “Managing Director Kim Sun-yeop.”

It was Chairman Kim’s second son.

He said with a serious expression, “It’s impossible. Mobilizing 3 trillion won was already a miracle.”

“I was surprised to hear from you. I expected someone to contact us after our second attack, but you were unexpected.”

The tender offer war between the consortium and Daehoo might have seemed like a draw to outsiders, but anyone familiar with the situation knew that Daehoo had lost.

I had expected a traitor to emerge, but I hadn’t expected it to be the chairman’s second son.

“…This incident has made me realize that my father has lost his touch. My older brother is also incompetent. We could have handled the consortium’s attack. I can’t stand by and watch anymore.”

I smiled. “But I’m your family’s enemy, aren’t I? There will be repercussions if you join forces with me. Don’t you hate me?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll make a deal with the devil himself if we share the same goal.”

I nodded, pleased. “Excellent. I’m impressed.”

He said with a determined expression, “My father’s management style is too risky. I’ve always been concerned, but in a crisis like this, you have to know when to retreat and consolidate your strength. His reckless expansion and his all-out defense against the consortium are too risky. He could ruin Daehoo Group.”

“That’s a commendable business mindset. Very good.”

I said, playing along, “So, how can I help you?”

“My father-in-law, myself, and a few other disgruntled shareholders control a little less than 20%. My father controls about 25%. You need to secure at least a 5% stake in each subsidiary.”

“I see. Alright.” I shook his hand. “I look forward to working with you. We’ll make good partners.”

He left the room after a few drinks, as he wasn’t a heavy drinker, and Maru, Park Jong-bum, and I continued drinking.

Maru said excitedly, “With Managing Director Kim Sun-yeop on our side, it’s just a matter of time before we take down Chairman Kim. Wow, we’re powerful enough to control Daehoo Group now.”

But I was less enthusiastic. “I’m not so sure.”

“What?”

“He’s a traitor, yes, but he’s also the chairman’s son.”

I took a sip of soju.

“I don’t like this.”

I said with an indifferent expression, “Chairman Kim steps down, and his son takes over? That’s just a change in management, what’s the point? And he’s his son. Even if he betrays his father, they’re still family.”

My goal was the downfall of Daehoo Group and the Kim family.

The management change and acquisition were just a smokescreen.

If it had been a second or third in command, not his son, Chairman Kim would have fought to the death without compromising. But since it was his son, he might give up his position to save the company.

“So we’ve learned that Daehoo is in trouble and that the second son is ambitious. Is that all we’ve gained? Hmm, but if we play both sides, they might join forces against us.”

I smirked. “We need a diversion. I have to talk to Kim Min-sik.”