Chapter 34

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Market cap 20 trillion won.

This is only the total of listed companies, and if you include unlisted ones, the scale rises more.

LK Group has Korea’s number 1 hotel subsidiary and was making lots of money through retail businesses like department stores and duty-free shops.

Especially the main force, LK Hotel, was an unlisted place.

“LK Group had some noise during succession work. But they didn’t create any real problems. Contrary to concerns, the second son President Oh Jae-hyun readily accepted this succession work. Current Vice Chairman and eldest son Oh Seung-hyun will likely take the chairman position early next year.”

The biggest factor blocking our country’s stock market growth.

That’s exactly succession.

It’s not like passing down a country’s throne.

They act like the sky will split in two if they don’t hand management rights and the company to their bloodline.

The problem is shareholders also take such succession for granted.

Overseas, there’s hardly a culture of passing management rights to one’s own children, but our country has this strongly established, so overseas investors view this as owner risk.

Exactly because of this point, foreign investors don’t keep money in our country for long.

Because they don’t think to grow the company through verified professional managers, but easily hand over management rights to the eldest son whose management ability isn’t verified, only for the reason that he’s my bloodline.

“Can’t be helped. In our country, it’s rather strange if you don’t do succession to your own child. That’s why foreigners find our country’s culture curious. They don’t even sue about stock cancellations or stock price declines that occur during succession.”

Even if they sued, it was a fight they couldn’t win.

America makes shareholder-centered companies, but Korea thoroughly makes owner-centered companies.

That was the crucial difference between domestic and overseas stock markets.

“Then there are no issues that would be problems regarding LK Group?”

“Yes. Succession work is also complete. LK Tower is also being completed next year. Ah. Of course, there seemed to be funding problems during LK Tower construction. But seeing no more talk about it, it seems well resolved.”

Looking at materials about LK Group, like our country’s large corporations, it was a circular shareholding structure. In other words, they created hundreds of circular shareholding chains to control the entire group with very small stakes.

Probably even on LK Group’s side, only a minority among insiders know how complicatedly these chains are woven.

Also, how to properly untangle these chains. Because if you mismanage this traffic control, chains can tangle causing problems in the control structure.

That’s why succession work was complicated due to exactly such problems.

Plus, digging deeper into LK Group, other things pop out together.

“LK Group currently controls all subsidiaries through LK Trading. But above LK Trading is another holding company.”

“The Japanese holding company shown here?”

“Yes. LK’s roots are in Japan. Since LK Orient controls LK Trading, essentially the real owner is that side.”

It was perhaps natural since LK started in Japan and expanded to Korea.

“But our country’s people don’t really know well. Many people know LK as a native Korean company. Well, ultimately Koreans control the company anyway.”

“But the more I look at this circular shareholding, it’s amazing yet extremely complicated.”

Creating numerous chains with small stakes to control the whole.

Don’t know whose head this idea came from.

“Yes. Europe also has circular shareholding companies, but the difference from our country is they completely separated management and ownership. But our country’s companies try to do both simultaneously, so the structure becomes far more complex.”

And LK Group was Korea’s company with the most and most complex circular shareholding chains.

“But Department Head. Why LK Group suddenly.”

“Ah. Just curious. There was also an article saying succession work finished this time.”

I became interested in LK Group because while touring LK Tower’s model house that day, feelings struck me extremely strongly.

And from exactly this article.

‘Even now the feeling comes.’

An interview where Chairman Oh Dong-young’s second son, President Oh Jae-hyun, says he’ll help eldest son Oh Seung-hyun grow LK Group well.

Tremendous trembling arose here.

Why?

Why does the feeling come from this article and not other articles?

There, this thought suddenly came.

‘What if President Oh Jae-hyun is lying?’

I also looked for other articles.

Articles containing interviews where President Oh Jae-hyun says he’ll help the eldest son build up the company properly.

As expected.

Feelings were surging only at those articles.

“Section Chief. These two brothers won’t fight over stakes, right?”

“Didn’t President Oh Jae-hyun say in interviews he has no interest in the chairman position?”

“Yes. But there’s a saying. People who say they have no interest in money are actually the most crazy about money.”

“Don’t tell me. You think President Oh Jae-hyun is lying?”

“Looking at articles, President Oh Jae-hyun has better performance than Vice Chairman Oh Seung-hyun in various ways. Probably in his mind, he thinks he’s better than his brother, right?”

Section Chief Seo slowly nodded.

“Honestly, being human, saying there’s absolutely no interest in the chairman position would be a lie. But Chairman Oh Dong-young already finished talking about handing it to the eldest son, and with succession work finalizing, isn’t there nothing President Oh Jae-hyun can do?”

On the surface, Section Chief Seo’s words were right.

But every time I saw articles related to President Oh Jae-hyun, my intuition kept sending me signals.

That means there’s something.

“Section Chief Seo. Could you talk to the research team to look more carefully into LK Group’s control structure? Especially about LK Orient in Japan too.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll look into it right away.”

I also know that internally succession work already finished, leaving President Oh Jae-hyun no opportunity. But there’s definitely a reason this intuition is surging.

It might really be President Oh Jae-hyun’s coup, or perhaps something else.

“Or not.”

As long as it’s not shoddy construction of the LK Tower I pre-bought.

Since childhood, Father always said only the same thing.

You must help your brother lead this company well.

Always follow your brother’s words.

If your brother wants to do something, do your best to help from the side.

Brother, brother, brother!

Father only saw the eldest son.

However, with the thought that he’d look at me at least once, I really worked hard at the company.

Owner’s bloodline.

Second son already pushed out from succession.

I lived my whole life with such a label, always standing where Father’s gaze reaches while hiding my ambitions alone.

But the returning answer was the same.

‘Help your brother. This company’s owner is your brother.’

I realized there.

Father will never give me his attention.

This company was only for the eldest son from beginning to end.

No matter how much I struggle, no matter how much I prove my abilities, Father’s eyes only see the eldest son.

Then there’s only one method left for me.

Like how Yi Bang-won drew his sword to drive out his father and brothers and sat on the throne, I too have no choice but to do so.

“President. We’ve arrived.”

President Oh Jae-hyun opened his closed eyes.

Before getting out of the car and entering where shareholders were waiting, he stopped and took a deep breath.

The moment he opens this door and enters.

There’s no turning back.

He must sever ties with Father and brother, including all of LK family.

Is it really worth that much?

“..”

The agony wasn’t long.

President Oh Jae-hyun opened the door without hesitation and entered inside.

There’s someone called the father of shorts.

George Soros.

This person whose name is even short-like is a figure who predicted the British pound would collapse and shorted a whopping $10 billion.

$10 billion.

Over 14 trillion won in our country’s money.

It might look a bit small now, but it was the 90s, so it could be seen as having far greater value than now.

The profit he got after shorting with $10 billion making the British government raise the white flag was $1 billion.

Only $1 billion?

You might say, but shorts are like that.

If longs earn as much as the amount rises, shorts eat as much as it drops.

Plus, the larger the scale of money bet, even very slight volatility produces huge profits, so you can’t hold positions long.

Even if you predict it’ll definitely drop, if prices draw curves, margin calls burst accordingly.

Plus there’s one important thing.

Making $1 billion profit by investing $10 billion happened in just one single day.

“But isn’t Department Head the Korean George Soros?”

“What are you talking about? George Soros doesn’t even compare to Department Head. Where in the world is there someone who invests as well as our Department Head!”

As George Soros shook up the British government through massive short selling, legislation was born accordingly.

Especially regulations on hedge funds that frequently short were created, and safety devices were prepared so they wouldn’t suffer great damage from them.

But even with such regulations.

The moment you bleed and stagger, starving hyenas rush at you like wolves.

Such regulations and legislation couldn’t protect fallen prey.

“Since money is so dispersed, and considering fees are steep using funds and stock lending services, the currently estimable amount is approximately.”

Deputy Manager An Young-sang’s voice delivering the report was slightly trembling.

“1 trillion won.”

“Wow.”

“1 trillion won?!”

We’ve finally crossed the hundred millions unit to join the trillions unit club.

1 trillion won.

Enormous money, but in the investment world, it’s not that huge.

Just the money KS, our country’s largest financial group, handles through funds alone exceeds 300 trillion.

And taking the world as standard, even 300 trillion becomes small money.

Because currently the world’s number 1 asset management company BlackRock is moving a whopping $4.7 trillion, 5,600 trillion won in our country’s money.

No need to go far, just our country’s national pension alone rolls over 500 trillion won.

Of course, the commonality of these is they’re customers’ money, not company personal capital.

But even if it’s customers’ money, since funds invest according to their strategies, that influence absolutely can’t be ignored.

So it’s kind of motivating.

Looking at companies with much higher levels than me, holding the goal and hope that I can someday reach there too.

“As expected Department Head. Your goals are tremendous.”

“KS rolling money exceeding 300 trillion is mostly customers’ money, but with 300 trillion in company capital alone. That’s almost Kangsung Electronics level, isn’t it?”

“Kangsung Electronics exceeds 500 trillion.”

“That’s combining all assets. If you only count cash holdings, even Kangsung Electronics only has 100 trillion won.”

“Haha. ‘100 trillion won only.’ Since when did we lose our sense of money like this?”

There’s a saying to shoot toward the sun.

When throwing a spear, if you aim toward the sun, it goes farther than usual.

In other words, the bigger you set goals, the better.

“Ah. Department Head. And this is the material you mentioned last time.”

“LK Group?”

“Yes.”

According to materials handed over by research, essentially Korean LK Group was controlled by LK Orient in Japan.

And LK Orient is currently unlisted.

For firm control, the founding chairman established Orient as an unlisted company, then divided stakes there and handed them to friendly forces.

“To obtain stakes there requires over-the-counter trading, but first there’s not much stock available, and even if there is, it’s hard to become a casting vote. Friendly stakes toward Chairman Oh Dong-young are so large.”

I examined LK Group-related stocks currently available.

No matter how many Korean stocks you buy, if you don’t obtain LK Orient stakes, you can never control LK Group.

In other words, what’s important is stakes related to LK Orient.

“Hmm?”

Like that, while drawing lines with a pen and checking the list, my hand stopped at one part.

‘JK Holdings?’

JK Holdings recently released one item through over-the-counter trading.

It was Industrial Holding Association stakes they held, but dividends were low and it wasn’t even listed, so stock prices had no reason to rise.

17% of Industrial Holding Association stakes they released.

Stakes worth 300 billion in our country’s money.

Looking only up to here, it seems like an item without much nutrition that can’t even get listed.

You can tell just seeing that despite being on the OTC market for quite a while, no one is trying to buy it.

“..”

But the hand that stopped there wasn’t going down below.

Press.

As if informing that this is what I was looking for, such strong force entered that a hole formed in the paper.

Stumbagen’s stock price dropped down to 30% due to the Dieselgate incident.

Plus, gasping from penalties slammed by various countries, Stumbagen even had bankruptcy rumors, and thinking they couldn’t go on like this, the German government stepped up.

If Stumbagen can’t recover like this, companies related to it must also close down in succession, which would cause serious consequences for the German economy.

Not just Germany.

Europe connected to it was the same.

“If we’d withdrawn our money a bit later, it might not have reached 1 trillion won.”

“Right. Indeed, arms bend inward.”

“The German government couldn’t tolerate Stumbagen collapsing like this.”

Stumbagen’s stock price that went to the bottom started showing recovery again.

Fortunately, we’d recovered all money following Department Head Jeong Jin-ho’s instructions before that.

“Department Head must’ve predicted the German government would help Stumbagen, right?”

“Right. When we only see one move ahead, that person sees ten moves ahead. No matter when I see it, the selling timing is amazing.”

But the next investment executed immediately after urgently recovering money was exactly over-the-counter trading.

And he bought stakes released by some company in Japan.

“Usually OTC trading takes quite a while, right? Seeing them sell as soon as someone said they’d buy, they must’ve wanted to sell it off ASAP?”

To do over-the-counter trading, you need a platform.

Securities firms play that role, paying advertising fees and entrusting them saying please sell it.

JK Holdings entrusted the stock to KS Securities, the biggest in our country, to sell their stakes.

And Section Chief Seo brought it following Department Head Jeong Jin-ho’s instructions.

“But why did he buy this.?”

“Industrial Holding Association? Where’s that? First time hearing it.”

“Even dividends are almost nothing and it’s not even listed.”

How can sparrows dare know the phoenix’s intentions?

But really don’t know this one.

Why on earth did Department Head buy such a thing paying 300 billion?

[Breaking news just came in.]

Then on economic news playing in the office, the announcer cut off what she was saying and announced new breaking news.

[LK Orient held a board meeting revealing their position to dismiss current LK Group Vice Chairman Oh Seung-hyun from the representative position and seat President Oh Jae-hyun. As LK Orient is the holding company controlling LK Group, the representative changing there essentially means LK Group’s control rights.]

“Huh? What does that mean? Suddenly dismissed?”

“Turn up the volume. Wasn’t LK Group succession work all finished? Why suddenly give the representative position to the second son?”

Summarizing the news content, it was like this.

Second son Oh Jae-hyun sprinkled ashes on cooked rice, stepping up saying he’ll become chairman.

‘What. Department Head was right, Oh Jae-hyun really was lying?’

Section Chief Seo watching the news suddenly got goosebumps all over.

Oh Jae-hyun’s words about helping his brother grow the group were all lies.

Wasn’t he surprise-moving the board to pull his brother down from the representative position and climb up there himself to obtain group control rights?

“Does this mean President Oh Jae-hyun stabbed his father and brother in the back?”

“Right. He pushed out his own father and brother.”

“Wow. This isn’t even a movie. Is this real?”

LK Group, the moment the prince’s rebellion began.