Chapter 209: Why Should I Stop Soonyang Card From Failing?

“Why should I stop Soonyang Card from going under? Instead of spending over a trillion won to save a company that only earns commission fees, wouldn’t it be far more profitable to hold 7% of the Group’s shares?”

Jin Dong-gi had no reply. If the goal was to swallow the Group, this was a hundred times better.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this flustered. Seeing you like this makes me sure I made the right choice.”

Watching his older brother smile smugly, he composed himself.

“That kid is truly something else.”

“Kid? You’re not talking about me, are you?”

“I’m not some scoundrel who’d curse at his own brother. I’m talking about Do-jun.”

“Do-jun?”

“Yeah. He gave me a big hint.”

Having regained his composure, Jin Dong-gi also smiled.

“Don’t think Do-jun is the only one who can sell off all his shares. I can dump all my Group shares too.”

“Hahahaha. You sell your shares?”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi couldn’t stop laughing, raising a hand to point at the portrait.

“That chair under that portrait—you’d give that up? You?”

“If it looks like I’ll have to crawl to get there, I have to give up.”

“Just come up with a slightly more believable excuse and ask for money. You’re the type who’d crawl to that spot even if all your limbs were severed….”

“There’s something you still don’t know, Hyung-nim.”

“Enough.”

“The power of negativity is stronger than positivity. My desire to stop someone else from sitting in that chair is greater than my own desire to sit there. If I sell off all my shares, no one can become the chairman of Soonyang Group. If the control over the subsidiaries disappears, Soonyang will fall apart, and the position of chairman will cease to exist.”

It was an explosive statement, but Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi just kept laughing.

He knew better than anyone that his younger brother could never abandon Soonyang.

“Then go ahead and do it.”

Jin Young-gi got up from the sofa.

“Relax and enjoy yourself in the chairman’s office. It’s not like you’ll have a reason to come back to this room. Haha.”

Watching Jin Young-gi’s retreating figure as he laughed and left the chairman’s office, Jin Dong-gi gritted his teeth.

Jin Do-jun’s words echoed in his mind: ‘Threats are made through actions, not words.’

* * *

“It’s hard to see you even though we’re in the same building. What keeps you so busy?”

“I apologize, Uncle. I should be the one coming to see you….”

“That’s enough. Stop saying things you don’t mean and sit down.”

Looking at Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi’s face, it was clear he had something he needed from me. His bright smile, something he rarely showed, was proof of that.

“You know why I asked to see you, right? Things are pretty serious right now.”

“Yes. Isn’t it because of the credit card crisis?”

“You boasted that you’d resolve it in a day, but it’s been three days of suspended cash services. Most of the merchants are already refusing Soonyang Cards. And your uncle is just standing by doing nothing.”

“Yes. It’s making headlines every day…. Some media outlets are even suspecting intentional bankruptcy.”

“Bankruptcy, my foot. You know he’s not the type to do that.”

“I would file for bankruptcy if I were him.”

“What?”

“When I handed over Soonyang Card, I took all the Group’s shares with me. Soonyang Card is a completely independent company. Card companies are all about people and money; even if it disappears, it won’t affect the heavy industries division. If you dump all the dirty dust and then file for bankruptcy, wouldn’t it be great to wash away all the old grime?”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi didn’t pay much attention to my words.

“You might do that. But Dong-gi can’t. The weight of the Soonyang name is fundamentally different for him than it is for you. He won’t abandon a subsidiary so easily.”

“Are you really that confident?”

“Of course.”

“Then buy up Soonyang Card’s stock.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Right now, Soonyang Card’s stock price is hitting rock bottom day after day. It’s like it’s about to become worthless paper. If it doesn’t go bankrupt and normalizes again, wouldn’t you make a huge profit?”

For a moment, a hint of bewilderment flickered across his face.

“Uncle, you hesitated just now, didn’t you? That’s your true feeling. Deep down, you’re worried that Soonyang Card might actually go bankrupt.”

“Hmm….”

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi cleared his throat and smoothly changed the subject.

“Let’s watch the card situation a bit longer before making a decision. There’s another reason why I wanted to see you.”

“Please tell me.”

“The shares you took as collateral when you handed over the card company to Dong-gi—I’m thinking of buying them. What do you say?”

So, this is what it came down to. I need to stall for time….

“I can’t say for sure yet. The maturity date is at the end of June. I might be able to repay the full amount in two months.”

“That won’t happen. Dong-gi can’t overcome this crisis without my funds.”

“He might be able to get funding from financial institutions using the shares as collateral. In good faith, I should wait until then.”

This confirmed it.

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi isn’t concerned about Soonyang Card’s bleak future. He just wants to avoid tarnishing Soonyang’s name. He wants the collateral in my hands.

Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi only wants to get back the collateral. He has no intention of trying to normalize the ailing card company right now. He’d be satisfied just to avoid bankruptcy and keep it afloat.

He clearly wants to go back to the state before he acquired the card company.

I want both.

Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi stared at me intently and said,

“How much is the bond?”

“800 billion won.”

“I’ll give you double. Sell me that bond.”

“Excuse me?”

“Isn’t this your specialty? Bonds are also commodities. You can buy and sell them anytime, right?”

“That’s true, but….”

He took the bait.

“I’m not buying the shares; I’m buying the bond. If Dong-gi repays the money, I lose 800 billion won. You’re guaranteed to profit. Right?”

“That’s the calculation.”

“Then what’s the hesitation? Don’t tell me you’re planning to secure control of Soonyang Group and push this old uncle aside to become chairman?”

He’s a very direct person.

He’s even trying to gauge my intentions with the bond.

“Of course not. Even managing a few financial companies is overwhelming.”

“Then hand it over now. Make double the profit from the bond deal. There’s no reason to hesitate. Right?”

In the brief moment it took to breathe, I had to finish planning and calculating. Half of this was expected, but I hadn’t anticipated he’d be so willing to sacrifice a subsidiary to secure the shares….

But I wasn’t a genius. All I could think of during that breath was to buy more time.

“Could you give me a day to think about it?”

“If you’re going to meet me tomorrow to refuse, do it now. That way, I’ll know your dark intentions a day sooner.”

Such blatant hostility—this too, I had to avoid.

“Uncle, how could you say such terrible things…? I just need some time to look over the contract terms for a positive response.”

“Is that the truth? If you drag this out for more than a day, I’ll think you have other plans.”

This aggressive approach was the spitting image of Grandfather.

“That won’t happen.”

I answered as politely as possible.

I couldn’t afford to be at odds with this man yet.

* * *

“I want to meet the Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission. As the person in charge of Soonyang Group’s financial sector, I should be able to have a private meeting, right?”

“W-Why are you suddenly asking this?”

Vice President Jang Do-hyung stuttered, seemingly flustered by my request.

“Don’t ask questions. Just tell them I’d like to have dinner with them tonight. Oh, and subtly hint that I might be able to solve some of their worries.”

“A-Alright. I’ll contact them immediately.”

“No, not just contact them—get an appointment. Make sure of it!”

Jang Do-hyung, seeing me raise my voice, gulped audibly. He could tell how urgent and important this was.

“Yes, sir. Please keep your evening free.”

Jang Do-hyung took out his phone and left the room.

A single phone call from Grandfather would suffice. But I can’t keep relying on him every time I’m in a pinch. If it’s not the President, I need to contact them directly.

They’ll have a hard time refusing my request. At the very least, I carry the aura of Soonyang Group’s Chairman Jin Yang-cheol.

* * *

“Thank you for coming despite the short notice.”

I bowed to the two men entering the private room of the quiet Japanese restaurant. The Chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Director-General had arrived together.

It was the Director-General of Policy Coordination Bureau 1, whom I’d seen on the news.

“If you’re offering to help solve a problem, how could we not come? I have high expectations.”

His tone suggested he’d leave immediately if I started spouting useless nonsense.

“Since you two are the busiest people in the country, may I get straight to the point?”

I spoke before the food arrived. I had even less time than those two.

“Of course. In fact, I was hoping to ask you something first.”

The Director-General nodded eagerly.

“It’s about Soonyang Card. What are your thoughts?”

“Are you doing Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi’s bidding?”

The Chairman asked with a suspicious look.

“No, I’m not.”

“Then tell him this for me. Soonyang Card isn’t as damaged as it seems. It’s actually in better shape than other card companies. Injecting about 400 billion won would be enough to put out the immediate fire. But suspending services looks like a blatant threat to the government.”

“There are card companies that are struggling to survive even with a trillion won in funding. They’re doing everything they can to come up with their own solutions, but Soonyang Card is just standing by and doing nothing, isn’t it? With Soonyang Group’s cash flow, they could solve this in one go. You know that.”

The two men were no longer hiding their displeasure.

“What do you mean by a threat to the government?”

“Don’t you know? They’re demanding public funds.”

Are they slow on the uptake because they’re public officials?

Could they not sense the ongoing internal power struggle?

“We made time because Soonyang Card was initially owned by you, Jin Do-jun. What exactly does Vice-chairman Jin want?”

The Director-General’s blunt question suggested he was seriously angry.

“I don’t know what Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi wants.”

“What? Are you trying to joke with us?”

“No. I’m not inside his head, so how would I know? But I can tell you exactly what I want.”

“This… this guy…!”

Just as the Director-General was about to erupt, the Chairman glanced at him and slightly bit his lip.

“Tell us. Let’s hear it.”

I addressed the composed Chairman.

“Please ban the use of Soonyang Card. Isn’t it practically unusable anyway? A suspension of business operations would be sufficient.”

“W-What are you saying?”

“Yes. It will be the first card company in the industry to go bankrupt.”

“You want us to add fuel to the fire? The entire card industry is already….”

“Listen to the end. Shut your mouth.”

The Director-General quickly shut his mouth at the Chairman’s sharp words.

“A new government has just been inaugurated, and you haven’t even had a chance to hold a banquet with the heads of the chaebols, so this situation must be a bit bewildering. You’re probably discussing how much pressure to apply to the business circles right now…. Frankly, chaebols barely bat an eye in most cases.”

The Director-General just blinked, and the Chairman offered a faint smile. It must have been unusual to hear a third-generation chaebol subtly criticize the chaebols.

“A suspension of Soonyang Card’s operations will send a strong message from the new government. With such an extreme measure, the chaebols will feel the heat! They’ll proceed with self-rescue measures more quickly and effectively.”

“That would mean Soonyang Card goes bankrupt. There won’t be any more opportunities for self-rescue or anything else. You need to understand that the shock of Soonyang Card’s bankruptcy will be enormous.”

The Chairman studied my expression intently, as if trying to discern my intentions.

“I’ll absorb all that shock. How about it?”

I wore a bright smile and observed the expressions of the two men.