Chapter 215: Soonyang Card Crisis Resolved
by xennovel“The Soonyang Card crisis that had the business world on edge has been resolved smoothly. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that government, financial sector, and Soonyang Card officials reached a dramatic agreement after a marathon meeting lasting all day yesterday.”
“As a result, all Soonyang Card services, which had been suspended for over two months, have resumed starting at midnight tonight.”
“W-what? What’s going on now?”
Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi’s eyes widened in disbelief as the breaking news about Soonyang Card’s normalization flashed across the screen.
As soon as the news report ended, he pressed the intercom.
“Get Chief Secretary Baek in here now!”
Jin Young-gi paced around his office, not even bothering to sit down, and shouted at Chief Secretary Baek as he came rushing in, out of breath.
“You bastard! What the hell happened?”
His finger jabbed at the TV screen, prompting a hurried response from Chief Secretary Baek.
“We’re looking into it right now, sir.”
Smack!
Chief Secretary Baek staggered, losing his balance as Jin Young-gi’s palm struck his cheek with full force.
“Looking into it now? This has already blown up, what have you been doing all this time?”
“M-my deepest apologies, Vice-chairman.”
“Get out there and move! Check with the Blue House, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, hurry!”
Jin Young-gi glared at the bowing Chief Secretary Baek as he left, then remembered there was someone much closer who could explain everything.
He quickly headed to his younger brother’s office.
The nameplate on the door had rarely looked so irritating as it did today.
“Dong-gi!”
Bursting through the door, he found Jin Dong-gi with a deep frown, who simply remarked, sounding exasperated.
“Could you at least knock?”
“Hey! What the heck is going on?”
“About what?”
“Soonyang Card! What exactly did you do? How did you stop it?”
“That sounds a bit odd, doesn’t it? Were you waiting for it to go bankrupt after the business suspension? Shouldn’t you start with ‘Congratulations on the normalization,’ ‘Good job,’ or ‘Thanks for your hard work’?”
The elder brother ignored his younger brother’s stare and continued to raise his voice.
“Cut the crap and tell me quickly!”
“I opened up the blocked cash flow, cleared all the debts, and then restored the services to normal.”
“How? Did you perhaps sell off all the shares?”
Jin Young-gi swallowed hard and asked cautiously. If the group’s controlling shares had gone to an outside party, another opportunity had arisen.
No one dares to try and take over Soonyang Group with Soonyang’s shares alone. Those shares are the most valuable in Korea, and if the price is right, he could secure them much more easily than his younger brother.
“No. A wealthy investor acquired Soonyang Card. It’s out of my hands now.”
Jin Dong-gi chuckled, noticing his older brother’s disappointment at his words that he hadn’t sold the shares.
“The stock price plummeted below a thousand won. They scooped up all the shares that flooded the market, and even bought up the institutional investors’ shares. Holding a whopping 42% stake, it’s practically an acquisition.”
Jin Young-gi bit his lip, a wave of regret washing over him.
When his younger brother had asked him to buy the plunging stock to help save Soonyang Card, he had scoffed. Why bother saving a company destined to fail, spending money on it? It needed to collapse so he could secure more of the group’s controlling shares.
But he should have bought the shares that had become mere scraps of paper and taken over. He should have been the one to bankrupt the company.
The most reliable way to make a company succeed or fail is to do it yourself.
Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi resented himself for not realizing this sooner.
“Did you hand over your Soonyang Card shares as well?”
“No. The Soonyang Card shares held by Heavy Industries and Construction remain. The stock price will rise now, why sell? I’ll sell when it recovers to its previous level. I need to recoup my investment, don’t I?”
“Who is it? Which bastard did you sell to?”
“Let’s get the wording right. I didn’t sell it off, remember? That guy just secured the shares.”
“Whatever! Who is he?”
A low voice suddenly came from behind them.
“Were you looking for me?”
Jin Young-gi turned to see Oh Se-hyun grinning.
“Ah, you’ve arrived?”
Jin Dong-gi jumped up from his chair to greet him.
“Yes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”
“You were shouting without closing the door, so anyone nearby couldn’t avoid hearing. It’s our fault.”
Jin Dong-gi glared at Jin Young-gi, who was still too surprised to speak.
“Y-you?”
“Yes. I’m Oh Se-hyun, the representative of Soonyang Card’s largest shareholder.”
Oh Se-hyun bowed lightly, leaving Jin Young-gi even more speechless.
Soonyang Card’s new owner being Oh Se-hyun was a far more serious problem than Soonyang Card returning to normalcy.
Oh Se-hyun had no weaknesses and didn’t fear Soonyang’s power. Crucially, he was the kind of guy who nibbled away at Soonyang’s assets.
“I have some business with Representative Oh, so if there’s anything else, let’s talk later.”
As Jin Young-gi blankly watched the two men leave, Oh Se-hyun suddenly turned back.
“Oh, and Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi. I have something to discuss regarding debt repayment. Would it be alright to visit you after my meeting with the Soonyang Card executives?”
“What? Repayment?”
“Yes. It’s scheduled for three installments, if I recall correctly? I’d prefer to settle it all at once.”
Jin Young-gi felt like he’d been struck by a hammer. He had a gut feeling that the shares he’d bought with the bonds as collateral—shares he’d bought for twice the price—were about to slip through his fingers.
“Alright, alright, let’s discuss that later. Let’s meet with the executives first. Those guys are probably shaking in their boots wondering if their names are on the hit list. They need to know whether they’ll live or die so they can sleep soundly tonight, right?”
Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi chuckled and put his arm around Oh Se-hyun’s shoulder, as if they were close friends.
* * *
“You bought Soonyang Card?”
“Yes. I swept up the shares when they fell below face value. It wasn’t that difficult. As you know, Yeouido is my home turf.”
Oh Se-hyun, now in Jin Young-gi’s office, had to suppress a smile at the vice-chairman’s deeply furrowed brow.
Jin Young-gi must have thought this was his golden opportunity to seize Soonyang, but now that opportunity had crumbled, and his scowling face showed how hard he was trying to contain his anger.
“Why the hell?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why target a failing card company? Do you think it’ll be easy to normalize? There are three million credit delinquents! It’s impossible to revive!”
“Is that so? I see the numbers excluding those three million as being much larger.”
“Are you planning to sell refrigerators in the Arctic? You’re not some amateur listening to fancy talk from a consulting instructor, are you?”
Jin Young-gi was right about the current state of affairs. The future of the credit card business was as bleak as a sky full of dark clouds.
But Oh Se-hyun had no intention of agreeing with him or arguing back. This wasn’t a conversation; it was a notification.
“Vice-chairman, let’s manage our own businesses independently. It’s not polite to interfere in another company’s affairs. Between you and me, Vice-chairman, there’s only one topic: bonds and debts.”
Jin Young-gi felt an urge to teach this impudent punk a lesson. How dare he look him straight in the eye!
“We will proceed as you wish, Vice-chairman. Whether you repay on the bond’s maturity date or settle it all at once.”
“You’re loaded.”
“Yes, I’m practically swimming in it. Does that answer your question to your satisfaction?”
Jin Young-gi was speechless at Oh Se-hyun’s curt reply.
Instead of fearing him, the face of Soonyang, he seemed to be looking down on him. No… it was more like contempt.
Jin Young-gi suppressed his rising anger, remembering the friendly interaction between his younger brother, Jin Dong-gi, and this man.
What if it had been him, not his brother, who had put his hand on that man’s shoulder?
He considered this another opportunity worth exploring.
He could oust his younger brother, Jin Dong-gi, and put this man in his place. Just swapping one person could yield enormous results.
Everyone within the Soonyang Group, and even the entire nation, would think it was a clear sign that Chairman Jin’s eldest son, Jin Young-gi, was taking over the group. At that moment, he would be the sole chairman of the Soonyang Group.
No matter how many shares Oh Se-hyun held, he would remain a professional manager. His family name wasn’t Jin.
Taking a deep breath, Jin Young-gi feigned a disgruntled tone.
“Damn it! Only that brat Do-jun will be celebrating.”
He’d made a staggering eight hundred billion won in just a couple of months. Oh Se-hyun knew it well.
“I heard about it. You bought them for twice the price, I understand?”
“I have money to burn too. Speaking of which, let me make you an offer. The collateral I have, the shares, I’ll take them back….”
“No. I have no intention of selling. Let’s not discuss it.”
He witnessed Oh Se-hyun’s rude habit of cutting him off mid-sentence again, but Jin Young-gi brushed it off magnanimously.
Changing his perspective changed his actions.
“Then how about buying you, Representative Oh?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not one for beating around the bush.”
Jin Young-gi took a long breath and continued.
“Miracle holds a substantial 16% stake. And if—no, not if. Once my brother Dong-gi’s 7% collateral shares fall into your hands, you’ll have 23%.”
“As you know, my philosophy is to clearly separate ownership and management. I won’t say a single word about the management of the Soonyang Group, so please don’t worry too much. Just make sure the dividends are generous at the end of the year.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. Representative Oh’s shares aren’t just shares in a regular subsidiary; they’re shares that can control the entire Soonyang Group.”
“All shares in a corporation have the potential to control the company. I don’t see a significant difference.”
The man was feigning ignorance when he clearly understood what Jin Young-gi was implying. Jin Young-gi regained his composure.
“There’s a big difference. I’ll give you 25% of the Soonyang Group. Considering the revenue, profits, size, brand, etc., you choose.”
“25%?”
“Yes. I’m talking about subsidiaries. I’ll entrust you with any subsidiary you desire.”
“I am the CEO of an investment firm. I decline the offer to be a nominal professional manager for Soonyang.”
“This isn’t about showing it off to anyone. I mean I’m giving you full control, just like my younger brother has. You’ll have complete authority over personnel appointments, management style, business direction, everything. What do you say?”
Oh Se-hyun knew what Jin Young-gi was after, but he thought showing a surprised reaction would be natural in this situation.
“Are you serious?”
“I’m not so free that I’d joke about the company.”
“You might regret this.”
Oh Se-hyun’s answer was ambiguous, but it hinted at acceptance.
“What’s there to regret when I’m offering as much as I can?”
“Have you forgotten that I’m an M&A expert? I could break down that 25% of Soonyang’s subsidiaries piece by piece and sell them all off. No need for the hassle of managing them.”
It was a stinging remark, but he didn’t show it. Even if he sold off all the subsidiaries, he could rebuild them. But the opportunity to take the chairman’s seat didn’t come around often.
Jin Young-gi smiled magnanimously.
“I won’t complain about what I’ve given. Sell them off, ruin them, do whatever you want, Representative Oh.”
Oh Se-hyun smiled at Jin Young-gi’s generous response.
“It’s funny, are you two brothers? You’re exactly alike.”
“Huh? What is?”
“Vice-chairman Jin Dong-gi made the same offer. The way you phrased it is different, but isn’t this what you both want? Join hands with me and drive one of your brothers out of Soonyang! Haha.”
Vice-chairman Jin Young-gi couldn’t get angry as Oh Se-hyun burst into laughter. His face was pale as he simply listened to the laughter.