Chapter 185: Drawing the Sword (6)

Even lowering the tablet screen scroll a little, similar titles followed in a row.

Lim Hye-seon spoke while making an expression as if it were strange.

“To think the prosecution is already being mentioned... It is strange. It is too fast.”

Kang Cheol-woo nodded and opened another page.

“Official remarks are pouring out from the political circles as well. Both the ruling and opposition parties are saying that the chaebol governance structure must be improved and a strict investigation must be conducted.”

When switching the screen, news was flowing out as a live broadcast.

At the bottom of the news, the caption was written like this.

[Taeseong, which was called a national enterprise, is in reality a giant private safe.]

[Concerns over National Pension Service losses... who will take responsibility for the damage to the pension fund.]

Vice Chairman Lim Do-kyung asked with a hardened face.

“How is the market reaction right now?”

Kang Cheol-woo checked immediately and then held out the tablet.

“It has been shaking greatly since before the opening. Taeseong Electronics, Taeseong Construction, Taeseong Finance, etc., are all on a downhill slope with selling volume piling up greatly. The stock market circles are also on high alert as to how much the market capitalization will fall in this one day alone.”

Lim Do-kyung received the tablet and stared at the screen.

The stock window, which was entirely plastered in blue, was explaining the current situation.

“At this level, it is not just at the level of simple image damage.”

His voice gradually became lower.

“If we fail to defend the stock price, the stakes held as collateral will also have chain reaction problems. The funding sources of subsidiaries can be shaken at the same time.”

Kang Cheol-woo held out one more thing at the end.

There were some article captures and comments.

“There is also movement from the civil groups' side. It seems they have announced a condemnation rally in front of the Taeseong Electronics headquarters this afternoon. In the name of eradicating chaebol corruption, the atmosphere is one where other groups are also showing solidarity.”

Lim Hye-seon's hand was clenched tight once again.

“...The speed is faster than I thought.”

She spoke as if gritting her teeth.

“To think the talk of retirement is already coming out before we can even organize and send out our position....”

Lim Man-seok looked at the tablet screen for a while and then slowly closed and opened his eyes.

He was guessing that it had passed the stage where it could be withstood with the word settlement.

It was a situation that was already overwhelming with only what Lim Do-hyun had committed, but on top of that, it became a double whammy as the matter grew beyond control.

***

At the same time, the Chairman's office at the Daehan Group headquarters.

The morning sunlight seeped long through the glass windows.

Chairman Nam Kun-ho went to work earlier than anyone else today.

He was sitting in front of the TV with his suit jacket off and his dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

On the screen, news related to Taeseong Group flowed out continuously.

[Taeseong Group Chairman Lim Man-seok, suspicion of borrowed-name property spreading]

[Status of national enterprise falls. Investors' public outrage.]

Nam Kun-ho's mouth slowly turned up.

He hummed a low tune.

The door opened quietly and a secretary entered.

“Chairman, I brought your coffee.”

The moment the cup was placed on the table, Nam Kun-ho opened his mouth without taking his eyes off the screen.

“This is why they say there is no use raising children, it is exactly like that. Hahaha.”

The secretary blinked.

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”

“...I am talking about Lim Do-hyun.”

Nam Kun-ho pointed at the screen with a gesture of his head.

“He properly stuck a sword in his father's back. Thanks for bringing the borrowed-name accounts to me.... Look at that state!”

Snickering laughter burst out.

“He enjoyed luxury and comfort thanks to his father's name all his life, and then at the end, he does that kind of thing. What is the point of raising children? If you raise them well, they think it is natural, and if you raise them poorly, they just blame you.”

The secretary played up to Chairman Nam's mood.

“Still, for Taeseong's position, it is a big deal. Although it is good for us thanks to that.”

“Big deal? Of course it is big.”

Nam Kun-ho spoke with a gratified face.

“Is that why? I feel good.”

He took a sip of coffee and looked at the screen while narrowing his eyes as if satisfied.

“What kind of expression would that old man Lim Man-seok be making right now? I am really going crazy because I am curious about that.”

He muttered like he was talking to himself.

“The borrowed-name accounts were caught, the son ran away, and the legal representative fellow vanished. He is being hit with a combo!”

Nam Kun-ho looked into space for a moment and gave a snort.

“It would have been interesting if I could have seen Chairman Lim's shocked state directly. Would he be causing a commotion while hitting the floor with his cane in the Chairman's office?”

The secretary asked while watching his mood.

“It seems Taeseong's side has not been able to handle it yet.”

“It will be difficult to solve easily. Because we made it that way. Hahaha.”

Nam Kun-ho's eyes shone sharply.

“Is this why watching a fight is the most interesting?”

He leaned back in his chair.

“Over there, they have to fight not only family problems but also public sentiment. Since the political circles, the prosecution, civil groups, and even the pension fund have clung to it.... If they slip even once there, the name Taeseong....”

Nam Kun-ho drew his hand across his neck and a silence flowed for a while.

Seeing that appearance, the secretary felt a chill in his spine.

Silence flowed for a moment and Chairman Nam continued his words.

“Now only the work of scooping it up and eating it well remains for us.”

The secretary asked with an awkward smile.

“What will you do about the matter of President Lim Do-hyun?”

“What about it?”

Nam Kun-ho spoke bluntly.

“What do you mean what will I do? If the usefulness is finished, trash should be cleared away. If you keep such a fellow close, only my hands get dirtier.”

He looked at the TV screen again.

Then he muttered like he was talking to himself.

“Still, since that bastard is smashing that family. I am indeed thankful.”

A smile hung on Nam Kun-ho's mouth again.

“Should I not watch carefully how far the sword goes in?”

Humming flowed out again.

Just by watching how far Lim Man-seok and Taeseong would be broken, the coffee taste of this morning felt exceptionally thick and sweet.

***

The same day, Vice Chairman Lim Do-kyung's residence in Seoul.

Sunlight was wedging in between the curtains and dividing the floor long.

These days, the second floor was full of HJ Partners employees.

I, who had been working here for a few days, liked it in my own way since commuting had disappeared.

Today, as I was working as usual on other days, someone shouted and came inside urgently.

“Representative!”

Choi Seo-jun, who was having breakfast on the first floor, barged in out of breath.

Because of that, he received everyone's attention all at once.

“Representative, you must see this quickly.”

Choi Seo-jun quickly picked up the TV remote and turned on the screen.

Along with the voice of the news anchor, the air in the room became lower in an instant.

[Taeseong Group Chairman Lim Man-seok. Borrowed-name property suspicion spreading far and wide.]

At the bottom of the screen, the same phrase continued to flow like a caption.

One of the team members who saw that muttered in surprise.

“...What is going on?”

They were each busy whispering quietly while watching my mood.

Naturally, their gazes were focused on me, the Representative.

I was looking only at the screen without any words.

Actually, I also did not expect this kind of thing to burst out.

I had never even heard of how Chairman Lim Man-seok rolled his personal assets, or if there were borrowed-name accounts.

However, I was vaguely guessing.

'It would be more strange if there were none.'

If one were a chaebol owner who survived for decades in this field, it was rather unrealistic for there to be no traces of using expedients while crossing the lines allowed by law.

Looking at foreign cases, or other groups in Korea, it was like that.

So I thought Taeseong would have something too.

It was just that I did not know exactly what the scale was, and when it would burst out.

Choi Seo-jun touched the tablet screen quickly and spoke.

“Representative, as soon as Taeseong Electronics started the stock market, the volume of sales was pouring out. Taeseong Construction and Taeseong Finance are also being pushed back together. At this level, it is a level where the entire KOSPI can receive a shock.”

Another employee watching from behind added.

“The media frame is also bad right now. They continue to mention National Pension Service losses and pension fund damage. If the reaction of the political circles is combined, it could enter a structural rerating instead of simple adjustment.”

“Representative, we should also re-examine our side's position. Rather than the Taeseong directly held portion, the index-tracking products side and derivatives side will receive a shock.”

Reports were pouring out.

At that time, when the word structural rerating came out, the newcomer sitting next to them blinked.

'Structural rerating, indeed.'

It was a word usually heard only in the news.

It had a completely different meaning from the stock price simply falling.

That was not a short-term variation, it was the same as the market changing the evaluation yardstick itself applied to this company.

Once branded like that, even if it produces good results, the PER (price-earnings ratio) is not given as much as before.

Because a risk premium is attached.

Because it is categorized as a company that is traded cheaper than before even while producing the same profit, or continues to receive disadvantages in interest and conditions during fund procurement.

In simple terms, it is the same as the market declaring.

'Now you are not the national enterprise Taeseong of before, you are a company with the tag of a problematic family attached for life!'

Like this.

Choi Seo-jun closed his lips tightly and then spoke.

“Representative, if it really enters a structural rerating section this time... Taeseong will be traded with a discount instead of a premium for several years in the future. When investment comes in, and when borrowing, they will never receive the same conditions as before. It is not at the level of simple crisis response, it is at the level where the value of the name Taeseong is redefined.”

The air in the room became heavier.

Choi Seo-jun looked at me.

“Representative, if it is left in this state, Taeseong will collapse not only today but for several days in a row. You must make a decision whether to go into defense even now, or organize our position first.”

At that moment, I slowly raised my hand.

“Wait a moment.”

The whispering voices all stopped at once.

“For now, just leave it.”

The faces of everyone here, including Choi Seo-jun, could not hide their surprise.

“Pardon?”

I added while still looking at the TV screen.

“Now is not the time for us to move.”

The gazes of everyone in the room were pinned on me.

No one could easily continue speaking.

At that time, Choi Seo-jun carefully asked.

“Representative, are you saying you will not do defense?”

Only then did I take my eyes off the screen and slowly turn my body.

“Director Choi, what is it that we know right now?”

“...?”

“First, let us stick to the facts. Exclude emotions, and exclude speculation too.”

Choi Seo-jun took a short breath.

“That is. Suspicion of Chairman Lim Man-seok's borrowed-name property burst out, and reports came out that there are borrowed-name accounts and a list. The political circles, civil groups, and the pension fund are riding on the frame. The market is in the middle of getting all the companies related to Taeseong Group pummeled by the aftermath.”

Lee Hyeon-seok, the risk management team leader, added.

“The media tone is only content that stimulates public sentiment, falling from a national enterprise to a private safe, pension fund damage. The figures are stimulating anger rather than concrete scale.”

I nodded my head slightly.

“So, what about what we do not know?”

This time, Assistant Manager Kim Ju-yeon said.

“The exact scale of the borrowed-name property, the entire contents of the list, whether there is actual illegality, and why this burst out at this timing, who knew it first... things like those.”

A faint smile appeared at the corners of my mouth.

“That is right. There is more that we do not know.”

I moved as if drawing something in the air with my finger.

“In this state, if we jump in first, what kind of role will we end up taking?”